Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations how can I kill mosquitos without hurting my fish?

My husband and I have 16 acres of land on the gulf coast with a 1.5 acre lake that we stocked full of fish last year.We did not experience much of a winter and are already bugged by mosquitos while trying to enjoy the land. We need some helpful suggestions on killing the mosquitos and their larvae without endangering our fish. Any helpful advice?

If your pond is stocked, I doubt that the bugs are coming from it. Small fish pretty well keep larvae under control. That assumes that you stocked with bluegill and fatheads that are full time spawners.

Stock 10 to 15 lbs of fatheads. If the mosquitoes are coming from your lake (and they may not be) you won't have many troubles after that.

Fishman,

Fatheads are slow swimmers and it doesn't take long for the fish in the pond to finish them off. I would think planting them in a pond with established predator fish would be a waste unless they are put in intially as a boost for bass growth in a new pond.

Either way they don't last.

echo others thoughts. If you have fish you will not have mosquitoes. Juvenille bluegill can do a number on larve as well. However do you have lots of weeds? If so this is the problem. They harbor the mosquitoes and fish can not control them. Get rid of weeds and you will get rid of 'em

If the skeeters are not coming from your pond, there is a mosquito trap that has recently become popular. It traps hundreds of mosquitos per night. It uses a scent to do so. Just do an internet search for mosquito trap.

In your pond, nobody mentioned Gambusia minnows. They are a very small minnow that lives in the shallows and eats insect larvae.

I bought one of those $300.00 Mosquito traps last year and did not have much luck. It burns propane, has the attractant lure, and has the sticky paper. I only caught a few mosquitos last July, as it slowly burned a tank full of propane. Seems like a waste of fuel. Anyone else have any luck with these new traps?

Yes, we have one, a Mosquito Magnet and it works great. We have it at home but not at the lake. I volunteered at Cedar Key NWR in Florida last winter. Before Mosquito Magnets, a person could hardly go onto the islands in the summertime because of the mosquitos. The Mosquito Magnets controlled the mosquitos almost completely. I've made a number of bat houses for control of the mosquitos at the lake.