Wildlife Pool

[crafters_corner]

Well......little more than a puddle really But a frog took residence last year and it all looks clear and healthy. Apart from those horrible wriggly mosquito larvae which seem to plague me whatever the time of year. Any solutions?
Has anybody any frogspawn yet? I am hoping that my little frog will return with a mate

[crafters_corner]

Apart from those horrible wriggly mosquito larvae which seem to plague me whatever the time of year. Any solutions?

(Bumped in the hope of a response)

[CarnoustieCats]

Haven't a clue ..but seemingly for ornamental ponds use washing up liquid or hair shampoo to kill it off.

Otherwise one suggestion is that minnows love them and can eat their own body weight every day, sounds good.
And dragonflies love the larvae too.

Would a local pet shop sell minnows? Or do you have to tramp the fields looking for a pond
- armed with your little jeelyjar/ jamjar with the string handle tied round the neck?

[crafters_corner]

Haven't a clue ..but seemingly for ornamental ponds use washing up liquid or hair shampoo to kill it off.

Otherwise one suggestion is that minnows love them and can eat their own body weight every day, sounds good.
And dragonflies love the larvae too.

Would a local pet shop sell minnows? Or do you have to tramp the fields looking for a pond
- armed with your little jeelyjar/ jamjar with the string handle tied round the neck?

Like Huckleberry Finn you mean?

Fish and frogs don't mix apparently. I did read about washing up liquid but not sure how that would affect any potential frogspawn.
In the summer, I used to scoop them out with a seive - horrible wriggly things. Only a few now, but they have obviously survived the winter.l

Thanks, anyway, Cats.

[tony41]

Washing up liquid, shampoo and similar would make to pond useless as a wildlife pond. You don't say how long ago you made the pond but it could be that it hasn't achieved equilibrium yet. Natural predators should arrive. Dragonfly and damselfly larvae, some water beetles all eat mosquito larvae. Fish such as goldfish eat frog, toad and newt tadpoles. I can't say if minnows would but it seems likely that they would eat the very small tadpoles. If you were to get rid of all of the mosquito larvae it wouldn't be a good wildlife pond.

Here's a link which explains things more clearly and in more detail. https://nurturing-nature.co.uk/wildl...hat-eats-them/

[crafters_corner]

"if you were to get rid of all of the mosquito larvae it wouldn't be a good wildlife pond."

Well, I can see the point of that and, in moderation, it wouldn't be too much of a problem. My little pond is now around 18 months in situ having moved it from a spot which was obviously too hot and sunny. I have never had backscaters and only a few beetles.

Thanks for the article Tony, which I shall read in full later. The conclusion is encouraging so fingers crossed that equilibrium if almost attained. Plants are doing well and very little algae.

[CarnoustieCats]

Like Huckleberry Finn you mean?

Fish and frogs don't mix apparently. I did read about washing up liquid but not sure how that would affect any potential frogspawn.
In the summer, I used to scoop them out with a seive - horrible wriggly things. Only a few now, but they have obviously survived the winter.l

Thanks, anyway, Cats.

The washing up liquid and hair shampoo works in ornamental ponds, by that I mean no wildlife

[crafters_corner]

The washing up liquid and hair shampoo works in ornamental ponds, by that I mean no wildlife

Yep, I understood that was what you meant

[crafters_corner]

Washing up liquid, shampoo and similar would make to pond useless as a wildlife pond. You don't say how long ago you made the pond but it could be that it hasn't achieved equilibrium yet. Natural predators should arrive. Dragonfly and damselfly larvae, some water beetles all eat mosquito larvae. Fish such as goldfish eat frog, toad and newt tadpoles. I can't say if minnows would but it seems likely that they would eat the very small tadpoles. If you were to get rid of all of the mosquito larvae it wouldn't be a good wildlife pond.

Here's a link which explains things more clearly and in more detail. https://nurturing-nature.co.uk/wildl...hat-eats-them/

A very interesting and informative article. Thank you for the link,Tony.

[bluebedouin]

Any solutions?

How about an aquarium pump to circulate the water?As far as I'm aware,mosquitoes need stagnant or still water to lay the eggs.