I don't know where it is documented - the combination of moving water and fish
is so common sense that I wonder if anyone *studied* it.

Mosquito larva must hang out on the surface of the water in order to breathe.
You'll see them all lined up there together. Disturb the water and they do that
characteristic wiggle to get away from danger. If the water is moving too
swiftly they can not hold themselves in place.

Watching the fish in the pond they spend a lot of time nosing along the surface
of the water. They are 'grazing' the surface finding the mosquito eggs and
other insects. Most garden ponds have lots of pretty fish in them, way more
than mother nature stocks. Mosquito larva have a hard time escaping the fish
vaccums.

I've even had tadpoles keep a container pond eggless. Right next to it was a
container pond with no taddies or fish which was full of larva. One Mosquito
Dunk and they were all dead within 10 hours.

Which brings me to a third remedy - Mosquito Dunks and Mosquito Bits. Toss them
in according to directions and bye bye mosquito larva.

Some of the biggest problems with mosquitoes is vernal ponds, temporary
standing water from a really wet spring. And containers that sit around filled
with rain water.

Another benefit to a garden pond is that they attract dragonflies and
damselflies. These critters will eat thousands of mosquitoes. One town in Maine
used dragonflies to control their mosquito population instead of spraying.

I'd say you are safer with a pond than without one.
;-)

k30a