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Hi,

I am about to repair the pond in my new house, and my wife is scared about
West Nile virus from mosquitoes that may hatch in our pond. I have assured
her that the combination of a pump & fish will prevent this from being a
risk, but she wants documented proof. If anyone can put me on to some
reliable sources it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

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

You can try here and see if you find anything. It is the cdc.org site.
http://www.mosquito.org/MosqInfo/mosquito.html

how big is the pond? you could add mosquito dunks periodically. in highly
mosquito-infested areas, there is some concern that the fish can't eat them
all. i have 300 gallons and the 5 fish don't eat all the mosquitos. so i add
the mosquito dunks and the problem is solved.
mad
--
"Let me tell you the one thing I have against Moses. He
took us forty years into the desert in order to bring us
to the one place in the Middle East that has no oil!"
Golda Meir

From: "Mark Milotay"
Organization: Shaw Residential Internet
Newsgroups: rec.ponds
Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 15:33:12 GMT
Subject: West Nile Fears

Hi,

I am about to repair the pond in my new house, and my wife is scared about
West Nile virus from mosquitoes that may hatch in our pond. I have assured
her that the combination of a pump & fish will prevent this from being a
risk, but she wants documented proof. If anyone can put me on to some
reliable sources it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

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What is a mosquito dunk? Never heard of it.
Priss
"mad" wrote in message
...
how big is the pond? you could add mosquito dunks periodically. in highly
mosquito-infested areas, there is some concern that the fish can't eat
them
all. i have 300 gallons and the 5 fish don't eat all the mosquitos. so i
add
the mosquito dunks and the problem is solved.
mad
--
"Let me tell you the one thing I have against Moses. He
took us forty years into the desert in order to bring us
to the one place in the Middle East that has no oil!"
Golda Meir

From: "Mark Milotay"
Organization: Shaw Residential Internet
Newsgroups: rec.ponds
Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 15:33:12 GMT
Subject: West Nile Fears

Hi,

I am about to repair the pond in my new house, and my wife is scared
about
West Nile virus from mosquitoes that may hatch in our pond. I have
assured
her that the combination of a pump & fish will prevent this from being a
risk, but she wants documented proof. If anyone can put me on to some
reliable sources it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

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What is a mosquito dunk?

this is a good page
http://www.ghorganics.com/MosquitoDunks.html

k30a

We have had a pond for about 10 years. With the waterfall and the 30+
goldfish, we have never had much of a mosquito problem. In addition to the
waterfall, I keep a couple of air bubblers going all the time. I do spray a
mixture of malathion and diazinon around the place about twice a year, but
you want to avoid spraying it where it will hit the surface of the pond, to
keep the fish healthy.
Also, our infection control nurse at work got some information on West Nile
virus, and according to the information she got, it' s highly unlikely that
one would be infected, even if bit by a mosquito. I think she got her info
from the Centers for Disease Control. Probably in an area where animals,
such as livestock, birds, and house pets have actually become sick and died
from West Nile, you might need to be more careful.
Gary
"Mark Milotay" wrote in message
. ..
Hi,

I am about to repair the pond in my new house, and my wife is scared about
West Nile virus from mosquitoes that may hatch in our pond. I have assured
her that the combination of a pump & fish will prevent this from being a
risk, but she wants documented proof. If anyone can put me on to some
reliable sources it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

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.

Oh you bet they've studied it and ARE studying it well, with our taxes of
course. ;o) Not sure if it was the website LRob displayed as I don't have
time to look, but I know last year I found lots of good info, in particular
was how a skimmer can work quite well at doing them in.

One concern I have for our area is regarding the Pac. Treefrogs, who like
the same little ponds they put those gambusia in, without thought it seems.
~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

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