Handling Unwanted Pests Around Water Features

Water Gardens can be a stand-alone for your commercial landscape or a beautiful accent piece, peaceful and natural looking, it is sure to attract the eyes of any clientele. It may also attract the attention of some unwanted guests. Mosquitoes and algae can go hand in hand with your water feature, but proper maintenance can keep these nuisances away.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes have always been annoying and in recent years the concern of disease such as West Nile have brought a new level of concern to mosquito control. Fortunately, there are ways to help reduce the mosquito population in your area.

Install a water garden. Yes, that's right, just having a water garden can help. It is a common misconception of non-pond owners that water gardens breed mosquitoes. But, water gardens are not an additional concern for the increase of a mosquito population. In fact, a water garden helps fight against mosquitoes. 

Have moving water in your water garden. Mosquitoes will not lay eggs in running water. The newly hatched mosquito must rest on the water’s surface for a few minutes to let its wings dry. If the water is moving, the female mosquito will not lay eggs there.

Get some mosquito fish for your pond. Mosquito fish, or gambusia affinis, are very aggressive predators of mosquito larvae. They are also aggressive to other fish and will also eat dragonfly larvae, or nymphs. If mosquito fish are too predatory for your particular tastes, several other types of fish readily consume mosquito larvae, such as guppies, killifish, and small goldfish. Koi are too large and will not target the larvae.

Add Bti to your pond. Bti is a naturally occurring type of bacillus that is eaten by the mosquito larvae, and rapidly kills them. It is not harmful to fish, pets, wildlife or humans. It is sold under such names as Mosquito Dunks, or Mosquito Bits.

Add dragonfly larvae, or nymphs, to your pond. They are voracious predators of mosquito larvae, and while the mosquito larvae stay in that stage for only a few days, the dragonfly nymphs stay in the larval stage for up to two years, and can prey on many generations of mosquito larvae. And, when they become adults, the dragonfly feeds on adult mosquitoes too.

Algae Control 

Algae control is often considered to be the biggest headache in water gardening. There are different viewpoints as to how algae should be controlled or eliminated. 

Types of Algae: The two types of algae that most water gardeners experience are suspended algae and filamentous algae. Suspended algae consist of millions of microscopic algae floating throughout the water. This causes the water to turn green or "pea soup" color. Filamentous, or string, algae forms long and short hair-like strands, attaching itself to rocks, gravel, plants, or any surface area it can find in the pond. 

Top 5 Algae Control Methods 

Plants: Plants, since they directly compete with algae for nutrients and sunlight, are probably the most important addition to your pond. Add a wide variety of plants to your pond. This not only creates a natural look, but also will help reduce the algae in different areas of your pond. 

Physical Removal: Physically remove clumps of string algae if it begins to overtake the pond. Pull or cut away the algae where it is attached. Koi: Adding koi over 10 inches in length will greatly reduce string algae. The koi, if not overfed, will graze on the string algae in the pond.

Fix Leaks: Tap water can have an abundance of nutrients in it. Continually adding large quantities of tap water to compensate for a leak can actually promote algae growth. Fix leaks when they are discovered. 

Control Run-Off: Never use lawn fertilizer or insecticides on trees around your pond or on areas of your property that will drain toward your pond. Lawn fertilizer and insecticides will cause large algae blooms, as well as severely threaten the aquatic life inside your pond. 

Remove Debris: Keep your pond free of debris. Don't let the skimmer debris net overfill with leaves. 

We can help your commercial landscaping bring more customers!  We can help care for all aspects. Please contact us at; Sales: 623-848-8277 We serve the entire Phoenix Metro Area.

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Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance, LLC
623-848-8277
http://www.commerciallandscapecare.com
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