Fish food
3 Likes
3 ponds, no mozzies. No idea why, perhaps they just don’t like our neighbourhood .
The first, just outside the front of our house is plastic lined and does have a leak but it is a long time since the level rose to leak through it due to the drought. I have fed 3 rooves via a water butt into it.
The 2nd is really stagnant and filling up with debris (branches, leaves etc), but it is natural and, no mozzies. Once upon a time that was fed by a stream, the overflow from the larger swimming pond up above in the trees. A waterfall in those days fed the bottom pond.
The top pond is the large one for swimming in and is home to a large variety of wildlife, apart from me. Frogs, toads, newts and of course Hissing Sid, my small couleuvre. In fact there are 2 adults and young ones in Spring too. None bother me and in fact swim away to their nest nearby whenever I am emersed.
The bottom ponds are plastic lined over the rocks but the top one, because I knew it was for swimming had first a layer of sand, then of something like carpet underlay before the final layer, rubber. There are no leaks and, an important thing to remember, the shady trees reduce any evaporation to almost nothing. Even in the drought it has had no more than 10 cms below max level.
Had no idea that permission might be needed and in 20 odd years have never had a query. 
2 Likes
Lucky you - and us! But it’s not simply a matter of how far south you are…
We live next to the Lot, but don’t have mosquitos presumably because the river is moving water, OTOH we have South African friends in the Gard, on virtually the same latitude whose house fronts onto a very architecturally fine c18th neoclassical laundrette - une temple de lavage- that has pools of green stagnant water at each corner and in summer our friends and their guest sleep under mosquito nets.
The mosquitoes already had a significant foothold, the rainwater vats have non-sealing covers, some are open, and we already had two old cow drinking water troughs which fill with rain water and mosquitoes. The climate here is quite harsh, so mosquitos only really proliferate when it is warm and humid, which fortunately isn’t usually for very long - but the fish love mosquito larvae !
1 Like
In an earlier discussion on this sort of topic, someone (sorry, can’t remember who it was) had a goldfish? in her water butt for years and it made short work of mosquito larvae.
1 Like
It was Bettina.
1 Like
We have a pond in our garden which we installed four years ago when the house was ready. It’s around 5 m long and one to three wide. We also used a liner on top of a “bidine” (plant proof lining). We have around 50 fish (original and descendants of the first 16 settlers) and four or five frogs as permanent residents and several visiting dragonflies. The frogs just appeared, they probably came from a “basin de retention” just below our garden, about ten metres away. Just noticed some frogspawn in the artificial stream feeding the pond today so hopefully there’ll be more frogs soon. It’s a pleasure sitting and watching the pond life, especially in the spring. Good luck with the pond!
2 Likes
I love this thread! We are also hoping to get a pond in to encourage mossie eaters!!!
2 Likes
I love the idea of a pond… we have a smallish raised corner bed at the far side of a terrace and I reckon that, with the earth removed and a liner placed therein… it would make a nice water feature perhaps with miniature waterlilies… or am I getting too carried away…
does anyone know what one has to do so that the dreaded Tiger Mozzies etc don’t use it as a maternity home… 
at the moment I’m carefully emptying the birdbaths every day, as we’ve been advised to do…
3 Likes
Stick a couple of fish in, they should eat the larvae 
2 Likes
I’ll have to check on what facilities fish require… it’s not very big and in full sun… we might end up with fish stew
1 Like
A water lily for shelter from the sun? Maybe if you can make it deep it won’t heat up so much. It’ll be lovely
It’s certainly a lovely idea… just need to sell the idea to OH and he might be able to link it to the waterbutt (which we have yet to buy… )
Also an air pump via an air stone to keep everything happy especially if in sunlight as that can cause a lack of oxygen.
2 Likes
And a small fountain to keep the water moving - mosquitoes don’t like that - solar powered.
5 Likes
solar powered fountain… now that is an excellent idea… 
1 Like
Fish! They will eat the mozzie larvae!
1 Like
Defo make a pond, it enriches one’s life!
1 Like