Slap! Another mosquito has managed to take another bite from you. Not only did it get a bite, but it left a fantastic little bump on your skin that now itches. You installed a bug zapper, you used mosquito candles to keep them, you even made sure to clean up the children’s blow up pool that you got to save money instead of installing that garden pond you were thinking about. No matter what you do, the mosquitoes keep coming. They swarm over your yard and patio, making your backyard an unpleasant place to be. Fear not, there are ways to battle mosquitoes, one way being to install the water garden pond you originally wanted.

Granted, this seems like flawed logic. You’ve always heard that mosquitoes adore water and will lay their eggs all over it, making it more of a breeding ground then anything else. Although this can be true with some types of water and ponds, it is not true with garden ponds and waterscapes. Ponds and waterscapes naturally attract more then just mosquitoes; they also attract dragonflies and damselflies.

Dragonflies and damselflies are also known as mosquito hawks. If you know anything about hawks, you know that they are predators that aggressively hunt for food. Dragonflies and damselflies have the same aggressive nature and will roam over and around ponds, eating those pesky mosquitoes like potato chips at a Super Bowl party. Not only do dragonflies and damselflies eat the mosquitoes that would try to surround your garden pond but their larva eat mosquito larva, basically putting a stop in the chain of life for the mosquitoes.

Unlike your children’s blow up pool, you can fill your garden pond with fish. Fish are great predators against mosquitoes. If the mosquitoes happen to sit on the surface of the pond, the fish will pop up and eat them. Although it seems unlikely that the mosquito will take a break on the surface of your garden pond, think about this: mosquitoes lay their eggs on the surface of water. So while the mosquito is trying to continue its family line, not only will your fish eat the mosquito, your fish will also eat the eggs they lay.

If you don’t have enough faith in letting nature’s helpers like the fish, dragonflies and damselflies take care of your mosquito problem, there are plenty of natural biological treatments you can use that will help eliminate mosquitoes. Unfortunately, you can’t use biological chemical treatments on ponds that contain fish but if you should happen to have any waterfalls, fountains without fish, birdbaths, or even low areas that collect standing water, these chemicals can be a useful extra addition in your fight.

Mosquitoes can ruin anyone’s outdoor haven. Of course, there are plenty of methods you can use like mosquito candles, sprays, etc that will help you kill them but they don’t provide the same kind of peace and soothing calm that a pond can provide. Instead of denying yourself the garden pond or waterscape you’ve always wanted, consider it to be one of the most proactive steps you can take against fighting mosquitoes. Between the fish and the dragonflies, your yard will be mosquito free in no time.