Mosquito larvae eaters????

Hi folks, I'm new to this forum. I have a very small pond which I enjoy greatly. Right now I have about 11 gold fish (just plain ole gold fish) and some plants. My question is, isn't there a species of minnows that eat mosquito larvae that I can incorporate into my pond. I once knew the name but can't seem to remember it now. Louisiana is actually going around and putting them in abandoned swimming pools and ponds to keep the mosquito population down. Would they co-exist with the goldfish?
Right now the frogs and fish seem to be keeping things under control (and a spider builds a pretty web over the pond each night) but I have noticed more buzzing when I'm outside these days.
I apologize up front if this is a dumb question or if it has been addressed in another thread. By the way, I have used the mosquito dunks before but they are increasing in price each year.

One more pic of pond w/closeup of fish

Not a minnow but a guppy.
Gambusia affinis is what you're looking for I think.
I have them w/ goldfish no problems.

Instead of dunks go w/ BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis israeliensis) in a powdered or liquid form.
You can get it for about a 1/4 to a 1/10 what dunks go for.
I've had a can for two years now.

Ric

Ditto the guppy. And once you've got em, you've got em. Mine, supplied free by the county, have coexisted with goldfish and koi for five years. Hardy buggers.

What a nice pond! I am glad that you are getting such enjoyment from it. The goldfish that you have will eat misquito larvae. The fountain that you have will help as well because misquitos do not like moving water. Is there anywhere that water collects? They will breed in any stagnant water such as a pot with a little water at the bottom.

Yupe, it's Gambusia affinis you want. We started out with 10 in the school pond and now have oddles of them. They do fine with goldfish I haven't noticed any problem with misquito bites when working on the pond.

If you want a quick overview of the fish visit this website: www.lawestvector.org/MosquitoFish.htm You might call your county extension office to see who has the fish in stock in your area or if your county gives them away.

Let me know if they solve your problem.

I thought all fish eats mosquito larvae. i do not think I have mosquitoes inside my pond, the falls is on 24/7. I have to use a mosquito coil when i am out though. nice pond!! happy ponding !! bellie

The goldfish definitely will eat the larvae, but it's always nice to have variety. By the way (and being from SE Texas I WOULD KNOW) not all mosquitos breed in water. Some breed in the ground, and when there is a rain, they wake up and swarm.

Didn't mean to depress anyone with that! Just that we have at least three sets of the little ba$+@^ds down here, and the great big ones that hurt when they bite are ground breeders. So if you have a pond and mosquitos, don't necessarily blame the pond.

brididlilly,
Thanks. Yep, we have those too and if you have undergrowth, as we do, in our woods, they breed there as well. We have those big nasty ones that could carry you away if they were "a-mind" to. Haven't found the guppies locally yet . Went ahead and got some of the BTI to put in places like birdbath, etc. If my DH would clean up around his shop it would help. They are not as bad here as they are at my DD's. She has woods almost up to her back door and the kids can't even play outside - I don't care how much spray they put on - the buggers try and eat them up!

They also breed in trees! lol
Any weak point in a tree that collects water (just a Tablespoon will do) allows them to lay eggs.
We ran into those burning biters in NC.
OUCH!
Deep Woods Off seemed to slow them down but not really stop them all.

Up here mosquito coils and Skin so Soft spray are our major self defense weapons.
Ric

I can't for the life of me remember the brand, but there is a widely available insect repellant (I've gotten it at Academy) that contains lemon eucalyptus. I got it because there was an NPR program comparing repellants, and they said this one works as well as ones with DEET (which scares me, personally). Whoever it is makes several formulas, but it's the one with lemon eucalyptus that works. I tried it and it worked reasonably well, which is really the best you can say for DEET products, too. Stuff like Off just makes my skin feel so horribly creepy. Ugh. I'd rather be bitten. Of course ask me again when I'm hospitalized for West Nile... :O

I also have many guppies and not a single m-larva!! I put a couple of guppies in the tank where there were dozens of m-larvae and in a couple of days not a single larva was seen! I have this rainwater collection tank and it normally does not get fully used and so I do this to get rid of the larvae.

Guppy is your answer.

I hear those guppies work great. I'm new to ponding myself, but I've read that goldfish will eat the larvae as well, and the fountain will make your pond unappealing for mosquitos to breed in. Mosquitos are a problem everywhere. I have been to Alaska during peak mosquito season, and when they are really bad the Deep Woods Off only offers some protection. They have enormous ones there, and then ittty-bitty kamikazi dive bombers. You can kill about 50 with each slap. The little ones are worse than the big ones, as they move so much faster. They can bite quicker than you can blink your eyes.

BTW, nice pond msfarmergirl!

Karen

"REPEL Lemon Eucalyptus"--comes in a lotion or a spray.
Some people love the fragrance, others detest it and would rather use DEET.
When it first came out it was $$$ and hard to find, but now it's available at 'Wal-mart' and really reasonable.
I only use that--or a home-made mix of essential oils--on the kids.
Teresa

I use the same thing for my mud ponds with koi and some goldfish. Did you know that if the koi/goldfish get hungary enough they will eat the guppy?!?!?!