[mralgae]

ok new pool in the garden and just found out i have a lot of visitors, namely mosquito lavae as shown in the pic i took b4.

question is there are hundreds of them in the pool, will this be a problem once they all turn into adults????

[vulkan]

why panic? problem for who?
Yes they may become "anoying", you will have to wait and see.

[artalis]

Hi Mralgea,

We made a v. small pool in my rear garden, ( 3-4ft across and 2 ft deep ) namely to contain a large lily and a few small marginals. Tiny creatures appeared pretty fast. This included black fly larvae ( teeny tadpole shapes ) in hundreds and rat tailed maggots. The flies are hatched and gone.....thank goodness but it wasn't a problem.

Recently a water snail with a conch shaped shell has somehow taken up residence........Don't know how it arrived,lol.

I imagine that the cooler weather and frosts will kill mosquitos off ?

Here's a guide on how to be bite free, care of google.

"How to avoid being bitten by midges

Clothing gives protection, so long-sleeved shirts or blouses are good - covering the face, scalp, neck, wrists and hands can be dealt with by repellent.

You can buy a "midge hood" or even a "midge jacket" but in summer these are stuffy and can make you sweat which does not help. Nets that are light in colour interfere with vision more and can cause a headache through eyestrain. Dark nets are better for viewing through.

Wear a lightweight hat to keep them out of your hair.

Avoid wooded, damp, sheltered ( from the wind), shady (from direct sunlight) areas.
Avoid the bog at midgy times in the early mornings and evenings
In morning/evening go to areas that are bright, breezy like eg the coast. Or have dry ground like eg a town.
Apply a good midge repellent for your face, hands, neck when in a midgy zone.
Midges zone in on moving dark objects as well as scent, so wear light-coloured clothes.
Close windows or doors in the early mornings or evenings.
Recently, midge trap products have become available. These release carbon dioxide, water vapour from propane gas,and small amounts of octenol. This resembles the breath of cows and is a powerful attractor to midges. All biting insects, including midges, detect the scent and fly to the device where they are sucked into a net. The devices catch thousands of midges daily, and since the population is local you reduce their numbers, spoil the next egg laying cycle, causing a localised population crash. This creates a low midge zone around your house.
Midges like to land on a moving dark coloured object, so a dark sticky patch on your hat, or sticky jacket shoulder epaulette is very effective at trapping the ones searching for a place free of repellent. It continues working when repellent begins to wear off. This trick is very important with other bigger nuisances like horsefly-legs.
Insect Repellents

There are repellents available at supermarkets and chemists, which work. The best - Mijex, Shoo and Jungle Formula - contain a chemical component called "DEET" which has been tested successfully in repelling midges, blackflies, mosquitoes and other biting bugs. "

artalis

[mralgae]

Hi Artalis thanks for the info. have had the midges a lot during the so called summer but not to much a problem. the fact of the mosquito is so many of them if they all start to fly at roughly the same time i could have a swarm of them. i know they can get anywhere if water is about as aquarist's do suffer from them in their living room aquariums, but nearly always found before they do any damage to the fish.

i did find out they much prefare still type of water and have to admit the pump was switched off for nearly a week.

mite leave for now and see what happens, at least i will learn this time for if i get them again next yr....


thanks....



p.s. i have to admit i dont look much like a donkey.....LOL

[vulkan]

Some midge larvae survive through winter as when they were eggs they were "planted" in the ground. So no, winter is not a G'tee to kill them off.

The average life span of a midge is only 30 days.
Not all types of midges bite.
Fish will, and do eat the larvae
Midges are not mosquitos

[artalis]

Always learning that's for sure,lol.

artalis