You can layer multiple types of treatment to manage the mosquito problem. For example, you can use barrier treatment on the shaded resting foliage between the house and the water and you can aggressively eliminate sources of standing water on your own property. Larvicide is also an option for still water that you can’t drain.
Living near a pond in Southeastern Massachusetts is worth the mosquitoes. But you’re still not going to want to deal with the mosquitoes. So it helps to know which part of the water is causing them, because it’s not always what you might think.
Open pond water is usually a poor mosquito producer. Fish eat larvae, wave action disrupts the still surface they need, and depth keeps things cool. What tends to have a lot of mosquitoes is everything on the margins like the cattails and sedge fringe, the boggy shallow end, and the undisturbed backwaters. Floodwater mosquitoes do well in places like this because they can lay huge batches that wait in dry soil until soaked after a heavy storm, at which point they hatch all at once and in great numbers.
So the plan that works best starts with your house rather than the water. First, dial back the available resting habitat. Adult mosquitoes coming off the surrounding wetland spend their days in the shaded, humid vegetation between the pond and your patio. A barrier treatment applied there knocks them down and keeps reducing arrivals for about three weeks per application.
It also helps to reduce standing water on your own property. Water tends to collect in all kinds of places from boat covers to overturned canoes to clogged gutters. Dump all sources of standing water every week.
As for the water you can’t dump, use larvicide. This is a good option for ornamental ponds, rain barrels, and constantly wet low spots in your yard.
If you have dense landscaping, trim it back. That reduces the number of shaded places that mosquitoes have to hide during the day.
If you live near a pond and mosquitoes are keeping you inside, Mosquito Squad of Southeastern Massachusetts can help. Mosquito Squad treats the shaded areas around waterfront properties where mosquitoes rest. This will help you protect your yard with up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
