CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 12/02/96

Mosquito Fish for the Wild Garden

Some people worry that a backyard pond will be a source of mosquitoes. Pond owners often stock mosquito fish to reduce the likelihood that mosquitoes will use the pond to reproduce.

Mosquito fish are tiny, about an inch long or less. They don't lay eggs. They give birth to free-swimming young after a gestation of a bit less than a month. The young grow fast and begin reproducing in a few months. It doesn't take long for them to saturate their habitat.

Mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis, are a good choice for small ponds without fancy water-quality gear like aerators and filters. They can live in shallow, scummy, poor quality water.

As a test of their effectiveness, I stocked one of two identical ponds with mosquito fish last summer. The other I left fishless.

On Nov. 19, I hauled out about 5 gallons of water and bottom detritus from each pond. I strained the water through a piece of cloth and put the contents of each into white bowls so I could see the insects and other pond life.

Sure enough, the fishless pond had a population of mosquito larvae. I failed to find them in the pond with mosquito fish.

Besides the mosquito larvae, the fishless pond had midge larvae and Eristalis larvae. Eristalis is a fly larva that has a long tail like a breathing tube, which it extends to the surface as a snorkel.

The fishless pond also had frog tadpoles. Those were interesting. I wonder if the mosquito fish had prevented frogs from successfully reproducing in the pond by eating newly hatched tadpoles. Next summer I'll have to check that out.

The bottom line is that mosquito fish can keep a pond free of mosquitos.

Can other fish do as well? Yes, many kinds of fish eat mosquito larvae, especially sunfish of various kinds. These fish will need a higher standard of water quality, however. Many predacious fish will eat mosquito fish along with mosquitos.

Will ponds without mosquito fish make life unbearable for you by giving rise to huge swarms of vicious mosquitoes?

Mosquitoes are often in backyards without water nearby. Until this year I never had mosquito fish and was never particularly bothered by mosquitoes. Having a mosquito fishless-pond may not make a noticeable difference.

Jeff Jackson is a professor of wildlife management in the D.B. Warnell School of Forest Resources of the University of Georgia.

Experts/Sources:
Jeff Jackson
uga commencement CAES News
CAES to celebrate new graduates during May 9 convocation 04/18/24 Sameeka Prabath Rajamani
As another academic year draws to a close, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is gearing up for its Athens campus convocation ceremony, which will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, at The Classic Center in Athens. “Each year, it’s an honor to celebrate the success of our CAES graduates,” said CAES Dean and Director Nick T. Place. “It’s amazing what these students accomplish during their time with us, and I’m always excited to commemorate this next step in their lives as they continue on to either further studies or the start of their careers.”
A student harvests red clover at UGArden. CAES News
UGA horticulture class shows students the science behind herbal remedies 04/16/24 Sameeka Prabath Rajamani
The field of medicine is ever-changing, and the use of herbal medicines may play a bigger role in health care as the value of natural remedies gain recognition in the Western world. Students at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are delving into the field of medicinal remedies through the class “Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants.” Offered to undergraduate students through the Department of Horticulture, the class helps students develop a deeper understanding of the connection between nature and health.
Using robotics to help sort onions on Georgia farms CAES News
Using robotics to help sort onions on Georgia farms 04/15/24 David Mitchell
During the pandemic, labor problems became acute on many farms in Georgia and across the country. Farms once staffed by humans to bring produce from the field to stores for purchase were suddenly short-staffed, and the global supply chain was severely impacted. Working with UGA’s Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center and A&M Farms in Lyons, Georgia, a team of researchers led by School of Computing Professor Prashant Doshi is designing collaborative robots to mitigate some of these potential challenges.
2024 honorees are William D. Branch, Georgia Seed Development Professor in Peanut Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Elzie Argene Claxton, an agriculture educator and 1980 CAES agricultural education graduate who went on to earn a master’s degree in 1982 and education specialist degree in 1984 from UGA’s College of Education. CAES News
Innovator, educator inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame 04/11/24 Maria M. Lameiras
An innovator in peanut breeding whose research revitalized an industry and an ardent champion of agricultural education were inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame at the 68th University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association Awards in Athens. The 2024 honorees are William D. Branch, Georgia Seed Development Professor in Peanut Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Elzie Argene Claxton, an agriculture educator and 1980 CAES agricultural education graduate.
Peach growers are looking forward to a fruitful season as the weather this winter and spring have been near-perfect for the sensitive crop. This year is projected to be a much-needed comeback from the disastrous season they experienced after a late freeze in March 2023 took out more than 90% of the state's crop. (Photo by Dorothy Kozlowski/UGA) CAES News
Growers hopeful 2024 peach season will rebound from disastrous 2023 04/10/24 Emily Cabrera
Last year, the peach industry lost $60 million due to the late freeze that hit much of the Southeast in mid-March 2023, said Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agent for Peach and Taylor counties. With no freezing temperatures in the forecast and hope for strong pricing during the upcoming season, peach growers are looking forward to a much-needed rebound year.
UGA wheat breeder and geneticist Mohamed Mergoum smells one of several test brews created by Creature Comforts on its annual Get Comfortable collaboration using a variety of wheat Mergoum developed at CAES. CAES News
Creature Comforts partners with UGA wheat breeder to create 2024 Get Comfortable brew 04/09/24 Maria M. Lameiras
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile. These two exacting professions came together this spring when Athens-based Creature Comforts Brewing Co. reached out to the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to find a sustainable wheat variety they could use to make a good beer for a great cause.