I have heard people talk about mosquito dunks? I have never used them but I hear that it kills them and isn't harmful.

Hi kooykitty,

Yes Mosquito dunks work well, and they are sold at pond stores, and at many Home depot stores. There is a product called Mosquito bits that works faster. Please don't let your SO spray the pond again. If anyone loses a pet to drinking this water, or something like that it can become a very big deal.

If there are no fish in the water then you can take a water hose and place it in the bottom of the pond and overflow the pond to get a lot of the larvae out of the pond. Then stick in a Mosquito dunk. Good luck and thanks for visiting the forum.

Regards,
Lisa

Here is a link that might be useful: Mosquito Dunks

Mosquito Dunks will kill any larvae that are in the pond. Just toss one in. They are cheap and very effective. They do not harm pets or wildlife. I've been using them for many years.

Hi all. Thank you for your reply. I've never heard of mosquito dunks before - sounds like a great solution.

Goodkarma, yes I was a little upset when he sprayed the pond and he hasn't done it since. There aren't any fish in there so I think putting a garden hose in there is a good idea just to clean it out a bit - it's getting kind of smelly too.

Does anybody know when mosquitos hatch? Is it all summer long? What I'm wondering is whether or not I'll have to keep putting the dunks in there till first frost.

Again, thanks for your help.

In a lot of places the Dept of Water and Power will give you mosquito fish for free. Not sure how that works if it's a neighbor's pond. But they of course can be reported as the mosquitos are dangerous.

Hi again kookykitty,

The reason I suggested the pond overflow was the the Mosquito dunks product claims that they may take 30 days to work. Hence the mosquito bits wich supposedly work faster. Mosquitos will breed until the frost. You can buy the dunks in a 4 or 6 pack I believe. You are doing your neighbors a big favor by taking care of this health hazard. West Nile Virus is caused by Mosquito bites, so you are doing your neighborhood a service by addressing this issue.

Regards,
Lisa

Mosquito Dunks don't take 30 days to work. Mosquito Bits are a very short term solution, they don't last long at all and will cost more in the long run. A ten dollar package of dunks will last all summer.

Make sure you read the directions about water surface area, you likely won't need an entire dunk unless it is a big pond. They break apart easily.

You can go to the bait shop and get goldfish for about $6.00 a pound..maybe more depending on where you live. That will hold you for awhile but don't put many in. Just put in a few depending on the size of the pond. There is plenty of bugs for them to live on and they will be fine IF you don't put in to many. The alge won't hurt them at all.

You can also toss in a couple of quarts of vegetable oil. It will coat the surface and kill the mosquito larvae because they can't breathe through it.

I don't know how the yard is divided or if it is divided in the deed to your townhouse. It may be considered common to both units. If it is common property to both units, you may be legally responsible for its up keep. Ponds are not hard to maintain once they are in operation. It is a lot of fun watching the fish, birds, and small animals around the pond.

Several years ago we started with about a dozen $0.24 feeder fish in our 1500 gallon pond. We lost all but four the first year. However by the middle of June the following year we had hundreds of baby fish, and we have never had a need for fish since. We currently have about 60.

We use the pond donuts the first year and they worked great.

There are a number of things to consider here. My question is......why are you trying to keep it going? Are there fish in it? Plants? If so then you can either try to keep it going the best you can with frequent water changes and mosquito control. Otherwise, if there are not fish, etc. I would drain it. Who knows when someone will move into the place and they may not even want the pond. I don't what what part of the country you are in but depending on the size of the pond, its going to freeze if you live in a cold winter climate.
Personally, I would just pump it out. Even if it has fish you could catch them, put them in a holding container and offer them up for free on Craigslist or something like that.

I doubt any fish would survive insecticide being sprayed in the water. Mosquito dunks work for about 30 days, so your maintenance would be minimal.