Summer may be on its way out for most people in the Northern Hemisphere, but that doesn’t mean it’s taking all the bugs with it. 

Bugs are the bane of many peoples’ existence, and most of these people will turn to insecticides to keep their homes free of these pests.

However, depending on the makeup of your backyard—specifically, those backyards that have outdoor water features with aquatic creatures—one must take additional care before they start spraying willy-nilly, else they might end up harming their fish/other aquatic creatures.

In this article, we’ll discuss some specific methods you should use when it comes to spraying insecticides around pond fish and to keep your backyard mosquito-free while keeping your fish safe. 

Keep in mind that many easily-accessible insecticides are toxic to fish, so make sure you do your research before you start targeting those bugs.

What’s The Harm?

In case you’re still uncertain about the risks of potential toxicity to your fish, here is some additional information about most insecticides. 

Back in the 40s, the rate of synthetic pesticides and insecticides production increased, but with the additional amount of them, the risk to fish and other pond dwellers also increased. 

When insecticides are sprayed near water sources, chemicals will eventually enter the water—through spraying directly into the water or drainage into the pond—and cause harm to the fish.

The harm can lead to contamination of the water and thus, death to your fish and other aquatic creatures.

When you realize that fish-pond mosquitos tend to like staying near water sources, you might feel tempted to spray all around the area they spawn and be done with it, but don’t do that, unless you also want to hurt the fish!

What Can You Do?

If you’ve reached this point in this article, you’ve now been made aware of the dangers of spraying insecticides without proper protection/knowledge, and you’re probably now wanting to know what you can do to keep the mosquitoes from biting you while also keeping your fish and other pond dwellers safe.

Read on to learn some ways to kill and remove those mosquitos while also saving your fish!

Add A Moving Water Feature

One of the reasons why mosquitoes are so drawn to ponds and the like is because ponds are a source of still water . . . and mosquitos use still water to breed.

As such, if you add a feature to your pond that will stir up the water—such as a waterfall, fountain, or aerator—you’ll automatically decrease the number of mosquitos that come to frequent your backyard.

This is a natural and safe way that will reduce the number of mosquitos you might find in your backyard and, depending on how bad your mosquito infestation is, you might not even have to worry about spraying an insecticide and endangering your fish.

Let Natural Selection Run Its Course

It just so turns out that there are animals out there who eat mosquitos and thrive on doing so! Those pesky buggers might finally get a taste of their own hunger-driven medicine with this method. 

If you’re not a fan of chemicals and don’t want to change up the style of your outdoor water design, you should look into these specific types of animals to add to your backyard: bats and certain types of fish.

With this method for taking care of the mosquitos, you can have it be a two-pronged attack: from the air and from below.

Bats love to eat mosquitos and if you manage to stock your pond with fish that find mosquitos to be a delicacy, you’ll automatically reduce the number of mosquitos you might have to deal with.

Check Your Chemicals

If you’ve reached this point and you’re still dead-set on using a chemical sprayer to murder those mosquitos, take care when doing so.

One of the best, and safest, chemicals to use when it comes to protecting your pond from mosquitos without risking the creatures in the water is to use products that contain the natural larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, or Bti for short.

This particular chemical is safe for people, pets, plants, and fish, but is also super deadly to mosquitoes and their larvae.

You should make sure to check any and all insecticides before using them.

Even if you’re sort of certain that it should be safe, make sure to double-check.

Many products will largely proclaim on the front of the packaging that they are, “extremely toxic to fish and marine life,” but even if the product has it on the front, still be wary.

Be even warier if a product doesn’t have that warning, and perhaps avoid it entirely.

In particular, the best option for spraying around water like streams, ponds, and lakes is the following product:

Essentria IC. It’s a concentrate that is made up of a mixture of all-natural food-grade actives—as such, it does not pose a risk to people, wildlife, or aquatic life in your pond or other outdoor water creatures while murdering the pesky insects that want to ruin your outdoor experiences. 

Essentria IC is one of the only products that can be used around water features safely, so looking into this brand might save you a bunch of time, energy, and potential heartache.

Waging War

At this point, you should understand the dangers and risks, while also knowing which products are the best to use for your fishy friends to keep them safe. 

There are a number of methods that can be used to protect yourself from bites while also keeping your fishes’ health in mind, but only you can decide which is the best method for you.

At the end of the day, there are many ways to fight off the mosquitos, but once you’ve prepared as much as you can—with the right products and the right amount of care—you will be able to wage war against these pests.

And, once you’ve won all the battles and the war, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your outdoor amenities without being bitten up and miserable.