Healthy Wetlands Don't Bite
HEALTHY WETLANDS DON T BITE ! *Healthy Wetlands are a Mosquito’s Worst Enemy!
It’s not complicated! While healthy wetlands (*emergent vegetation marshes) may not be for everyone, the simple “study” of *permanent-pooled wetlands involves a pair of waders and a seine. Permits, titles, degrees, and bug repellents are not needed. The consistent results are easily repeated…healthy wetlands swarm with mosquito predators – not mosquitoes!
First, Healthy Wetlands are not “Wet Holes” or “Mosquito Holes”! Look, it was one thing for our ancestors to have wallowed in the dim light of contrived wetland fables, but there is no excuse for today’s more enlightened descendents to carry on the myths. Fact, if there was a way to eliminate the biting female mosquito and her essential non-biting mate, science and retailers would have done it by now.
What?
Did you know that just a tablespoon of predator-free water can support a raft of 50400 mosquito eggs – each about 1/40” long? Typically, less than 1% of the mosquito eggs that are laid ever survive to become adults.
Ponds & Fish and Mosquitoes…
Over-managed “People Ponds” can spawn mosquitoes. Why? Fish, typically absent from oxygenlean wetlands, opportunistically forage on aquatic insects – including the many beneficial mosquito predators. These predators would abound in vegetated fish-less marsh wetlands.
Second, Healthy Wetlands are not “Mud Puddles”! No - not to be confused with isolated seasonal puddles or ephemeral pools, permanent-pooled marsh wetlands actually attract, sustain, and multiply countless beneficial mosquito predators – not mosquitoes! Yes, really. Of all of the sources of permanent and temporary water, healthy wetlands pose the greatest hazard and obstacle for the mosquitoes’ successful regeneration. Finally, healthy emergent marsh wetlands champion waterborne (macro invertebrates), terrestrial, and airborne mosquito predators. Period.
Mosquito Predators That Thrive in Healthy Wetlands!
Dragonflies (Nymphs & Adults) Damselflies (Nymphs & Adults) Water Striders Water Boatmen Water Scorpions Creeping Water Bugs Giant Water Bugs Crane Fly and Alderfly Larvae Non-Biting Midge Fly Larvae Opportunistic Snails Crayfish (Crawdads) Backswimmers Water Scavenger Beetles Predaceous Diving Beetles Whirligig Beetles Horseflies (Larvae & Adults) Red Water Mites and Spiders Frogs, Salamanders, Turtles Non-venomous Snakes Shorebirds, Ducks & Ducklings Opportunistic Birds & Bats
Biting Mosquito Recipes! Just Add Water….
Detention Basins Street Gutters Catch Basins Cisterns Ornamental Pools Over-watered Lawns Dripping Hoses Under-attended Bird Baths Tree Stumps Tire Ruts Un-tipped Wheelbarrows Clogged/Unplumbed Spouting Old Tires Cans Buckets Fast Food Cups/Packaging Grille Covers Sagging Tarps Flower Pots/Saucers Leaking Outdoor Faucets Air Conditioner Drain Puddles Rural Sewage Treatment Plants Any Other Artificial Containers
The Union Soil & Water Conservation District 18000 State Route 4, Suite B Marysville, Ohio 43040 (937) 642-5871. Ext 112 Brent Nickel Union SWCD Wildlife Specialist [email protected]
It’s not complicated! While healthy wetlands (*emergent vegetation marshes) may not be for everyone, the simple “study” of *permanent-pooled wetlands involves a pair of waders and a seine. Permits, titles, degrees, and bug repellents are not needed. The consistent results are easily repeated…healthy wetlands swarm with mosquito predators – not mosquitoes!
First, Healthy Wetlands are not “Wet Holes” or “Mosquito Holes”! Look, it was one thing for our ancestors to have wallowed in the dim light of contrived wetland fables, but there is no excuse for today’s more enlightened descendents to carry on the myths. Fact, if there was a way to eliminate the biting female mosquito and her essential non-biting mate, science and retailers would have done it by now.
What?
Did you know that just a tablespoon of predator-free water can support a raft of 50400 mosquito eggs – each about 1/40” long? Typically, less than 1% of the mosquito eggs that are laid ever survive to become adults.
Ponds & Fish and Mosquitoes…
Over-managed “People Ponds” can spawn mosquitoes. Why? Fish, typically absent from oxygenlean wetlands, opportunistically forage on aquatic insects – including the many beneficial mosquito predators. These predators would abound in vegetated fish-less marsh wetlands.
Second, Healthy Wetlands are not “Mud Puddles”! No - not to be confused with isolated seasonal puddles or ephemeral pools, permanent-pooled marsh wetlands actually attract, sustain, and multiply countless beneficial mosquito predators – not mosquitoes! Yes, really. Of all of the sources of permanent and temporary water, healthy wetlands pose the greatest hazard and obstacle for the mosquitoes’ successful regeneration. Finally, healthy emergent marsh wetlands champion waterborne (macro invertebrates), terrestrial, and airborne mosquito predators. Period.
Mosquito Predators That Thrive in Healthy Wetlands!
Dragonflies (Nymphs & Adults) Damselflies (Nymphs & Adults) Water Striders Water Boatmen Water Scorpions Creeping Water Bugs Giant Water Bugs Crane Fly and Alderfly Larvae Non-Biting Midge Fly Larvae Opportunistic Snails Crayfish (Crawdads) Backswimmers Water Scavenger Beetles Predaceous Diving Beetles Whirligig Beetles Horseflies (Larvae & Adults) Red Water Mites and Spiders Frogs, Salamanders, Turtles Non-venomous Snakes Shorebirds, Ducks & Ducklings Opportunistic Birds & Bats
Biting Mosquito Recipes! Just Add Water….
Detention Basins Street Gutters Catch Basins Cisterns Ornamental Pools Over-watered Lawns Dripping Hoses Under-attended Bird Baths Tree Stumps Tire Ruts Un-tipped Wheelbarrows Clogged/Unplumbed Spouting Old Tires Cans Buckets Fast Food Cups/Packaging Grille Covers Sagging Tarps Flower Pots/Saucers Leaking Outdoor Faucets Air Conditioner Drain Puddles Rural Sewage Treatment Plants Any Other Artificial Containers
The Union Soil & Water Conservation District 18000 State Route 4, Suite B Marysville, Ohio 43040 (937) 642-5871. Ext 112 Brent Nickel Union SWCD Wildlife Specialist [email protected]
