A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Mosquitos everywhere!

Has anyone had or still have issues with mosquitos taking over the aquaponics system. I have thousands that i have been battling all summer and im about to snap. anyone got tips on how to rid my system of these little pests?

(Attached are photos of my set up... the first is a panoramic showing the fish tanks and grow bed 1-4, the second photo is of the fish tanks and the vortex filters that have lids on them, the third is grow bed 5-8 which are in the final build out and almost ready for planting.)

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Permalink Reply by Pat James on September 22, 2013 at 8:15am

Bob, until I read your post I assumed the flying insects I see around my won tanks were mosquitoes. I knew I had midge flies because I find the red larvae everywhere especially where algae accumulates. But had no idea what the flies looked like.

I also had/have mosquitoes in some of my raft beds. I know they were mosquitoes because of the larvae. My solution was to put a some fry into the bed.

Permalink Reply by Pat James on September 22, 2013 at 8:20am

Justin, that is some pretty work you have done on those growbeds. My own system looks more like a junkyard.

Permalink Reply by Robert Rowe on September 22, 2013 at 8:53am

Justin

Go to the Maricopa County sheriffs office(near 27th ave and Buckeye Rd). At the north East corner of the building you will find the Vector control office.

They have a supply of mosquito fish, which they provide to the public free of charge. Be sure to take a suitable transport container and when you fill out their form be sure to emphasize the amount of exposed water you have.

They gave me about 30 fish which I divided up among all my tanks.

I built a fish taxi with an ice chest(?10 Gal) and 2 battery powered aerators attached to the lid and the lines through the lid into the water .

Permalink Reply by Liz & Dan on September 22, 2013 at 8:56am

When I first started my system I had mosquitoes just explode... Then I got some guppies and they happily ate all the larvae. I have two small tanks, the tilapia and another tank that needed guppies to control the insects. What fish do you have and where in the system? Is there any opportunity to add some mosquito eaters?

Permalink Reply by Stephanie Bader on September 22, 2013 at 9:58pm

I have an abundance of mosquito fish if anyone needs them. They reproduce really quickly in my pond.

Permalink Reply by Kim Romen on October 10, 2013 at 9:16am

well, yikes. i haven't picked up my system, yet so am not happy to hear about this! Stephanie, i am trying to get 10 1-2 pound fish and a running system to my home this weekend. still trying to figure out how i'll do so without killing the fish... i was told that goldfish can be a good thing to add for a start to introduce ammonia. would mosquito fish also do the same? or will they die if i introduce them before the water is cycled? if it'll help get my system started faster as an added benefit, id love to get some! if not, i'll keep u in mind if i have a problem with mosquitos!

the set-up i'm buying just has a cubic foot door opening on top instead of the whole top being cut off. i wonder if that will make a difference. prob not as mosquitos seem to find any little puddle of water.

Stephanie Bader said:

I have an abundance of mosquito fish if anyone needs them. They reproduce really quickly in my pond.

Permalink Reply by Kim Romen on October 10, 2013 at 11:23pm

great video. thx! i'll make sure to watch more of those videos

Permalink Reply by Sheri Schmeckpeper on October 22, 2013 at 3:09pm

Have you gained control of your little visitors? We have never had a mosquito problem in our AP. I'm not sure why the attract to some and not others. Our water does flow well and we have ample dry layer on the beds.

We picked up some mosquito fish last week for our troughs, where mosquito do sometimes breed. I wanted to pick up enough to share, but we weren't allowed to without addresses. They want to know where the fish go since they're non-native. I wonder how they track the thousands that are bred and shared. :)

Permalink Reply by Kim Romen on October 22, 2013 at 6:59pm

what about birds? anyone have a prob with birds? i saw one AP that had spikes on the edges, I assume for pigeons. I saw the pigeons in my AP already-trying to get to the water. If it's kept at a minimum it's fine I guess, but wanted to see if there's something I should look out for. sorry, not trying to highjack the thread!

Permalink Reply by Sheri Schmeckpeper on October 22, 2013 at 10:27pm

Birds may or may not be a problem, but they'll be a problem whether you're gardening in AP or soil. I have birds visit my garden but they're eating bugs, which is a good thing. I've also had birds eat the tip tops of tomato seedlings, so I protect them now, and I they poke holes in tomatoes often enough.