Mosquito larvae in the pool are unpleasant and can spoil the fun of swimming in summer. In the following we will tell you how you can get rid of mosquitoes and even prevent them.
Table of Contents
prevention
It is said that prevention is better than cure. This also applies to the insect larvae in the pool. If the laying of eggs or the hatching of the larvae can be prevented, the effort involved in combating them is kept to a minimum. This saves time, money, work and nerves. These measures can help:
- Cover: A simple tarpaulin can prevent insects from laying their eggs in the pool. The swimming pool is also protected from other dirt, such as flying leaves or other plant parts. This significantly reduces the effort for cleaning and the use of any existing filter.
- Chlorine: mosquito larvae cannot hatch in chlorinated water. In addition, the danger for other insects and the spread of algae is significantly lower. However, chlorine is not tolerated by everyone and can have a negative impact on skin health. Therefore, it should be dosed and applied according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If it is dosed too high or used too frequently, it can cause problems for the skin and mucous membranes.
- Water Movement: Mosquitoes do not lay their eggs in flowing water. Therefore, garden ponds, rainwater barrels and pools as well as ponds and lakes are the preferred storage locations. So if the water in the pool is set in motion, the pool becomes a deterrent for the insects. This can be achieved, for example, by a pump.
However, further and alternative measures can also be found in the fight against insects.
predators
In natural pools, but also in garden ponds and rain barrels, you can use the following predators to get rid of insects:
- Fish, such as goldfish or guppies
- frogs
- Lurche
- Molche
- dragonflies
Adult mosquitoes, on the other hand, are eaten by birds. It is therefore worth making the garden natural and attractive for beneficial insects.
Electronical devices
There is now a large selection of electric insect repellers and insect killers or catching devices on the market. The variants used are:
- Ultrasonic
- Strom
- UV light
The ultrasound is supposed to drive away the insects. A combination of light and an electrified screen attracts the mosquitoes and then electrocutes them if they touch the screen. The combination of sticky traps and light, on the other hand, attracts the insects so that they should land on the sticky surface.
However, there are two potential disadvantages. For one thing, mosquitoes aren’t as attracted to light as they are to smells. Therefore, the electrical devices are only partially effective. On the other hand, in addition to one or the other mosquito, insects in particular are attracted, which could prove to be useful in the garden.
smells and plants
Since the mosquito reacts more strongly to odors than to light, a defense with scents is obvious. The following plants can be used for this:
- basil
- Knoblauch
- lavender
- marigold
- rosemary
- Tomato
- lemongrass
- lemon balm
- lemon geranium
They are high in essential oils and act as a deterrent to mosquitoes. Planted in the bed in front of the pool or distributed throughout the garden, they can be just as effective as in a box on the window sill. An alternative to the plants themselves are the essential oils. These can be put on cloths, used in fragrance lamps or as candles.
Manual removal
A very inexpensive but time-consuming method of removing mosquito larvae from the pool is manual removal. All that is required for this is a landing net with a close-meshed net. The larvae swimming on the surface can be easily removed with the net.
Especially with larger swimming pools, however, a considerable effort must be planned. In addition, not all sections of the pool are equally easy to reach. Especially when mosquitoes are at their peak, you have to spend a lot of time every day skimming the larvae out of the water with a net.
The advantage here, however, is that no chemical agents have to be used. Follow-up costs, for example due to the electricity used for the filter, are also not incurred with this variant.
In addition, any other dirt, such as insects or leaves, is removed directly. Therefore, a landing net should always be ready when you buy a pool. Because even with a covering tarpaulin during rest periods, it is not always possible to avoid foreign objects flying in during use. The landing net is then a simple means of removing them quickly and with little effort, thus relieving the filter if there is one.
Filter
A filter brings together two possible measures that prevent mosquitoes from spreading and help to get rid of mosquito larvae that are already present in the pool. On the one hand, the water is moved, which has a deterrent effect on the insects and can prevent egg laying.
On the other hand, eggs and larvae can be removed from the water. The filtering also results in only a small additional effort. Unlike nets by hand, it takes far less time and effort. In addition, you can also remove finer dirt, such as algae, before they form deposits on the walls and bottom of the pool.
Chemical control
Chlorine is a chemical and inexpensive agent, but some people are sensitive to it. Chlorine can severely irritate the skin, mucous membranes and eyes. Therefore it is not always the best choice.
An alternative for existing mosquito larvae are so-called larvicides. These can be added to the water and kill the larvae. The advantage here is that getting rid of or killing the mosquito larvae in the pool requires little effort. The disadvantage of this, however, is that the larvae die but still have to be removed. Otherwise, the dead insects will gradually decompose and may form a greasy film or float in the water as foreign bodies.
Even after the introduction of larvicide, everything must either be skimmed off with a net or the insect larvae must be removed through a filter.
