One Dragonfly Can Eat 100+ Mosquitoes Daily. Here’s How To Attract Them

Dragonflies have always captured my vision since I was a child . I used to lay down on my back in the grass in the early evening and watch them flit around the sky , darting back and onward . I can even remember a few times when a dragonfly larva blessed the pool at my parent ’ house . I ’d watch them crawl out of the water and hatch out into adult dragonflies , result behind an empty scale that was so interesting to a young person . Learning how to draw dragonflies to my garden has been a high precedence for me as an adult .

While I think back the dragonflies , I do n’t remember any mosquito bothering me . And there may be secure cause for that ! A individual adult dragonfly can eat anywhere from 30 to hundred of mosquitoes in a exclusive twenty-four hour period . And not just that , but their larvae prey on mosquito larvae as well . Your snake doctor belt down mosquitoes at almost every stage of life !

Create a pond or water feature

pull skeeter hawk to your garden can be a fiddling bit tricky . They take to the skies each day to retrieve their nutrient , entail they do n’t really need your garden for much of anything . you may plant bloom that will attractpollinatorswhich will , in turn , attract dragonfly that exhaust them , but your best bet for fetch mosquito hawk to you is through a small pond .

darning needle require body of water to regurgitate . They repose their eggs in dead body of water , where the larva then develop up and prey on low louse and animals that go in the pool . You do n’t need a vast pool to pull dragonflies , but one at least two feet rich is ideal . Some have been able to breed dragonflies just in plastic tubs above terra firma .

Add water plants to attract dragonflies

A bucketful of water by itself probably wo n’t pull in dragonflies though . For replication , they appear for natural physical structure of H2O . They ’ll require their egg - laying emplacement to have destiny of plant for their nymphs to climb and hide under . Lots of aquatic flora are the name of the game – plant like sister pondweed , Cabomba caroliniana , eelgrass , and sago pondweed are all winners for snake doctor . Lilies and lotuses that have float leave offer a place for your new dragonfly friend to land and lay their eggs .

Dragonflies also like stones that they can land on . Lining your small sewing needle pool with compressed flagstones gives them a billet to land and bank their eggs . If they ca n’t land safely near the piddle , they wo n’t leave their eggs !

Create an ideal habitat for baby dragonflies

Like grownup dragonflies , the nymph are carnivores . They wo n’t eat plants but will lief go after just about any sort of aquatic beast that they can realistically catch . They are fuck to eat mosquito larvae , water beetles , worms , and even larger catches like small fish and tadpoles . Making certain that your dragonfly pool is stocked with mass of piddling things for the nymphs to eat is a central constituent . fend off add larger fish . little Pisces can avail curb mosquito populations as well .

They also need concealing place . This is why lend water plants to your pond is so important . They will conceal among the thick plant growing inside of your pool , help them avoid predators .

Avoiding a mosquito takeover

Creating a dragonfly - friendly pool poses the challenge of initially attract mosquitoes , which cover in dead weewee , before dragonflies establish themselves as elementary inhabitants . attentive provision can prevent your pond from becoming a mosquito haven and make it a welcoming environment for devil’s darning needle , natural mosquito predatory animal .

Effective strategy include keeping the weewee moving with a pump to deter mosquitoes , using skimming mechanisms to remove mosquito ball and larvae , and managing pond botany to ward off overly dense increment that bring home the bacon concealing spots for mosquito larvae . Encouraging dragonflies too soon by create an ideal habitat with slew of alight place and diverse vegetation also helps assure mosquitoes by nature .

If mosquito populations remain obstinate , consider environmentally secure larvicidal product arrest Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis ( Bti ) , which target mosquito larvae without harming other wildlife . By implementing these strategy , you’re able to carry off your pool to avoid a mosquito coup while create an inviting home ground for dragonflies . This balanced overture ensure your water characteristic heighten your property ’s ecosystem , providing a beautiful and lifelike method for controlling mosquitoes and bask the benefits of take skeeter hawk as part of your garden wildlife .

blue dragonfly

Help dragonflies avoid predators

To maintain high dragonfly population and reduce mosquito pressure , denigrate snake feeder depredation is essential . birdie , spiders , bat , mantids , and some carnivorous tent flap feed on dragonflies . While you ca n’t completely prevent this natural predation , you may aid by planting a variety of shrubs , trees , and bloom to give dragonflies dependable places to rest when they ’re not trace mosquitoes .

youthful dragonflies , or nymphs , are also vulnerable to water - dwelling predators . To protect them , avoid carry your pool with larger Pisces the Fishes and leave sizeable aquatic plants for the nymph to hide . These whole tone will help ensure a thriving dragonfly universe , enhancing their role in hold in mosquitoes around your property .

Offer Perching Spots

Offering light spot is crucial for pull in dragonflies , as these insects spend a significant amount of prison term resting or waiting for quarry and mate . Using a variety of materials , such as bamboo stake , metal rods , natural branch , and even rebar , can make in force perching spot . These material should be tall enough to stand out above smother vegetation and unchanging enough to support dragonflies . Including perches at different heights , ranging from 2 to 6 feet above the earth or water , allow dragonflies to choose their preferred advantage points , supply to different species with vary habits .

Positioning perching spots around the edges of ponds or water lineament , and within nearby vegetation , maximise their effectiveness . Placing some perches in sunny sphere helps dragonflies warm up , while shaded spots offer relief during hot 24-hour interval . Creating clusters of perches can supply to both solitary and group - living devil’s darning needle and add ocular appeal to your garden . Maintaining these perch by continue them percipient of overgrown vegetation and check their stability enhances their utility . Incorporating natural features like tall grasses , reeds , and shrub ply additional perching choice and ecological benefits , creating an ask in environs for darning needle .

Incorporate a Variety of Habitats

Incorporating a variety of home ground within your property is substantive for attracting and supporting a various universe of snake doctor , as unlike species have unique habitat preferences . Creating a mosaic of interlink habitats offers the good opportunity of meeting the needs of various dragonfly mintage throughout their life history cycles . Open water areas are vital for breeding and hunt , while submerge vegetation like ditchmoss or waterweed bring home the bacon essential hiding spots for larvae and contributes O to the water . Floating plant such as lily lodgings offer alight bit and platforms for testis - laying , and timber areas assist as decisive refuge and hunt ground , provide protection and eating opportunity .

Meadow or grassland areas near urine bodies make fertile environs for the insects dragonflies prey upon , bid perching and roosting sites . Edge habitats , the transitional zones between dissimilar types of environments , bear out high biodiversity , providing abundant chance for feeding , pairing , and shelter . By integrating these varied habitats into your belongings , you create a rich and complex environment that supports a wide cooking stove of dragonfly metal money , fulfilling their lifecycle necessary and promoting a sustainable ecosystem . This overture not only gain dragonflies but also enhances the overall biodiversity and health of your garden , create a more vivacious and ecologically balanced environs .

Avoid Using Pesticides

Avoiding the use of chemic pesticide is all-important in creating a habitat that is inviting to devil’s darning needle , as these subject matter can be harmful not only to the skeeter hawk themselves but also to the all-embracing diverseness of target they fertilize on . When pesticide are used in a garden or near a H2O feature , they can rule out the very worm that snake doctor bet on for food , thereby reducing the dragonfly population . what is more , the chemicals can directly envenom snake feeder , peculiarly their aquatic houri degree , which are extremely sensitive to change in water quality .

To foster a dragonfly - friendly surround , it ’s beneficial to embrace born pest controller strategies that do n’t trust on chemical interventions . This approach involves promote the presence of natural predators that will serve control pest populations . For instance , birds , bats , frogs , and other beneficial worm can dally a substantial role in keeping pests at bay , and their front chip in to a balanced ecosystem that supports the well - being of dragonflies .

water lilies