Don't want dragonflies

[turbulentindigo]

Last year we had to drain our very small pond when we found out what had been eating EVERYTHING in it (fish, tadpoles, waterboatmen) - there were several dragonfly larvae. Before we refill & re-stock, does anyone have a suggestion of how to prevent a recurrence? We have thought of putting a mesh over the pond, but then frogs would not be able to get in & any vegetation would have to be low level.

[Kayleigh]

Dragonflies are a beautiful and necessary part of wildlife fish are not....
live with them.

[Mungo]

I can't believe someone would post this on a wildlife forum!

I agree with Kayleigh!

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by turbulentindigo

Last year we had to drain our very small pond when we found out what had been eating EVERYTHING in it (fish, tadpoles, waterboatmen) - there were several dragonfly larvae. Before we refill & re-stock, does anyone have a suggestion of how to prevent a recurrence? We have thought of putting a mesh over the pond, but then frogs would not be able to get in & any vegetation would have to be low level.

I think your proposition that dragonfly larvae are responsible for eating everying in your pond is misguided - why do you think that the larvae are eating more than the frogs or fish ?

My suspicion is that you did far more harm to the health of your pond by draining, than anything the larvae did, no matter how voracious they are.

CM

[Dogghound]

As the others have said, its highly likely the fish have been feeding on the other pond life. Dragonfly nymphs are unlikely to predate waterboatmen. It is part of a healthy ecosystem to have them all living together, in the long run your pond will benifit from this. Although it will not benifit from having fish which eat most things and produce lots of waste which decreases the water quality.

[Meta menardi]

First of all, welcome to the site. I think that every pond will find it's own equilibrium, imagine some beautiful dragonflies in the garden and your pond finding it's own ecological level. There are some very interesting bits in Konrad Lorenz's book, "King Solomons Ring". He was a pioneer of the study of animal behaviour, and describes trying to maintain un-natural habitats and how they go wrong. Don't fight it, go with it.

[turbulentindigo]

Sorry I've upset everyone Our pond had been full of life for about 10 years, just a few tiny goldfish, about 2 inches long, frogs, tadpoles etc all getting along quite happily. We wanted to keep it "natural" - yes, I know the goldfish were not natural, but they were the first things to disappear. Long after the fish had gone we tried "introducing" tadpoles, which would seem to be thriving, then suddenly disappear.
Again, sorry to offend you all

[galanthus]

Welcome to WAB turb.

yes bit of a shame to have drained pond etc etc, I agree with all, dragonflies are fantastic things to have and a pond is best left to colonise naturally , minus nasty fish. Probably best stick with us on the site so you can read lots of threads on it and then we wld love an update on your 'wildlife' pond and it's fight back to natural health.

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by turbulentindigo

Sorry I've upset everyone

Well, if you must introduce yourself as "turbulent... "

Hi, welcome to WAB
Your goldfish were probably taken by a heron, which might have come back for the frogs
T2

[Bullseye]

If you've got a pond you'll get dragonfly (and damselfly) nymphs,no way to stop them.They scoff lots of my taddies each year,and a few of my tropical fish that I put in the pond if it's a warm summer.But,if you watch one crawl up a stem,split it's outer case and drag itself out as an adult,well,you cant help thinking your watching a bit of magic.