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hebdemnobad

five gallon bucket+mosquito dunks+pond water+twigs: dragonflies?

hebdemnobad
14 years ago

Colleagues:

I'm thinking of digging a hole in my back yard, sticking a five gallon bucket in it, filling it with pond water, sticking some twigs to stick out of it, and spiking it with mosquito dunks.

Would dragonflies be attracted to such a small body of water?

Comments (14)

  • hawkiefriend
    14 years ago

    I can tell you that dragonflies love to lay eggs in dirt in planted pond plant pots. I am not sure they they lay them in the kitty litter style pond planting mix. But we have TONS of beautiful red and blue dragonflies now, and plenty of the HIDEOUS children in the pond plant pots that used our garden dirty. Those nymphs are as UGLY as the dragonflies are pretty!

    Also what if the mosquito dunks would kill the eggs or nymphs? I don't know.

  • hardin
    14 years ago

    http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/dragonflies.cfm

    This link has a little information for you. Hope it helps. Sounds like you have the right ideas going.

  • sleeplessinftwayne
    14 years ago

    The only thing affected by the Mosquito Dunks are Black flies and mosquito larva. Sandy

  • buyorsell888
    14 years ago

    I use Mosquito Dunks in all of my ponds and they are full of dragonflies and damselflies. Go for it.

  • hebdemnobad
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks for your $.02's!

    The nwf link states that the pond should be at least two feet deep. I'll obtain a 50 gallon bucket and shave it down to two feet, then stick it into a hole.

    I'll report back with my results.

  • buyorsell888
    14 years ago

    Want something more attractive though not as cheap?

    Get a black plastic whiskey barrel liner. Use waterproof clear silicone caulk to decorate the rim with flat polished stones or half marbles from a craft store and sink it into the ground.

    Lousy picture but you get the idea, this one is a half depth liner not full depth. Plants are potted in pea gravel in plastic mesh pots. Normally the rims don't show. The bright colors match other decor in the bed and don't look as bad as they do in this photo.

    {{gwi:223035}}

  • Calamity_J
    14 years ago

    Oh...you have lighting beside your pond too, good on ya!!! I'm all about garden bling so I LOVE your glass glob bling!!!

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:145064}}

  • buyorsell888
    14 years ago

    I have a water garden in a galvanized metal tub too but yours is much nicer than mine! mine is sort of a holding spot for plants I haven't figured out what to do with yet.

  • hebdemnobad
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thank you for the suggestions everyone. I'm going to go the route of the 50 (55?) gallon drum). It's free and I feel better using it than a pond liner as I'm something of a tree hugger who doesn't want more plastic to be created on my account.

    I'm going to pile some rocks in it (I'm in the catskills and we have plenty of rocks everywhere) to give the critters some varied depths and places for the nymphs to hide.

    I'll also put it next to my buried kiddie pool bog garden so perhaps frogs and their ilk can commute from one watery place to the other.

  • hebdemnobad
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    the drum is in the ground, filled by well water and pond water. i filled it with rocks to provide veried depth. it's surrounded by the clayey subsoil from my excavations andthe whole thing looks pretty ugly.

    time to clean things up and plant marginal plants

  • hawkiefriend
    14 years ago

    The nymphs LOVE dirt (clay soil). I think they are the ugliest creatures EVER but when I take up a plant that I planted in clay soil underwater, there are always those disgusting bugs in there. How could such hideous nymphs make such beautiful creatures?

  • hebdemnobad
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I've finished the heavy work and it's ugly:

    The pond is the diameter of a 55 gallon drum (around a foot and a halve) and I cut it down to be around 2 feet deep.

    Do the rocks provide sufficient escape ramps for frogs seeking to exit the pond? If you have any suggestions on removing some of the rocks, let me know.

    Would anyone have suggestions on frog and dragonfly nymph friendly plants to plant in the pond?
    {{gwi:223037}}

  • hebdemnobad
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    it's been over a year now....towards the end of last summer the pond had two resident frogs, and then one much bigger resident frog.

    by late last fall my 55 gallon drum pond had an established residece of water fleas and other barely visible critters

    late in may my son and I found a quivering puddle of dying wood frog tadpoles in a just dried up vernal pool. we scooped them up and dumped them in the pond

    there appear to be larval insects down there now, at least ones big enough to kill and gut a tadpole, and now there is a graduating class of a few wood frogs each day (they come up and then split asap, perhaps because a big healthy water snake has also taken up lodging right next to the pond)

    all in all, it has come a long way in a year, and the bog garden i built last summer a few feet away is now an impenetrable mat of ferns and other plants

    will post photos

  • annedickinson
    13 years ago

    Good for you. It's great when an experiment is successful. I look forward to seeing the pics.

    Anne

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