My DH decided to help me this weekend by putting up the deer/rabbit netting around the garden. We have permanently-installed T-posts that we extend with UV-resistant ENT (attached with cable ties) to support the 7ft tall netting.

What I didn't realize (even though I walked past the big pile of dirt in front of the compost bin and wondered where that came from) was that he was trenching around 3 sides (left the south side where my strawberries were creeping out of their bed and into veggie beds inside fence). He filled the trenches with bark mulch and tried to use landscape pegs as usual to secure the bottom of the netting but they're pulling right out.

We can lower the netting so to extend the bottom over onto solid ground to pin the edge down and keep the critters out, but I'm concerned that the trench will fill with water and become a breeding ground for mosquitos. Or will the bark mulch discourage them from laying eggs?

We're supposed to get 1" of rain tonight and more tomorrow so I can hopefully point out the problem and not seem like I'm being unreasonable, but should we backfill with the dirt he just dug out (will still be soft and maybe a bit of a bathtub effect but won't encourage mosquitos), or just extend the trench to the lowest corner and drain it into the (already swampy part of) the back yard where he's tried to cut a swale running downhill into the woods?