We have a bathouse by our pond, but no takers yet.
Our son installed a huge one last year and got
a bat right away...just one though, he named him
Bruce! When he told me he named him Bruce, I cracked up!
Joann

{{gwi:183555}}

We have bats here, as well as a pond, and farmland all around, which means irrigation canals and breeding grounds. With mosquito fish in the pond and bats in the air, we still have mosquitos, because they have to hatch somewhere. Bats are wonderful, helpful creatures, but there's no way they'd be able to do the job of keeping any (or ALL) of the blood suckers from your warm body if they so intend. :)

You can also get the mosquito dunks, which won't hurt anything but future mosquitos. Not sure how many you'd have to get for that size pond, though.

Brenda

The "special fish" that you refer to is mosquito fish. They require no special attention. I keep them in barrels and small troughs to combat my mosquitoes.

Bats are good only if the mosquitoes are flying.

Happy ponding,
Scott

I have a set up a pond with plants no fish up in the catskills and some frogs have decided they like it and return every year. It is a weekend place and gets boarded up every winter. About 5 years ago some bats decided they like to live in the bathroom window that is boarded up, they preferred that to bat house. So now we leave that window boarded up and they return every year. I have noticed that the mosquitos go away when the bats return.

Thanks all for the help. I think I will put up a couple bat houses and see how it goes this summer, at least I'll help out the bats if they like the houses and maybe I'll put the name Bruce on one house to attract them. I'm thinking of putting in a veggie garden right next to the pond too, maybe the combo of frogs and bats will minimize bug problems in the garden.

Bruce and Kermit, the dynamic duo!