Deadly Pond Predators and Pests

[@RachelOLeary]

Pests and predators are a part of summer tubbin'. What pests are you guys dealing with this season? Fan mail can be sent to: PO box 146 Manchester PA 17345 Buy me a coffee: msjinkzd.com/about_msjinkzd/support-our-site/ Instagram @msjinkzd Website and stocklist: msjinkzd.com/stocklist/

[@heavenlyweapon8721]

Hi Mrs. O’Leary. First I would say I love your videos. I don’t know how. Well actually I do. You are so knowledgeable, and passion. But you make all your video so easy and fun to watch. All your videos are full of wisdom and facts. Anyways I did not make the comment just to kiss up to you. But I wanted know what kind of soil mixture you put in your outdoor potted plants. They always look so good. I have been trying a few things. But to no success. My problem is always trying to experiment with the most healthy and organic ingredients I can find for the health of the fish. I started with pet fish, because I wanted to know a little bit abour aquaponics. Now I just loved everything about fish. And it all just started with a love for plants. Listen I would talk for hours. But I guess I should keep it short. Thank you for all you do.

[@RachelOLeary]

I like to use the organic aquatic soil from my local garden center topped with gravel or sand. Thanks for the kind words

[@bengreen171]

I have some serious ethical concerns about dosing tubs that- and I admit I'm just assuming here, cycles water from your local aquifer and back. If that water ends up in the outside environment, doesn't this mean that you are effectively polluting the natural water system in your area. You cited your emergent plants as stopping you from using netting - but a simple wooden frame would give enough clearance and still prevent dragonflies and other insects accessing the water.

[@brandishoogy]

You are so well spoken, intelligent, knowledgeable, informative and your videos are so interesting and enjoyable to watch... You also look fantastic. Hope you are healing well..😃

[@RachelOLeary]

what a nice, positive comment. Thanks. Gave me a much needed smile today as our heat index hits 110F!

[@bradbrad9561]

Great video. As an entomologist just getting into the fish hobby, it's an interesting perspective on these insects I had never considered. You mentioned predatory beetle larvae, which would be the family Dytiscidae. They are predacious as both larvae and adults. Some of the aquatic bugs like backswimmers, water scorpions, and giant water bugs could also negatively affect your tanks. On the other hand, there are so many interesting non-predatory aquatic/semi-aquatic insects, some of which could make interesting additions to an aquarium!

[@masonfranz9313]

In the beginning of setting up the tubs I would get large clouds of mosquito larvae. I've seen the shells of the water scorpions. I've also seen groups of blood worms in the substrate in the morning and then they would go up to the surface later in the day. The amount of insects seems to diminish the longer the tank is established. Why is that?

[@Attrazi]

Hey Brad, I'm a biologist as well, but I'll admit insects are one of my weak areas. I've always been curious about adding some insects to a plaudarium that I'm making. What would you suggest?

[@Johnson_weasel]

Love the old chevy sitting in the back ground. Great video thanks

[@charlesyarbrough1180]

The 64-65 chevy small window in the background was a real bonus!

[@coelacanth9311]

Thank you Rachel, your videos are always very informative.

[@307outdoors8]

I haven't had much issue with the deer, coon and feral cats. Turns out a 22-250, a couple boxes of ammo and a few ADC deer licenses takes care of those problems (I'm literally 11 miles from any other person so these cats are wilder than the coon.) My biggest issue has been the weather. A couple days ago It was 93 then it was 52 and it was 102 today. Can't be good for the fish.

[@devyc102]

Thank you for posting this! Congrats on walking around without using a cane! Didn't even know there were products out there like the one you showed in the video.

[@RachelOLeary]

Getting around mostly without the cane but my endurance is iffy at best, lol. One day at a time, working hard! Thanks for the kind words.

[@Noggle88]

Great information! I have been seening things like this in my tadpole tubs

[@gailc.goodwin2053]

You're always a pleasure to watch, so knowledgeable on subjects. You're looking great, so cool in this hot spell. Have a wonderful day 🐠🐠🐠

[@RachelOLeary]

i shot at 7am this morning! hahahah With heat index, its 110F today!

[@gailc.goodwin2053]

Rachel O'leary Central NY is super hot now too. Lots of humidity. 🐠

[@BradfordAquatics]

I'm glad to hear the water boatman aren't predatory! I've had a ton of them in my tubs this year!

[@rachela2727]

Damn dragonflies!! And for some reason my brain put summer tubbing in place of summer loving in the grease song😂😂😂 it's stuck in my head

[@RachelOLeary]

summer tubbin' had me a blast! It is intentional ;)

[@rachela2727]

Rachel O'leary you literally have that stuck now! That was intentional brainwashing 😂😂 but I love ya so it's okay💜

[@mcnama29]

Looking great, Rachel! Very informative video as always.

[@masonfranz9313]

I"ve been fascinated by the dragon flies ability to find my tubs in my fenced in back yard a mile away from downtown Dallas, TX, considering the nearest natural water resource is a mile or more away. I've had about 3 different species and have watched them mate and lay eggs in the tubs. I have black stripe top minnows in both of my tubs as well as other killifish, so I haven't seen any of the larvae or molted shells, but wouldn't be surprised if nature won out. For now I'm not going to treat, but I really appreciate your research and possible actions.

[@tsarminyabright984]

I remember helping clean my cousins pool the beginning of every summer and all the frogs and bugs that would be living in it. We would get in and go around and around to make a current and scoop out what settled in the middle.

[@GirlTalksFish]

Ooo, such a good topic. I'm always afraid to try summer tubbing because of predators, but this video really helped explain some methods of defense.

[@afterburnerboyz]

Thank you so much for this! Your videos are super informative and you are very well spoken. I'm very happy when I see a new video from you. Btw, you are looking freaking amazing! I live in the Bronx just outside of NYC and I have raccoons, skunks, and possum running around all night. I've lost a few of my koi from my pond a couple of years ago and just recently found a large dead possum float in the koi pond a few weeks ago. My 100 gallon tub stays on the deck.

[@RachelOLeary]

Ew. Dead possum are not a fun experience

[@Fumango]

I once founded a tadpole in a drying pond he havent developed as fast as his brothers so I did him a favor I putted him in my empty 29 gallon I grew him up he is a big frog now :)

[@Xxkilluminati91xX]

That Chevy is really cool. You've got good taste!

[@beth-rg8bm]

One dragon fly can eat a surprising large lot of small fish fry!

[@DM-py7pj]

Really interesting. Thank you so much for this video. I love seeing the breadth of your work.

[@submergedroots]

I've been pulling Bladderwort out of my planted aquarium. I think that it came from a plant that I bought from a local fish store. I didn't even know that it was carnivorous until I searched the internet for it. This was after I had discovered Hydra as well. This is my first planted aquarium, and I've already learned so much. I knew about pest snails like bladder snails, but no one ever talks about pests such as Bladderwort or Hydra, which can potentially kill your livestock. Great video as always. I love to watch your content because you are always so knowledgeable and informative.

[@juliemartinezhayes8319]

This is so informative!! I hope you get some white cloud fry soon. It's great to see you up and walking around (and not in so much pain).

[@COOPERSCICHILDS]

Love reading the comments after watching your vids I can't have a tub my yard is too small and wifey hates bugs i'm lucky I have so many tanks in my cave so better no push it! Tanks for sharing

[@RachelOLeary]

happy wife, happy life! If she hates bugs, maybe a bog garden to eat those pesky insects? i am a terrible enabler!

[@madfishdiva]

Looks like you are getting around better. Good for you. This is really good information.

[@kzookid2051]

Another great video for the tub series. Thanks.

[@FullMoonAquatics]

Thank you Rachel! I remembered seeing this. I just found a full grown dragon fly in my BNP breeding tank last night. It’s indoors, just near the door. It either flew in or came in on plants I bought from a pond at a water garden. I dip plants in potassium permanganate. So, doubt anything made it through that treatment. It likely came in the front door. There is often standing water in my apartment complex and I have seen many around. Anyhow, got a few of us talking and thinking on my local group (Houston GHAC, you have chatted with us there before). So, I am sharing the link for this video. Also recommending your summer tub videos. Appreciate all you do!

[@Dreaded88]

@Rachael O'Leary: Aw nah! those damned Dragonfly Nymphs again!!!???!!! We need some Frogs, Newts, Salamanders, and some Framed-Mesh that will allow Bee's to come through, but stop Dragonfly's. Oh, and some small Birdhouses for Finches! Easy way to get rid of Racoons without shooting: *put out bowls of Mothballs!*

[@opercula]

Very informative video, Rachel. More importantly, you're looking great !!

[@mikaellow906]

Hello Rachel What a great video you made Intressting and learnable Thank you for sharing your tips from your friend Mikael take care Rachel 😊👍👍🇸🇪

[@dobegirl101]

Hey Lady! Hope you are feeling as good as you look!! Love you vids, please, keep up the great work!!

[@richardhuff8201]

They are dragonfly larva. As a kid I would catch them. Good to see you are getting around .

[@carlapappalardo1901]

Wow Rachel, see what exciting guest posts your topics generate!

[@RachelOLeary]

Right?

[@matthewmoorecichlids2323]

Great vid Rachel!

[@catfishcave379]

Filed away for when I set up a pond - Great info!

[@zzospreyzz55]

Both of tubs this year have some sort of red worm. Vertically compressed, about 3" long, swims efficiently in the water column, rests on the sides of the bin. Can't find them when I have the net or the camera. Not sure if I should rip the tubs apart or not. Have never seen them before and can't find info online. Baby fish are doing well in the one tub. Other fish seem ok in the other tub. No visible fry yet though

[@jonstfrancis]

The waterlouse (Asellus aquaticus) destroyed all my shrimps. Couldn't get rid of them until I introduced some weatherfish from another tank that hunted them all down. I later read they will eat fry too.

[@ofthebeanvariety]

For a future net option, could you make an elevated net to allow emergent plant growth while protection the tubs from dragonflys? Hopefully there will be more plants next year. Hope your knee is healing and that it stops inhibiting you and your projects.

[@RachelOLeary]

I probably could, but in 12 years of summer tubbin', this is the first season I have had this big of a problem. Not sure if its how many plants I used (or didn't use), the crazy spring we had, or what but I don't really want to ruin the aesthetic I achieve if its not a consistent problem.

[@ofthebeanvariety]

Gotcha!

[@Kaz8692]

I have a shrimp tank which I bought some new plants for. After that, I lost a load of shrimp and didn't have many shrimplets. Then I found out I had some dragonfly larva. I only saw one and it disappeared fast. The only thing I could think of was to put some fish in and hope they eat the lava and not the shrimp. Months after that, now and again I found dragonflies flying out of my tank I must have had a lot that lived. I lost a lot of shrimp that year but they bounced back as shrimp do. How would you deal with them when you find them in your indoor tanks? Love your videos as always, Never miss, I would love to have tubs outside but I live in Scotland and only get a few months of proper summer. :-)

[@Papazo12]

Hi Rachel thank you for this video, extremely informative. I have had numerous Medaka (1-3 cm long) disappearing from my pond and yesterday I saw what looked like a big spider shooting across the surface of the pond into the plants, could this be a dragon fly nymph? It was very fast and looked like one but would they prey on Medaka that big? I have had chicken wire netting over the pond so I know it was not birds. Thank you

[@Loricarii]

I don't have a back yard or garden so I don't do the tubbing (for now) but I also have white cloud minnows, and have only gotten one single fry this year. My friend is balcony tubbing and she had gotten zero fry. It's a bit strange since they're normally not difficult to breed. Non of us has any explanation for this, everything looks fine and water is ok. I know I have a lot of blackworms in my substrate, perhaps they eat the eggs? Good luck to you with your minnows, it's a lovely little fish!

[@RachelOLeary]

interesting. I am hoping for lots of fry. Fingers crossed!

[@tanyasch]

I had 2 of those dragonflys in my guppy aquarium inside, and I lost a lot of fry before I found they. They are mean. I guess they came with some new plants I got.

[@RachelOLeary]

that is a shame. It is pretty common for them to come in on pond reared plants (from the large plant farms). Often the farms will treat the plants wiht a pesticide to prevent it, but that pesticide is also deadly to our shrimp and snails so I even quarantine plants for a month before putting them in my aquariums wiht invertebrates

[@tanyasch]

Rachel O'leary Tropica normally do not use chemicals in there plants, but I bought from a store with a huge koi pond inside and they have dragonflys in the store. I guess one of them laid in the aquatic plant display tank. I now only get plants from stores that sells from tropica in the small pots with lids. (Called 1-2-3 grow)

[@mariaz9538]

Hi. I'm in New Jersey and I find that raccoons don't like mint so I keep some in pots around my pond and haven't had a problem with them since

[@RachelOLeary]

nice tip!

[@NOoneENV]

Great video 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@patrickduffy4646]

Love the pickup truck

[@susanhaunschild329]

Have you considered using flexible tent poles to hold up the fine mesh cover so the dragonflies can't get in?

[@RachelOLeary]

This is the first year it's been a real issue honestly.

[@NicoleVernet]

Thanks for this info! I'm currently researching ponds-hoping to put one in next year! Just wondering your thoughts, how deep a pond will deter raccoons? We have A LOT around here and I was definitely thinking goldfish. Thanks Rachel! Always LOVE your videos!!!

[@CTscribbles]

I have a lot of dragonflys visit my pond but luckily haven seen any nymphs! 💁🏼‍♀️ I have one sponges filter, one air stone, and a foundation pump in a 200 gallon. Maybe not enough food for them ... I hope I stay lucky

[@RachelOLeary]

Keep an eye, you may want to do a sweep of the bottom of the pond to be on the safe side to check for them.

[@JAYSONE77]

What size netting can dragonflies slip through? I want to get away with the largest effective size possible, since things like window screen inhibit viewing and feeding my fish.

[@che350z]

I think you're having a bug problem this year cuz you don't have your Venus fly traps with the ponds this year. seems like last year you had those helping you with the bug problem. love your summer tubbing by the way

[@RachelOLeary]

I put in a big big garden full of cps

[@MDStorm123]

Greetings from Germany. I had a tub with Red Fire Shrimp and Endler Guppies last year. At the End of Summer i took all fish and shrimp out. I added 50 shrimp and 35 Endler at the start and endet with less. I found over 300 (!!!) Dragonfly Lavae... some of them even on the branchiae of elder Guppies. Here in Germany its forbidden to kill Dragonfly Larvae, because Dragonflys are under nature conservation. This year i try my luck with a fine net over my tubs :-)

[@berlinaquaristikundangeln3742]

Von welchem bis welchem Monat hast du das gemacht? Und hast du viel gefüttert oder eher weniger

[@threebythestreet]

What did you do with the larvae?

[@PandemoniumMeltDown]

I think pest issues a municipality won't deal with while giving you a hard time to solve can make a great source of fertilizer

[@gafee2001]

Do we need to worry about dragonfly larvae taking out medium sized White Clouds? I found one yesterday and then two today. Is there a companion fish that can hang out with whiteclouds that might keep dragonfly down but not eat whitecloud fry?

[@isabellamodin9804]

Love your car!!!!!!

[@afoninja121]

Any tips on getting rid of damselflies on a tank with shrimp?

[@JXZ-JAM]

Yeah, I'm split about the nymths. I adore dragonflies one of my favorite critters ever. But then I also love my fry. Adult dragonflies also eat eat mosquitoes too and we have ALOT this year from so much rain. I think I might just dump them in another pond with goldfish or cheap guppies instead, but I haven't even seen any and I've barely seen any adults. Which is weird considering the record rain we've been having.

[@ocellatusking]

Treefrogs here in florida... i let the water level get too low in a tub and a large cuban treefrog got in (and trapped) and ate one of my 3 inch juvenile Ornate Bichir... plus the eggs smother entire tanks and the tadpoles crowd out everything and eat everything, including fish and each other. Best control? Covers, well stocked tanks with clean water and hornwort (prickly, fry love it but adult fish and frogs find it too prickly) since frogs seem to like stagnant old water. And if i find a frog unlucky enough to be on my tanks/tubs, good aim with a bb gun so it doesnt suffer. Here they're an invasive species and can't be relocated.

[@BluhmGardens]

LOVE the old Chevy truck! 1964 or 65'? I had a 65".

[@RachelOLeary]

66 and for sale, unfortunately

[@BluhmGardens]

Unfortunately? Just don't sell it. ;) I actually was able to re-purchase my first car back 2015. A 1951 Chevy Deluxe (4dr) that I bought when I was 15, and sold when I was 16.

[@CJBlack265]

A small water moccasin (10") is the scariest creature I've had to deal with. Needless to say, I kept my hands out of the pond until I cleared up the green water with water changes, which discouraged the snake. I keep comet goldfish, so the frogs, dragonflies and other small creatures just add to the ecosystem. I have had a couple fish eating birds , which are beautiful to see, but I just let my dog out to scare them away before they do too much damage.

[@lalalajuice]

I have shrimp in my aquarium... I want to get rid of my damselflies. But we dont have damselflies where I live so the eggs have arrived with plants. Ive had my aquarium for 3 months and i already have an adult damselfly.. why has it grown up so fast? What can i use or do to not damage my shrimp? I have a heavily planted tank and fish that are very sensitive to stress (me moving them makes them sick) should i kill the damselfly that i locked in my aquarium?

[@gildadesousa5107]

Good talk Rachel.xoxo Maitland Nova Scotia !your looking well.

[@bouvier1st1]

Had to pull a garter snake out of my pond yesterday. He was trying to eat my mosquito fish. Bull frogs have been a problem in the past too. A hot wire placed about 1ft high as perimeter fence has worked well for the raccoons who have very little fear where I live. Thanks for your great videos Rachel!

[@addjewelry]

Whew! That’s a lot of work.

[@debbiehowe8930]

We have a garden pond and while cleaning it I found on the back of a lily pad clear jelly worm like things, aprox 1 half inches long, hard to remove, cant find what they are, can any one help tia

[@RachelOLeary]

sounds like snail eggs

[@debbiehowe8930]

oh wow yea we do have a couple of snails, thank you so much. Very informative videos.

[@ooshybermi8310]

Fab video!

[@iian_]

we had a serious raccoon problem where i lived in florida. Most of them that were caught by wildlife control had rabies too. Unfortunately we figured out our neighbor was feeding them cat food every night (which is illegal). Their population exploded and sadly quite a few had to be shot. When they get hungry they are not scared off by lights and cause quite a bit of destruction. The best deterrent ive found though is to make sure you have trash cans they cant open. also if you feed cats/dogs outside make sure to clean the bowl out and put them inside. they will usually move on to an easier source of food, they tend to be lazy little animals lol.

[@EAIsaacson]

Dragonfly larvae wipe out the paradise fish and white clouds I try to keep in our backyard fountain in La Jolla. We get a lot of Baj California tree frog (Pseudacris hypochondriaca) tadpoles, so I can't use anything that's toxic to amphibians. I just lose all my fish, and a lot of tadpoles, to the dragonflies.

[@thefishylife6823]

Hey Rachel how are those carnivorous plant seeds doing? Any growth yet?

[@RachelOLeary]

they had a bit of a disruption from some sort of animal who pulled them apart. I still see a few sprouts, but not as many as before the disruption

[@yanjijay6752]

Awesome tubs how do you keep it cool on a super got humid day for your plants to not to die

[@RachelOLeary]

I did a video on that last week :)

[@matthewzito6130]

I photograph a lot of dragonflies and damselflies, so I'm familiar with the common PA species in their adult form, but not so much with their larva. ... Some of the largest dragonfly species will even prey on hummingbirds. .... PS) Do you ever use duckweed in your tubs?

[@RachelOLeary]

i use salvinia, red root floater, and other small floating ferns but never intentionally put duckweed anywhere- if I am being honest!

[@matthewzito6130]

I got some Java Moss once that had some duckweed stuck to it. Oddly neither the moss, nor the duckweed survived. The moss was mostly dead when I got it out of the little mesh bag, and the little bit that did take root got eaten by my fish. Meanwhile, the duckweed just got sucked into my filter. I did however get some pest snails that survived. It took me a while to get rid of them.

[@PullingYourStrings]

I had a species of waterboatman (black and pretty wide for a boatman) that ate all my goldfish eggs and/or fry. Goldfish lay a lot of eggs and from that batch I had none left. So be carefull

[@JXZ-JAM]

What about Wasps? Do you have a problem with them? I am pretty sure the ones flying around my ponds cleared out the guppies I just put in there.

[@RachelOLeary]

We have them but I have never seen them impact fish

[@JXZ-JAM]

Hopefully these are my problem then because I have Swarms of them.

[@rustyshackleford2627]

I know it’s off the subject but I love that old Chevrolet truck, does it run..!?!? Haha

[@RachelOLeary]

it is my husband's daily driver

[@rustyshackleford2627]

Rachel O'leary that’s so great..! I would drive it too..!!! 👍👍

[@mpwall123]

I have a question. Do you agree that in a heavily planted fish tub, that it may be difficult to see all (if any) predatory bugs?

[@RachelOLeary]

I do agree, but when they are super heavily planted I have rarely found any at the end of hte season either

[@SuperMewKittyKatGaming]

can you make a video with triops?they are supernice water creatures

[@rbohn1]

Thanks for the info! New to the fish pond thing, but I’ve got some dragonfly larvae in my pond with goldfish about 2-3 inches at this point. I don’t plan on breeding fry, so is there anything else I should be concerned with or can I just let them be? Do I need to worry about them biting me or anything like that when I working in the pond?

[@RachelOLeary]

You can let them be with goldfish

[@felixsimonovich4931]

Can Apistogramma eat dragon fly larva?

[@sameoldguy8617]

Thank you :)

[@five2112]

I just found a damsel fly sitting next to my aquarium in my office. I never open the windows and I'm in a room on the second story of my house. Doors closed as I often okay video games - how did it even find my aquarium? If there are larva I hope they start out tiny and my fish eat them before they get my shrimp. 🦐

[@Dovietail]

Caution! Water boatman can bite, and it's a fierce bite!

[@pepercat17]

Brought home some pond plants...surely did pay for them with 22-27 dragon fly nymphs 😰

[@deepfriedmia]

I have a creek to one side of my property and a river on the other side. We get two kinds of water boatman swimmers here. One species eats algae and the other species is carnivorous and shows up after the algae eating ones because they prey on them. They also bite. I hate those things. Lol.

[@deepfriedmia]

Keeping the pool algae free prevents the algae eating type from coming, but the carnivorous ones still show up and will just eat and live off flies and bugs that fall in the pool and each other. They have scared me off from doing any fish breeding outside. :(

[@flutie03]

Yep. Before i added a betta in my mini ponds, had them in there, couldnt tell which one they were so dumped and refilled. Have sponge filters in my mini ponds. Since adding the bettas, no bugs unless its huge ones that drowned.

[@deepfriedmia]

I don't know how they survive in my pool. I dose chlorine every night because my pool is in full sun and the sun removes the chlorine. It's nuts. I think if I did any ponds I'd have to have pretty sizeable fish to eat the water bugs. Because the adults fly from the bodies of water to get into the pool. I have considered turning the pool into a pond so I can stop battling bugs. Lol.

[@flutie03]

Wish I could post a pic, but my mini ponds are about 5gal each. Have 2 on my front porch with a betta in each. Have dwarf water lettuce in one and nothing in the other, but once i added the bettas, no bug issues. I dont feed the ponds, no water changes either, just a top off when needed. Bettas are doing great. Their awesome coloring is even better than when i got them as well as nice and fat. The ponds have been going 2 months now, will vaccuum them this weekend just to get any of the big bugs that died and sunk out since they are too big for the betta to snack on.

[@maryloumader-pipia9698]

We like helgramites for finishing

[@Shaden0040]

Why not treat for dragonfly larva twice a month?

[@RachelOLeary]

Because once a month will get the job done and I try and use chemicals minimally

[@Shaden0040]

Makes sense. Thanks.

[@Discitus]

I had goldfish spawn in my backyard pond years ago, and it was probably the dragonfly larvae that killed them. I found them clinging to the arrowhead stalks. One little fry survived, but later in the season before we prepared for overwintering, a great blue heron discovered them, and my sister caught it in the act. The primary symptom of heron syndrome is that all your fish are gone.

[@reptilesrock5036]

Why don't you just put small mesh netting over top but light can still get through

[@Zozo806]

Rule of the 3S Rachel, i bet Mr O'leary is familiar with this.

[@blueneonlight1036]

I killed those fat dragonfly larvae after i realized they are infesting my aquarium and lost a colony of my precious shrimps. Those type of predator are nasty and I observed they don't even eat fish food but rather eat live fish or anything that moves or smaller than them.

[@lawfullyblind8403]

I've got a healthy population of Dobson flies right now they got to my endlers and wrecked them

[@RachelOLeary]

those are terrifying!!!

[@lawfullyblind8403]

They're everywhere here in Oklahoma this year

[@--Paws--]

The raccoons in my neighborhood actually ate the Lily-of-the-valley pips the rest dug the plants to death

[@RachelOLeary]

I have lucked out really that I haven't had more problems

[@ZomBeeNature]

There goes your "Organic" rating...

[@Borkeen2024]

Heyy you got slimmer

[@jon368100]

I hate bugs like you dislike kuhlis. I had the heeby jeebies once we got to the dragon fly nymphs.

[@sandymoore]

Dragonfly larvae. Ugh!

[@RachelOLeary]

Hey sandy!!! I bet the predators you deal with would eat all the predators I have to contend with!

[@sandymoore]

The same predators....in volume. We are more and more limited in how we can deal with them.

[@pembomassive1394]

I am a fan of them

[@callumde-cadenet8850]

There called boatmen

[@spriken]

This is gonna sound really bad but apparently it works... My dad lives way, way out in the woods on tribal land. You can't relocate wildlife there but can kill it. So he uses live traps then as mean as it sounds will terrorize them without physically hurting them... He believes that not only will it keep them away from him but also other people. And the best thing for any wild animal is a healthy fear of people!

[@andystokes8702]

Are you absolutely certain that what you have is water boatmen? Are you sure that you do not have back swimmers as well? They are very similar and often confused. As you quite rightly say, water boatmen feed almost exclusively on algae and are harmless to humans. Back swimmers on the other hand are highly predatory on fry and they can bite humans, it feels much the same as a bee sting.

[@RachelOLeary]

These don't swim upside down like backswimmers do

[@andystokes8702]

I picked a back swimmer up out of a pond many years ago when I was but a wee lad. It's not something you do twice.

[@trixiemattelswig849]

Early

[@kylethomas6784]

Mothballs around your tubs will get rid of raccoons and deer until they dissolve then ya just put more out had always worked in my corn fields

[@kylethomas6784]

Plus if you get mosquito larve keep the tadpoles in there they will eat the mosquito larve especially salamander tadpoles

[@varanidguy]

I know this may sound mean, but where it's legal, I'm not opposed to shooting pests that come and destroy things as well as have the potential to spread disease. Obviously only ever going for quick, and humane kills - I'd never take a risky shot.

[@RachelOLeary]

I was not going to open that particular can of worms in my video

[@varanidguy]

I apologize, delete my comment if you feel it's necessary.