BeneficialMosquito larvaeNot recommended

Dragonflies for mosquito larvae

Odonata: Anisoptera · wild predator (aquatic larvae and adults)

Against mosquito larvae

A 2023 meta-analysis of 31 studies found a single dragonfly or damselfly naiad ate on average about 40 mosquito larvae a day in test containers, with no difference between Aedes, Anopheles and Culex. Those were container experiments, and no source read measured how far dragonflies reduce biting in a garden. Naiads live in ponds and take months to years to grow, so they do nothing for bird baths, gutters or rain barrels: empty those, and use Bti where water must stay.

RateWild — a pond bonus, not a control

TimingWhenever naiads are in the pond

macro · dragonflies on mosquito larvae

The pestMosquito larvaeCulicidae (Culex, Aedes, Anopheles)Wrigglers in rain barrels, bird baths, gutters and ponds that become biting adults within about a weekFull pest profile →

Before you act

Large-eyed, fast-flying insects that hold their wings out flat at rest. The adults catch mosquitoes and other small flies in the air, and the aquatic larvae (naiads) eat mosquito larvae in ponds. They cannot sting. Keep them with a pond and no pesticides. How to recognise it, what it is confused with and how to keep it around are on the full Dragonflies profile.

Other controls for mosquito larvae

Bacillus thuringiensis israelensisMicrobial insecticide · Mosquito Dunks: 1 per 100 sq ft of water surface, regardless of depth (¼ dunk for 1–5 sq ft, ½ for 5–25 sq ft); Mosquito Bits: 1 tsp per 25 sq ft or 1 tbsp per 75 sq ft