Bamboo was suggested to me, placed in a pot, in our tiny water source, in order to keep away the mosquito. The thinking was to place the bamboo container in the actual water and dragonflies would perch there and eat the mosquito. Interesting idea and I tried it today. My question is, I have a very tiny water area, and so my bamboo is potted in a very small pot, but I would like it to grow taller than the 4-5 inches it is. Do I need a bigger pot or will it continue to shoot up for me? It seems to be healthy but it hasn't grown in a bit, my cats were nibbling it, so I'm hoping they will leave it alone now. thanks, me.
By your description, am I right to surmise that you intend to sink the container into the water? This won't work for bamboos - they do not tolerate in water saturated soil and will die in soil that is submerged under water. You can put the container of bamboo by the side of the water feature, though. I don't know that dragon flies are effective pest control for mosquitoes - did not seem to help inspite the the very large population in our old house back in tropical South East Asia. As for the bamboo you have, 4-5 inches seem to be awfully small. What kind of bamboo do is it? There are close to 300 varieties of bamboos currently available for cultivation in North America, and they range from dwarfs no more than a few feet high, to giants reaching up to a hundred feet. What you do with you bamboo, therefore, depends on what variety or species you have.
I have no idea what type of bamboo it is, I bought it in a dollar store bin on a whim. I thought it might be a good idea to try it out in the pond as I read this idea in a book. So you are saying that I should not do this as the bamboo will die out? I was told to keep the bamboo thoroughly saturated at all times, so thought it would work. I really have no idea, bamboo is new to me. The bamboo was a little larger but the cats nipped it in the bud so to say. It started a new shoot, but has not really grown very much, I thought maybe it was not getting enough water. Any info you can give me, I would greatly appreciate. Thank you, me.
Lucky Bamboo is not actually bamboo! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracaena_sanderiana It can survive in water, for a while, but will do better if you pot it in soil, and keep it moist but not wet. Mine has flourished and is about three feet tall now. Be careful with the watering, when I first started watering it I used tap water, and the chlorine/flourine in the water causes browning on the leaves. As to dragon flies and mosquitoes, they do eat them. The best situation is if you can get them breeding in water sources where mosquitoes are also breeding. The dragonfly larva eats the mosquito larvae. Damselflies are similar in appearance and do the same. If you really want to make a mosquito free haven, also set up some bat houses. Bats out here in the pacific northwest eat a lot of insects. You may also want to think about leaving spiders webs alone when they form in your garden. Spiders are great pest control.
Sungoddess, if your aim is to keep mosquitoes away in order to stop them biting people, then bats and dragonflies may help. If your aim is to stop mosquitoes breeding in your water feature, add a goldfish or two!
In Florida, pond fish tend to be grabbed by raccoons. Still, any kind of mosquito-eating fish will help. Florida is also a batty place--good way to spot them is to find an open-air swimming pool and watch the action when the underwater lights are turned on. Regrettably, having mosquitos and no-see-ums around dusk is almost unavoidable.
