u/st_dogmael

Progress update on my London barrel pond, about a month in now - still lots of mozzies/gnats and algae but waiting patiently for the interesting stuff. Would love some dragonflies/damselflies but birds are the real goal. I’ve put together a marsh bed alongside it with a mini bucket pond, hoping the extra habitat will help - might be running before I can walk but it was always part of my plan. I’ve added a mini solar pump to the mini pond but will try keeping the big one standing.

I know raising it off the ground isn’t ideal but with the space we have I could only put it on the gravel in that corner. Has anyone done anything similar before?

Any suggestions for improvements welcome - thinking about adding a pile of wood and sticks behind the bed to work as a ladder.

I set up a barrel wildlife pond last week in my garden in London, which seems to be popular already with what I’ve found out are mosquito larvae. Looking it up online/asking AI I heard about BTI dunks but have found a couple of posts here questioning their safety for other wildlife.

It’s very early days so I’d love to let the ecosystem balance out naturally but also don’t want to create a mosquito explosion in my garden (thinking of the neighbours too). Has anyone got any experience using BTIs, or any advice? Thank you!