Water spiders

[Dave in Innisfil]

My ponds are becoming home to dozens of water spiders / striders. I've now got two bullfrogs I was hoping would cut down on their numbers. The only thing my pond books tell me about them is they're a danger to koi fry, and should be removed.

Do they benefit the pond in any way, or should they be removed, and how ?

My efforts to catch them with my long handled leaf skimmer resulted in more damage to my liles than mortality of bugs.

[Cinnamon]

Dave every time it rains I have to get frogs out of the pond. The last round a few nights ago resulted in thousands of eggs in the pond. I hope I got them all. I can't see having 1,000 tadpoles in my pond. Where they laid them the Koi couldn't get to them. I caught them with a regular Koi net not a leaf skimmer net. It has a deep pocket. If you fill a bucket with water, drop them in it and they can't get out. You don't have to put but maybe 5 - 6" of water in it. I guess some people might like frogs but I don't want them in my pond yucking it up. We plenty of frogs around here without them breading close to the house!!

We have our share of spiders too. I kill spiders every night! I don't know if they hurt anything but I don't like spiders. I take a dowel stick and twirl it in their web and pull them out quickly. That way they stay on the stick and you can take care of them.

[Jackie Ramo]

Spiders are your friend, they eat aphids and misquotes and small flies... same with striders, I have a batch of those in the pond now. If they are eating fry they are welcome to them. No frogs here though I keep hoping.

[Terri]

Striders are more of a benefit than hinderance, they are preditors - feeding on small arthropods, mosquito eggs & larva, and insects that fall to the waters surface... I have even seen them go after koi pellets. And yes they will prey on tiny koi and goldfish fry... mostly because they look like mosquito larva. Getting rid of them isn't easy as most have wings.

Spiders are no different really, depends on the spider genus - living underwater or above as to diet.

It's all good and I would keep them... koi and goldfish will make nighttime snacks out of Striders, water Spiders will also eat them and so will your bull frogs.

[Busy B]

I had more of them last year Dave than I do this year...

Last year I didn't have a skimmer so every once in awhile, I'd overflow the pond and Mama Strider would have a fit trying to keep the babies from being swept away. This year I have more surface turbulance and they haven't moved in. Could be that or the koi are bigger and see them as snacks.

[Dave in Innisfil]

I'm sooooooo happy to learn that strider/spider removal wasn't another aspect of pond care I'd have to add to my routine. I'm no spider fan at the best of times, and I'd just as soon leave em be if they aren't harming anything.

[Jackie Ramo]

a fun link about bugs

http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=leaf+cutter+bees&page=1&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3Da 7c8de372555c720%26clickedItemRank%3D1%26userQuery% 3Dleaf%2Bcutter%2Bbees%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253 A%252F%252Fcrawford.tardigrade.net%252Fbugs%252FBu gofMonth23.html%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DNSCPResults%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fcrawford.tardigrade.net%2F bugs%2FBugofMonth23.html

[Jackie Ramo]

Proof that even the hunters can be hunted. While looking for fry this morning I found the water strider attacking and killing a damsel fly

http://jackieramo.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10001/normal_DSCN4018.JPG

[Dave in Innisfil]

Seems during my 3 day absense, the pop'n of water spiders doubled. Can't blame my fish for not eating them. Not much of a snack, let alone a meal.

[Jackie Ramo]

Yes, I have a bumper crop of them as well this year. last year hardly any this year a dozen are making the pond a home.

[Dave in Innisfil]

I suspect I've seen the fish snacking on the water spiders. Since using the feeding ring, there's not much else edible floating on the top. And is it a coincidence I see plenty of the spiders on the spawn ? The other side of the food chain, my preditors, as of late, have concentrated their efforts in our top bog pond. Many of the goldies up there are scarred, and so spooky you hardly know they're there. With some trickery (I don't feed the top pond usually), I managed to catch one I mistook for a shub with half its back missing.

I may be still unemployed, but I'm not looking for such recipies as roasted raven, mint mink, chocolate coon or honeyed heron.....

:lol:

[Jackie Ramo]

Dave, your stories sure make me glad to be a city girl!!! Did have the great blue visit once but "touch wood" not since.

[Dave in Innisfil]

My mum's place in north Scarboro is over-run with the damn critters. So bold they come begging at the aroma of the BBQ at dinner time. Her neighbor with a humane trap, left it set un-baited on his porch, and went to work. When he arrived home, he found his trap removed and a summons from the Animal Control for cruelty. Seems the coon was so big it got stuck in the trap, and screamed for hours until a neighbor called the police, who called the animal control. Her townhouse complex has spent over $1,000 so far this year on coon removal by "professional" pest control companies. Mum swears she's seen the same coon caught three times this season already. It will be interesting to see the outcome in court.

Having had racoons as pets as a kid, I hate using terminal predjudice to solve my predation problem, but from the sound of regular small arms fire around here, my neighbors don't have the same sentiments.

[Jackie Ramo]

I had raccoons as pets as well as a skunk. Skunks make better pets. We have a family of 5 raccoons across the street but so far they leave us alone more or less. Now and again we have to get up and let our 8 lb pit poodle dog chase them off. :lol: :lol: He's very brave knowing I or Smith is right behind him.