Mosquito bites certainly can ruin your summer evening outdoors. The essential oils and bug sprays may protect you from them.
However, they’ll move happily to another part of the garden. To control their population, you should know what attracts dragonflies first.
Numerous insects can pervade the garden space. Some of them can be a nuisance, while others are beneficial.
Keeping certain bug types like dragonflies around surely is a good idea. They help you keep bothersome pests out of your yard forever.
If you currently deal with a mosquito problem in your garden, dragonflies can be the right solution. They don’t need much to thrive in the yard. Moreover, these aerial acrobats will eat plenty of mosquitoes in a day.
Why Attracts Dragonflies?
Before talking about what attracts dragonflies to your yard, it’s important to know why you must invite them first.
Undoubtedly, humans hate mosquitoes. It’s safe to assume that you do not want to have them around. During summertime, they swarm and buzz in people’s ears. Apart from creating annoyance, they spread unwanted diseases.
The reason why you have to attract dragonflies is to overcome the mosquito issue that typically happens in the summer months. They keep mosquitoes from messing with your precious outdoor time.
In addition to eating mosquitoes, dragonflies feast on other things such as ants, flies, gnats, and termites. They do not only become a major annoyance but also ruin your belongings.
If you dwell in the woods, keeping the dragonflies around is certainly a great idea. They can effectively mitigate the number of other bugs. Additionally, some dragonfly types that will devour lots of mosquito larvae underwater.
So, if your garden has a nearby lake or pond, you can tackle the problem of mosquitoes and flies. Certainly, dragonflies can be an incredible ally.
What Happens If There’s No Lake or Pond Near Your Yard?
Water is probably the main way to bring dragonflies into the yard. However, not all people have a nearby river, lake, creek, or pond in their landscapes.
Installing any of them is definitely not worth your while to simply invite the dragonflies.
The question is, what things to do when you need dragonflies around to deter mosquitoes and other nasty pests that invade the yard.
There are several things you can try to invite more dragonflies into your landscape and enjoy the benefits they offer. Let’s check these out!
What Attracts Dragonflies to Your Garden
Before I explain what attracts dragonflies, you should know that they are good at preventing unwanted pests from occupying your garden.
In this article, I’ll present several things that can invite dragonflies effectively. They help create a welcoming setting for those insect predators, too.
1. Water Feature
When it comes to what attracts dragonflies, you must focus on water. I highly recommend adding a proper water feature to your garden.
Both damselflies and dragonflies are aquatic insects. They certainly use most of their days in or nearby the water.
These creatures also lay their eggs in the water before watching them while perching up high on the surrounding plants.
Damselflies fall into the Odonata family. Moreover, they look like dragonflies, but they come in a smaller size. Compared to dragonflies, they fly relatively slower.
Interestingly, damselflies have hinges that let them fold their wings together easily when resting. On the other hand, dragonflies do not. They always stretch their wings out like a biplane.
Dragonflies and damselflies are carnivorous animals. They eat plenty of small insects. Some adult dragonflies even feast on more than 100 mosquitoes in a day. Furthermore, they also love eating gnats and midges.
If you offer the right environment for damselflies and dragonflies, they will definitely make mosquitoes their dinner. Moreover, they’ll also call your yard their home.
How to Attract Damselflies and Dragonflies
Back to what attracts dragonflies, remember that some dragonfly species prefer flowing water while others are more into standing water. Do your analysis to see what sort of water feature you’ll need to invest in.
If possible, I suggest you include some sort of fountain or bubbler in your garden. They will keep extra nasty mosquitoes from coming into the yard.
Just in case you choose to build a water feature, be sure that it’s at least 2 feet deep. If it is not deep enough, chances are the dragonflies and damselflies won’t make it their home.
Speaking of what attracts dragonflies, don’t forget to consider the water feature’s depth. Mosquito larvae thrive best in shallow water. To keep them at bay and invite more dragonflies, make sure to create a deeper water feature.
How to Breed Dragonflies
Another way to make dragonflies visit your garden is by building a dragonfly pond. You don’t have to create a large pond for them. Some people have had success breeding them just in plastic wading pools.
When it comes to how to help dragonflies reproduce themselves, the size of the water source doesn’t matter. But be certain that it boasts shallow edges.
Also, the center’s depth should be 2 feet or more. You can get pre-molded pond shapes for dragonflies at your local home improvement stores.
2. Water-Loving Plants that Attract Dragonflies
Before discussing what attracts dragonflies, you must invest in a nice water feature first. Then, build a dragonfly garden and plant the vegetation near it.
Growing the proper vegetation is really important. It will ensure their survival. As you know, dragonflies breed in water since their young/nymphs need safe hiding places. This is why water plants are crucial in their environment.
The submerged vegetation offers protection for dragonfly eggs and nymphs. Moreover, the water plants help them survive and grow well.
I also suggest you grow emergent vegetation. When dragonfly nymphs are turning into adults, they climb the partially submerged plants.
These work as a great platform for their initial flight, so they can get out from underwater excellently.
Having floating plants is also seriously important. They give adult dragonflies an ideal place to perch while they lay their eggs or rest.
I recommend planting peripheral vegetation that lies about the water’s edge. Moreover, these also include nearby shrubs and trees. They provide a place for adult dragonflies to roost, seek shelter, and simply perch on.
It’s time to talk about what attracts dragonflies. Since the adult ones like searching for places to perch, you should add tall, wispy water-loving plants. They will complement the pond perfectly.
Speaking of what pond plants attract dragonflies, water plants surely can invite dragonflies into the garden. You can buy them online or at nearby garden centers. Incorporate any of these into your pond.
Aquatic Plants for Dragonfly Pond
• Fanwort
• Sago pondweed
• Eelgrass
• Baby pondweed
• Lotus flowers
• Tropical water lilies
• Arrowhead
• Swamp milkweed
• Water horsetail
• Wild celery
• Cattail
Apart from submerged vegetation, you need to include floating plants in your pond. They help minimize algae while sprucing it up.
3. Pollinator Plants that Invite Dragonflies into the Yard
Incorporating some pollinator plants into your landscape is crucial. The reliable water source will ensure that dragonflies have a steady food source like mosquitoes and gnats. However, they actually also munch on other insects.
When dragonflies become large enough, they will devour other types of insects. Apart from mosquitoes and gnats, they eat bees, moths, and butterflies.
Talking about what attracts dragonflies, having aquatic plants is a brilliant idea. However, you should include some pollinator plants in your lovely garden.
Pollinator plants encourage more small insects to visit your garden. That means damselflies and dragonflies can catch these creatures and then eat them.
You should know what attracts dragonflies really well. Since less annoying insects are attracted to pollinator plants, the dragonflies and damselflies will easily snack on them. In turn, the dragonflies help overcome a persistent mosquito issue.
Some great pollinator plants are irises, water lilies, and buttercups. I suggest you add them to your landscaping design.
4. Beneficial Plants for Dragonflies
When it comes to what attracts dragonflies, I’m not talking about plants that invite them. However, you’ll find out things that attract their food sources, so you can bring them into the garden space.
Dragonflies love perching on surrounding plants. Since they also like to look at their surroundings, you should grow tall plants to keep them around. These aerial acrobats even can nestle atop taller ornamentals.
You need to grow plants that’ll invite small insects into your yard. I recommend planting coneflowers, borage, meadow sage, black eyed-Suzan, yarrow, and Joe-Pye weed.
These will attract tiny insects that aren’t bothersome. However, dragonflies are very attracted to them.
Back to what attracts dragonflies to a garden, be sure to grow native plants that will invite pollinators. Moreover, spread different plant varieties within your yard.
Apart from growing native plants, you’ll have to find vegetation that won’t grow too proficiently. Dragonflies definitely love to feast on some of the pollinators in the garden.
However, they typically will munch on far more of the things. You certainly don’t want this.
Regardless of the water source, be sure to stock it with the right plants. Speaking of what attracts dragonflies, you should opt for water lilies.
They’re particularly good at offering shade for the water feature. This will surely prevent algae from being prevalent.
Water lilies will provide an ideal place for dragonfly nymphs to hide from their potential predators successfully.
5. Edging Plants for Garden Pond
If you happen to have a property with a wet environment, consider building a proper garden pond. Dragonflies do not only mate but also lay their tiny eggs in water.
Normally, dragonflies spend about 2 months under the water. Moreover, they’ll come back to the same place repeatedly.
The pond is their hunting ground. Additionally, it’s also a meaningful place for them to both play and reproduces.
Before diving into what attracts dragonflies and damselflies, remember that experts recommend building a pond that measures 20 feet in diameter.
Whether you have a wildlife pond or the man-made one, make sure it meets the requirement.
Having vertical plants around the pond is definitely a genius idea. When dragonflies are preparing for their adult life, they’ll get out of the water. Then, they dry themselves off before opening their wings.
Talking about what attracts dragonflies, vertical plants play a major role. They will give dragonflies the appropriate space.
Vertical plants also ensure that dragonflies are free of predator threats. Also, they enable those aerial acrobats to survey the surrounding area naturally. The pond with the vertical plants will make for a great setup for dragonflies.
Edging the pond with more plants is truly important. Ideally, you should place them along the pond’s edge, so they can give dragonflies more perching sites.
Just in case you’d like to incorporate more vegetation variety, some naturalists highly recommend shrubs. Look no further than buttonbush and seedbox.
Moreover, you should grow nice border plants in your garden. They will make dragonflies really feel comfortable in the yard.
6. Flat Rocks
Speaking of what attracts dragonflies, you should take flat rocks into your consideration. I highly recommend including them in your beautiful landscape.
Young dragonflies need safe places to hide from their predators, such as spiders, early-emerging bats, and birds. Placing flat rocks around and in the pond would be beneficial.
Also, you can arrange sticks around your backyard pond. They will provide dragonflies a cozy place to perch on near the water source.
Dragonflies love to catch some rays. Definitely, the warmth of the rocks offers them the ideal setting. Try combining dark and light flat rocks first. Then, note what colors attract dragonflies more in your area.
Dragonflies or Fish?
After talking about what attracts dragonflies, you need to make a decision. If there’s a quite big pond in your yard, then decide whether you plan on fostering a garden for dragonflies or fish.
Both dragonflies and fish can control the pesky bug population. However, they never happily co-exist since the fish feast on dragonfly nymphs.
Now, you know what attracts dragonflies to your landscape. Inviting them into the yard is basically a win-win solution. You can wave goodbye to bothersome mosquitoes while they have a great environment to thrive.