Backyard Ponds – All You Need to Know About Wildlife Ponds

When asked to think about an outdoor pond, most of us will probably imagine a very “clean pond” with clear waters, filters, pumps and fish swimming around. The much less common option, requesting a more adventurous spirit, is to build a wildlife outdoor pond.

First let’s define what is a wildlife pond. A wildlife pond is a natural environment hosting a self-sustaining ecosystem. A corner of your backyard where nature is in control and you are only an observer.

Main steps to create a wildlife outdoor pond:

1. Select a location close to nature, where wildlife have free access to your pond.
2. Use the building tips below.
3. Add a bit of “dirty water” from a natural wildlife pond.
4. Let nature take control.
5. Wait until nature turn your backyard corner in your own private bog.

The results? Well, if you take care of the details, you will have an autonomous ecosystem filled with a variety of living creatures and with little need for maintenance at all.

Place your pond close to nature, at the very edge of your property. But remember this is a wildlife pond, with insects and toads in it, avoid problems by placing it at a safe distance of your house and your neighbors property.

Guidelines to build a wildlife pond. Creating a wildlife pond is very similar to any other informal outdoor pond, but you will need much less equipment as you don’t need filtration and aeration, your ecosystem will take care of the this. An important point to add is that fish will destroy your insect population, the basic food for other wildlife animals, so this kind of pond won’t host any kind of fish in it.

A secret ingredient that will make the difference. Find an existing wildlife pond, a better option is a naturally occurring one, and borrow a small quantity of “dirty water”. The contents of this water will introduce naturally occurring organisms that will populate your pond.

What kind of creatures will you attract? The water you took from a natural pond will kick start a rich population of insects. First comers will probably be pond skaters later followed by dragonflies. And then, where there are insects there are insects predators, such as birds, toads and frogs. If your location won’t permit easy access to animals you can by some toads and introduce them to your backyard. If the mosquito population starts to get out of control, you can add snails to keep them water clean of their eggs.

To create natural hiding places for the wildlife you want to attract, keep the vegetation around your pond as high and untidy as possible, but allow human access to enjoy and take care of it.

Pond building have a large number of options, and wildlife ponds are not always the most popular, but if well planned and executed it can be a wonderful part of your backyard.

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