living next to small pond a bad thing?? (Smithtown, Commack: apartments, houses)

[suffolkbound]

I have been looking at homes in the Smithtown, Commack and Hauppauge areas and have found quite a few homes that have a small pond behind the homes and I am curious as to if this may be a undesireable. Most are pretty small.. most less than 100 ft wide. Would I have to worry about having a mosquito or any other type of pest problem? Would I be at risk for basement flooding? Would there be any odor coming from the water? I have always lived in the boroughs in apartments and have no experience when it comes to this and any information would be appreciated especially from anyone who has lived next to or near a pond. Also if there are any other issues I missed fill me in. Thanks!

[Ziggi813]

We have somewhat of a pond behind us. The development where we live was "suppossed" to put a fountain in the middle of it but the DEC has gotten involved and now it seems as though they are no longer going to do this. So, now the problem is that with any non moving water you get the promotion of bugs. We are just about here a year now and the summer we do get these horrible things flying in the air---(mostly in the back) it is bad enough where we refused to sit outside in the back. They are not mosquitos although I am sure we had some of those too...
We are not happy about the stagnant water and if the condition is the same this summer with the warm weather or worse we will call the health department since we have a baby and a small child. Mind you we are at least 100 ft from this pond.

[totallyfrazzled]

You will most certainly have more of a mosquito problem if you live near a pond (or even a slugglishly moving stream, because the edges will always remain wet) and of course Lyme Disease is always a concern. We will not even look at a house that is anywhere close to any kind of standing water. Be aware that much of Hauppauge and certain areas of Smithtown are known for having problems with underground springs and high water tables. In Smithtown the Village of the Branch, and immediately south of it, surrounding Mill Pond, are notorious for this. Many houses in that area have had continual basement flooding issues for several years. Hauppauge, especially the parts south of 347, can be problematic but it's impossible to know which house on a street will be 'dry' and which house has problems. We looked at a house near Hidden Pond Park last year that had French drains and a sump pump in the basement and it was STILL musty. (btw, the Native American name 'Hauppauge' means literally 'Land of High Water' .... so, caveat emptor!)

[omigawd]

Don't forget about West Nile...... if you have stagnant water, that is a prime place for mosquitos to lay their eggs and mosquitos carry West Nile.

(not to mention the STENCH that comes from stagnant water)

[Peter B]

Blydenburgh Park is basically Ground Zero for West Nile on Long Island. When I lived in the Forestwood section of Smithtown a few years ago, unless it was very windy, you really didn't stay outside if you didn't have to between 5:00pm and sunset during the summer. The mosquitoes there are absolutely voracious.

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by omigawd

Don't forget about West Nile...... if you have stagnant water, that is a prime place for mosquitos to lay their eggs and mosquitos carry West Nile.

Duh! I just realized I typed "Lyme Disease" when I meant to say "West Nile Virus". My bad.

[CleanCutHippie]

A small pond is fine. West Nile is not a big deal unless you are elderly, small child or have a weak immune system in which case anything can harm you if your not careful. West Nile is much less dangerous then the poison they spray to kill the mosquiotoes. All scare tactics by the media, just like Salmonella.

[hotkarl]

I wish I lived on a pond. Any size.

If the pond is truly on your property(meaning you own it), here's what you can do...
Add an aerator to the pond to keep the water moving so it wont stagnate.
You can do this a number of different ways.
I'm in the pool business and actually done this for a few customers. I've taken a pool filter pump and just run the lines into the water to circulate it. It's very simple to do.
You could also drop a sump pump in the water too. I did this as well, you just drop the pump in the pond with a small amount of hose on it and it will keep the water moving. This all depends on the size of the pond though. If it's roughly the size of an average swimming pool or smaller, it's a piece of cake.

I think I'm gonna dig a huge hole in my yard and fill it with water
I'd love to live on a pond or lake. I'm an urban redneck.

[KellyFG]

My boss lives in Smithtown, no water in near his yard but they can't sit outside at night because they get eaten alive by bugs.
The water isn't the problem, its the ecology of the water or area. I live on a freshwater lake on LI & we have 6 small ponds sprinkled around the neighborhood & a small manmade pond in my yard. There really are no mosquitos here. My husband & I fish at night & rarely get bitten. We have tons of other things that eat the mosquitos, like bats, purple martins, dragonflies, toads-the area is in perfect balance. The problem on LI is most places have become so screwed up by humans the bugs & other pests are taking over. Even adding a fountain to a pond won't solve the problem completly unless you have something to prey on the mosquitos.

[Peter B]

Originally Posted by KellyFG

My boss lives in Smithtown, no water in near his yard but they can't sit outside at night because they get eaten alive by bugs.
The water isn't the problem, its the ecology of the water or area. I live on a freshwater lake on LI & we have 6 small ponds sprinkled around the neighborhood & a small manmade pond in my yard. There really are no mosquitos here. My husband & I fish at night & rarely get bitten. We have tons of other things that eat the mosquitos, like bats, purple martins, dragonflies, toads-the area is in perfect balance. The problem on LI is most places have become so screwed up by humans the bugs & other pests are taking over. Even adding a fountain to a pond won't solve the problem completly unless you have something to prey on the mosquitos.

That's why multiple bird feeders are a very good idea.