How to Attract Dragonflies and Damselflies to a Garden Pond

Why heathland conservation starts in your garden

Lowland heathland is one of the UK’s rarest and most fragmented habitats. What remains is precious for specialist dragonflies and damselflies, including the southern damselfly, keeled skimmer and black darter. But these insects do not recognise reserve boundaries. They will travel across gardens, verges and wet hollows, looking for still, sunlit water. A well-made garden pond can act as a stepping stone between heathland sites, helping populations spread and survive. Even a modest pond of two or three square metres adds to that network.

Siting and shaping a pond for dazzling hunters

Choose the sunniest spot you can. Dragonflies and damselflies need warmth, so aim for at least six hours of direct sunlight each day, preferably more. Shelter matters too: a pond tucked behind a hedge or fence, away from the prevailing wind, will attract more insects than an exposed one. Avoid sitting it directly beneath deciduous trees, which drop leaves and shade the water, though a little dappled shade at one end is useful.

Shallow water is the key. Create a pond with broad, gently sloping margins between 10cm and 30cm deep, and a smaller central area of 60–90cm for larvae to overwinter. Line it with butyl, clay or a preformed liner, then cover the bottom and shelves with washed sand or subsoil. Do not use rich compost or fertiliser. Fill with rainwater, ideally from a water butt, and let it settle for a few days before planting.

• Size: bigger is better, but a pond 2m x 3m will work well.
• Shape: irregular edges and shallow shelves suit more species.
• Fish: none. Fish eat dragonfly larvae and tadpoles.
• Ducks: discourage them; they foul water and eat plants.

Planting native oxygenators and emergents

Native plants do double duty: they oxygenate the water, shelter larvae and provide the tall stems that emerging dragonflies climb. Plant oxygenators such as rigid hornwort, common water-starwort, water milfoil and broad-leaved pondweed. Use baskets of loam-based soil, or weight bunches with a stone, and aim to cover about a third of the water surface. Avoid invasive non-natives such as Australian swamp stonecrop, floating pennywort, water fern and parrot’s feather; they can smother a pond and are illegal to plant in the wild.

Around the margins, choose emergent and bog plants that suit your soil: yellow flag iris, water plantain, flowering rush, brooklime, water forget-me-not, marsh marigold, ragged robin and soft rush. These give perches for damselflies and cover for larvae. Leave some stems standing through winter and into spring. That upright growth is exactly what a newly emerged dragonfly needs when it crawls out of the water to dry its wings.

Keeping the water clean, still and full of life

Dragonflies hunt on the wing, so your pond should teem with smaller insects: midges, mayflies, water fleas and small beetles. That means no pesticides, no fertiliser runoff and no tap water if you can avoid it. Tap water contains nutrients and chlorine that encourage algae. Top up with rainwater during dry spells.

Keep the water still. Fountains, waterfalls and powerful pumps make poor dragonfly habitat. A small solar pump that merely moves water gently is usually fine, but still water is better. Allow submerged plants and a little floating vegetation to shade the surface, but not so much that the pond becomes stagnant. If blanketweed becomes a problem, twirl it out with a stick rather than using chemicals. Never empty and scrub the pond in autumn; that destroys larvae and overwintering insects.

Perches, basking spots and seasonal care

Adult dragonflies spend hours basking on warm, bare surfaces. Add flat stones, a weathered log or a south-facing bank of bare earth. Damselflies prefer horizontal stems and floating leaves, so leave iris leaves, rush stems and water-lily pads in place. A nearby hedge or tall grass border gives shelter and hunting perches.

• Spring: remove excess duckweed with a rake, but leave frog spawn and larvae.
• Summer: top up with rainwater and watch for egg-laying females tapping the surface.
• Autumn: leave seedheads and stems; do not cut margins back.
• Winter: keep the pond ice-free with a small floating ball if needed, but never smash the ice.

With patience, a garden pond can support common darters, azure damselflies, blue-tailed damselflies and maybe emperor dragonflies. On a good day, a keeled skimmer or southern damselfly may visit from a nearby heath. Every pond helps stitch the landscape back together, one dazzling hunter at a time.