Mosquitoes in shady, moist part of garden

[Kary]

My sister's new garden is heavily shaded along the south fence line by large evergreens on a neighbour's property. That section of the garden also had a problem with water pooling, but has been largely corrected with a French drain (sending excess water to another grateful neighbour's vegetable garden). However, the shade means the grass/moss in that area stays wet for a good portion of the day and is home to swarms of mosquitos. Given the presence of West Nile in the area, this is a concern.

This summer, my sister wants to put in a (probably gravel) path through that section of the garden to have a dry path to reach the back corner shed. Over the long term, I suggested that she work with the conditions by putting in a woodland/edge garden on either side of the path. I've been researching native plants that would work in the setting and pointed my sister toward a civic organization that will do an assessment of the condition and help her select some small trees and shrubs.

So, now to the point. Is there anything that can be done (in terms of garden design) to reduce the mosquito population? I'm hoping that the plants might help reduce the moisture and also attract more wildlife that feed on mosquitos.

[wingdesigner]

Try attracting birds that eat mosquitoes, like purple martins or swallows or swifts. Bats will get the night shift.