My rain barrel in FULL of little mosquitos writhing about. How do I keep them out? And get rid of those I have bred?

-- Granny Hen (cluckin along@cs.com), June 28, 2002

Answers

ti kill the larvae there now, drain and start over?? or, add a couple teaspoons of veggie oil, this will create a barrier that they cant break thru to breath. To prevent more, get some landscaping cloth, feels like a thick felt, put it over the barrel, and tie it off tightly. It also acts as a filter, it only allows water to pass thru, sand/grit/ect doesnt passs thru

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), June 28, 2002.

Add cider vinegar to your barrel. I put in my goats watering tub and it kills the ones that have hatched out and discourages the adults from laying more eggs!!

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), June 28, 2002.

Oooh, great ideas! I've been having the same problem since early May which is unusual because we normally don't see a mosquito until August!! There is also a product called something like "Dunc". (Hmmm, don't know if that's right) It's an enviromentally friendly tablet that you through in your barrel or whatever and it last for a while. I think Gardens Alive carries it.

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), June 28, 2002.

Our county in KY has had the first two verified cases of West Nile Virus and they're advising everybody to keep all standing water drained or covered if it can't be drained. Granny, I found the larvae in my frog pond & since the frogs have now left for the big pond I just added some clorox to it. It worked but I don't think it's a long term solution so I'll try some of the suggestions here.

-- Kathy Aldridge (beckoningwinds@yahoo.com), June 28, 2002.

I "thought" about adding vinegar. . . . but people use it to kill weeds, and I use my water for plants, so I was afraid I'd kill what little I can get to grow! ! Smiling. I'm going to do the oil thing first.

-- Granny Hen (cluckin along@cs.com), June 28, 2002.

While thumbing through a home gadget catalog this eveing, I spotted the mosquito Dunks and thought I'd post the info given.

Can be used in bird baths, rain barrels, ponds, pool covers, clogged gutters, flower pot dishes, tree holes. Each dunk is made of a natural, organic, non-toxic agent that kills mosquito larva, but is harmless to humans, fish, birds, pets or vegetation. Each dunk controls 100 sq feet or water (any depth) for 30 days.

They're selling 6 for $11.99. This particular catalog's prices are kind of high to me so maybe with a little searching, the dunks can be found cheaper.

I'm wondering how much natural apple cider vinegar would need to be added to a rain barrel to be effect on the larva. Seems to me, if it wasn't a whole lot, the trees could get some beneficial trace elements from the vinegar??

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), June 28, 2002.

Bren...when I add cider vinegar to my goats water tub (30 gal. capacity) for mosquito control, I put in half of a gallon jug of vinegar. Many times, when refilling with water, the tub will overflow, but I still have lots of trees, weeds and grass, etc. growing around where the tub overflowed! Cider vinegar adds several B vitamins to the water and I'm sure that it adds much more! Seems to keep the skeeters at bay :-)!! The "dunks" sure sound like a great idea, though!

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), June 28, 2002.

Kathy,,, for your pond,, have you tried minnows??? they will eat the buggers up

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), June 28, 2002.

Thanks, Marcia! Where do you get the cider vinegar you use? At the regular or health food store?

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), June 29, 2002.

Just regular fishing minnows or little gold fish? I have sources nearby for both. What does West Nile do to humans? I know it's probably on the net but just wondered if anyone here had any experience with it?

-- Kathy Aldridge (beckoningwinds@yahoo.com), June 29, 2002.

regualr fishing bait minnows, pet stores will sell tham as feeders also. Minnow are more hardy, but Koi might work also. And if something takes a minnow,, and drops it in a river/lake,, at least its a natural thing, whereas goldfish released in a lake, can be a disaster

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), June 29, 2002.

Why is that?

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), June 29, 2002.

what would happen if goldfish got into inland lakes and streams?? if they were able to multiply,,, would be some trouble. Thats one of the reasons you cant use goldfish as bait, (at least here in Mich)

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), June 29, 2002.

Hey, Stan ol boy, I know this question was directed at you, and I hope I ain't steppin on your toes, but here's what I know about goldfish, which may not be much!

They are an extremely adaptable species, and are definitely not native to our country, so folks tend to get understandably paranoid about their introduction to our waters.

I think goldfish are related to Koi, (its unusual for me to post something I have not researched, but I'm feelin lazy tonite) and Koi will grow as large as their environment allows them to. IOW, if you put a widdo goldfish in a widdo fishbowl, it will not get very big.......well actually from my experience it will probably be tits up by Saturday, but never mind.........

But iffen you put a widdo goldfishy in a VERY VERY BIG TANK, it will get really huge and chase your children around the pond when they're swimmin.

Goldfish are found in a vast number of waters in this country, and all of em came from good ol Americans dumpin em in said waters.

From what I know, some folks are convinced (Stan.....izat u?) that goldfish/Koi are exceedingly harmful to native waters, and they very well may be correct. (I would love to see anyones' input on this, so that I can reduce my need to research this), but I have read opposing viewpoints.

One of the points that goldfish-in-native-waters-haters bring up includes the possibility that goldfish scare away native species, which would of course be a bad thing.

(speakin of things outa their element.........Reminds me of when I got my first llama, and put her into a pasture next to my minidonks' pasture. The donks were out grazing when we brought the llama home to her pen, so they came into the barn as usual........well soon as they saw that llama, a creature the likes of which they had never laid eyes on in all their born days........including past- life!......... they all turned their collective ears southward and hightailed it out of the barn! )

I'm back now!

Goldfish info much appreciated!!

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), June 29, 2002.

for me,, dumping your fish tank into a lake pond or stream, is the same as letting a dog or cat fend for its self onto someone else property. Chances are, it wont survive, but the are those that do, which displaces native animals, they compete for food, and if there isnt a natural prepator, can go unchecked and over run. Piaranna (s) are ther same thing, when they get too big or cost too much, peopel just dump them. Here in Mich, people have actually caught them while ice fishing, wich "everyone" said they cant survuve the cold weather,,now they are saying, they cant breed unless the temp gets so high , how long before the fish adapt so they can start breeding? Imagine swimming in your favorite bathing hole during an unknown spawn of those buggers ! ! ! !

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), June 30, 2002.

Grannie, you crack me up so bad!!!! :D

Thanks for the info re the goldfish.

On the subject of vinegar in stock water. This is off the cuff, so not positive, and like you Grannie, bein' lazy. But goat folks I know put a bit in the water as a suppliment. As was siad, it increases absorbtion of B(?), and I'm thinking it binds calcium? I'll check it out further...or someone correct me.

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), June 30, 2002.

Bren...sorry I'm late getting back here (been busy catching lobsters!!) but I use the cider vinegar from the supermarket. Has to be REAL cider vinegar..not the cider vinegar "flavored" stuff!

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), July 01, 2002.

Thanks, Marcia!

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), July 02, 2002.

I talked to a water conservation representative who distributes the water barrels and he had two recommendations.

The first was using a couple drops of dish soap which apparently stops the mosquitos from laying eggs in the water.

The second was to add a handful of nails into your barrel, this is supposed to change the ph of the water and the mosquitos again don't like it.

What I was wondering is why you can't add just a piece of screen - like the screen that keeps the mosquitos out of your house - to the top portion of the barrel where the water enters. Has anyone tried this? My water barrel only has that one opening that the mosquitos could get into.

-- JJ (ladyslipper98201@yahoo.com), May 05, 2003.

I used to use a screen,, but with the top cut off the barrel, it was too hard to keep it on. Now I use landscaping cloth , which lets in the water, but filters everything else out

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), May 06, 2003.

Although I haven't tried it, a couple of teaspoons of liquid dish detergent (not dishwasher detergent) will kill the larvae. This makes sense to me because a very weak solution of dish detergent and water sprayed on to plants will rid them of mites and other troublesome bugs. Good luck!

-- James (wemakeitgo@recreations.to), May 12, 2003.

after reading a bit on this subject i will try the soap and get back to you. years and years ago i learned that in school. more on this subject later.

-- seaside lady (ldyelainem@aol.com), June 07, 2003.

Going to try the soap with a bucket full of Empress tree & buirning bush cuttings I have in my tiny basement(basement biosphere, heh). Dish soap, in mild concentrations, is actually good for plants, along with beer. I'd use the vinegar in the rain barrels, doesn't matter if it's cider, really, it's the change in PH that kills larvae. A little soap in your rain barrel goes a long way to making the water taste nasty, if you want to consume it, but makes it into good fertilizer.

Definitely try the landscaping mesh; it'll filter your water and keep out nasties.

-- Greg (drachenslayer@hotmail.com), February 27, 2005.