Mosquito larvae in rain barrel despite screening.

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Tallbald

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Here in KY it's common to catch rain from a roof downspout in a barrel for gardening. My own is a plastic 55 gallon food grade plastic barrel with a hinged funnel lid and a fabric screening layer under the funnel clipped tightly in place around the barrel rim to keep out leaves and bugs. There's also a screen layer over the overflow hole. A standard 1/2 inch brass spigot is located 2 inches or so off the inside barrel bottom and the entire affair is raised up on two layers of concrete block. Pretty nice for flowers and potted plants.
Yesterday I filled a few sprinkle cans from the rain barrel for our grand daughter to "help" with watering and was surprised to see in the bottom of the cans several mosquito larvae wiggling around.
Those mosquitoes must be crafty or very small to penetrate the screening. And deep divers to get to the spigot over 3 feet down from the top. I guess eggs from the guttering could have washed into the barrel and hatched.
This morning I poured some bleach into the funnel top to hopefully kill off any more larvae. Please don't tell PeTA that I'm killing innocent baby mosquitoes though. Saw that idea online.
Just thought I'd share this situation for other's benefit. I thought I had things squared away to keep bugs out. Wouldn't have thought it. Won't be filling our dog watering bowls from the barrel any more either.
 
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When you have used up all the bleach water, and you get some more rain, go to the bait store and buy a dozen or so minnows. They will eat the larvae.
I keep a bunch of minnows in a goldfish pond and never have larvae in it.
No bleach or oil or other chemicals needed.

HHH
 
Next time instead of bleach add cooking oil, then the water will be safe to water the dogs and the garden, won't take much jet need a sheen on the water.
 
years ago I worked for my grandfather on his avocado ranch in SoCal. He had a couple of old water tanks on the property for irrigation that were open on top. Every 3 to 4 months we would open a can of cheap motor oil & toss one into each tank - don't know if it killed mosquitoes, but the tanks didn't rust out...
 
Motor oil renders the water useless for consumption by pets or humans. On my farm we dumped the watering troughs every two weeks, scrubbed them clean of algae and refilled.
gramps
 
Not sure if they do it where you live, but, there are many places that will give you mosquito larva eating fish.

In fact one of the best known, high end hotel chains uses a few different species in their in their water features for that purpose. Does it work? So far I have found any larva in any of the systems.

But, there is a non-chemical, non-biological method. Setup a pump that circulates the water and have it splash down onto, not pump into, the water. If you create enough turbulence the mosquitos will not light to breed. In very turbulent water they can't alight on the surface and deposit their eggs, they either fly off or sink and drown.
 
These are one type used by the Organic folks. Don't know if they will thrive in your tanks so ya better give em a call and ask.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=1530
 
tinman said:
These are one type used by the Organic folks. Don't know if they will thrive in your tanks so ya better give em a call and ask.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=1530
Click to expand...

The fish will not live in a stagnant rain barrel. First, the oxygen will eventually deplete and they would suffocate. Two, there isn't usually any light. And three, the temperature could have effects on them.

If you have an aquarium, turn off the pump, cover it with a tarp and come back in a week. Then clean and restart you aquarium with new fish.
 
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