The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: JakeFruit on June 11, 2022, 11:44:03 AM
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Figure us in the Tropical Fruit discussion deal with mosquitos the most. We've been getting drenched lately with the seasonal Florida Gulf Coast weather pattern. I've been catching roof runoff in some huge containers I have; I quickly cover the containers before the rain stops and keep them covered, but it seems a mosquito or two always find their way to lay some eggs in it. I go out at night after a day or two and flash a light in the dark container to spot the little bastards, then I dump it all out when I find some (which is nearly always).
Anybody know something I could add to the water to kill them, but still be able to use the water on my plants? I know there are larvae-eating minnows people add, but that doesn't work in my situation.
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I've been buying the crumbled mosquito dunks in various spots of my drainage system. It's always seemed to work.
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I would research more before using, but this has helped with stopping mosquitoes from hatching in our bromeliads:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001AUF8G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
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I would research more before using, but this has helped with stopping mosquitoes from hatching in our bromeliads:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001AUF8G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Yep, that's them.
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Thanks guys, that looks promising. Doesn't appear to be harmful to plants; I'm going to research a bit, just to be sure.
I thought it might be organic upon initial perusal of the ingredients, but the backside makes it sound nearly as dangerous as liquid copper. I'm guessing some of whatever is in the 97.14% OTHER INGREDIENTS is some caustic manmade chemical.
***I just found the "MosquitoDunks" discs on Amazon with 1-day shipping. Not nearly as cost-effective as the bits, but they do sound a lot safer and claim to be organic. I'm going to try and break each one up, I don't have anything close to 100 sq ft to treat.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AH849?psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp
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Jakfruit,
I've read that garlic oil will kill mozzie larvæ, and that it takes only a small amount to do the job.
Just run a clove or two of garlic through a garlic press and add the pulp to the rain barrel.
Can't hurt to try.
OK — HTH
Paul M.
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if you put some sort of mosquito net they won't be able to fly out of the container when they hatch :)
but also prevents them from laying eggs there so less will make their way there.
it only takes one or two weeks for them to hatch...then when you water with this water whatever larvae will die there.
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Cornmeal the may eat it, and die
I cannot remember if the source sometimes people had old homesteading tricks, and sometimes copy/pasted ..
I used a bad bed sheet on 55 gallon barrel so did not try , but guess I could.
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I know when I Hurt my back , and could not move off my stomach for 2 months
Oil is heavier then water good for keeping pee jug from not smelling
(I thought of it myself, but they have eco urinals that use no water like that)
(Also people used to preserve wine like that with Olive oil to prevent Oxidization after opening a bottle
(for more then 3 days wine can be ruined -- or unless you use inert gas or wine saver to suck air out )
I learned Old Italians would then drip the bread in the oil floating on the wine...
Wait a second Don't you guys have GMO Mosquitos
Do not know if those lay eggs in Oil maybe they like GMO canola/soy oil as well.
depending how many barrels you have you could get some oil behind a restaurant that fries food. (or call, and ask)
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if you put some sort of mosquito net they won't be able to fly out of the container when they hatch :)
but also prevents them from laying eggs there so less will make their way there.
it only takes one or two weeks for them to hatch...then when you water with this water whatever larvae will die there.
That sounds Good
You could add mint to water (or mint family square stem)
I have rubbed cat nip / mint on skin
people laughed when mosquito landed on me but kept walking looking for a place to bite
(I hope that Girl didn't think I had poison blood, but she saw the whole process so I guess not...)
(also made a quick tea a lot with water cooler before I left on bike rides everyday with Butter fly weed (Russain sage Ornamental)
the process only takes seconds (of soaking , and rubbing(), and works,.
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You could aerate the water with an aquarium pump. Mosquitos like still water to lay their eggs.
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Kerosene will do the job. It floats on water and the mosquito larvae need to come to the surface to breathe. If you are drawing water from the bottom of the tank, the kerosene will never come into contact with your plants. And the kerosene will eventually evaporate.
Add a mesh cover to to top of your tank to prevent re-infestation 👍👍
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if your tanks are large and permanent you could propagate some gambusia fish. They're very resilient, survive in even the shittiest conditions and don't need much care-wise. They don't give a chance to mosquitoes, my rainwater pond has a colony and i never had a problem with mosquitoes. I tried BT dunks in my smaller pond in the back that wildlife was catching the fish from, and larvae start appearing there after about 2 weeks.
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So Jakefruit,
Another thing which might work as a mosquito larvæ killer/supressor is the leaves of the American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana.
I learned that the leaves of this native plant crushed and rubbed on the skin act as a mosquito repellent so I tried that and it was really effective. I suggested the same to my yardman and he tried it and said the mozzies in my yard left him alone.
So to me it stands to reason that adding a few crushed leaves to the water in your rainbarrel could very likely discourage mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water there.
And an added benefit is that the bright purple/magenta clusters of berries produced at each of this easily grown plant's nodes along its stems provide forage for many birds.
HTH
Paul M.
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Go for the mosquito granules in your water that you water the plants with. When you buy it, make sure you get bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), NOT Btk (kurstaki). If it says it if for mosquitoes your good to go.
Kurstaki only kills caterpillars. Israelensis kills the larva of mosquitoes and fungus gnats. TOTALLY harmless to all plants including my orchids. We have West Nile virus here, and some of my birds that live in the greenhouse got it about a dozen years back. Since then I am on a mosquito rampage. Zero tolerance.
You need to put the Bti (I use the granules and put them in a little tulle bag that I buy from the party store) into your plant watering source at least 24 hours before you use the water. You can't actually see the Bti, the bits you see are corn cob or sawdust that has been impregnated with the bacteria. I use the bag to keep the corncob bits from going through my sump pump when I water.
Cheers,
Carolyn
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I would just cover the barrels with nylon, make sure to have them filled up to the rim so when the nylon touches the later i doesnt leave a air pocket, no new ones will be able to lay eggs, and the ones that are awready inside, well lite a candle for them....
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I went with the mosquito dunks, it is BTI. The disks are much larger than they appear in online photos. I broke one up earlier today and spread a portion of it over the container. There's at least one larvae in there, it's had 3-4 days of time to grow. Hopefully this does it's thing quickly.
I had been covering 5 gallon buckets with lanai screen last season and thought it effective. Closer inspection revealed I was running mosquito hatcheries. We have at least half a dozen varieties of mosquitos here, some as small as gnats. I'm planning to look into netting, but having an effective killing agent if/when some slip in is essential.
I appreciate all the non-lethal deterrent suggestions, but the mosquito population is just too great. I can walk outside and stand still for about 5 seconds and get swarmed. Little bastards are everywhere right now with the rain we've been having. Even if 99% get deterred, the 1% will be too many.
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I also use those mosquito bits and they work great. Only downside is they do seem to need to be added every 2-4 weeks or so.
I catch the rainwater off roof then dump it into small pond liner that my jaboticabas sit in all year. I’d like to setup gutters and a cistern someday.
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Figure us in the Tropical Fruit discussion deal with mosquitos the most. We've been getting drenched lately with the seasonal Florida Gulf Coast weather pattern. I've been catching roof runoff in some huge containers I have; I quickly cover the containers before the rain stops and keep them covered, but it seems a mosquito or two always find their way to lay some eggs in it. I go out at night after a day or two and flash a light in the dark container to spot the little bastards, then I dump it all out when I find some (which is nearly always).
Anybody know something I could add to the water to kill them, but still be able to use the water on my plants? I know there are larvae-eating minnows people add, but that doesn't work in my situation.
I have some dumb questions. Are these mosquito larvae bad for plants? How do they negatively affect plants? If these tiny mosquito babies show up in rain barrel water, is the water no good then?
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The mosquito dunks work great!
Crumbling the dunk goes a long way, I'm still on the first dunk and I've treated several barrels of rain water. It'll be interesting to see how long it's effective. We've had so much rain lately I haven't needed any water from the (full) barrel. It's covered (like it was before, when they still found their way in), I keep checking it every few days to make sure there's no larvae.
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That's great to hear. I've never been scientific about it but they seem to work effectively for about 2 months. After that, I just add another batch during the summer/early fall months.
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I know when I Hurt my back , and could not move off my stomach for 2 months
Oil is heavier then water good for keeping pee jug from not smelling
(I thought of it myself, but they have eco urinals that use no water like that)
(Also people used to preserve wine like that with Olive oil to prevent Oxidization after opening a bottle
(for more then 3 days wine can be ruined -- or unless you use inert gas or wine saver to suck air out )
I learned Old Italians would then drip the bread in the oil floating on the wine...
Wait a second Don't you guys have GMO Mosquitos
Do not know if those lay eggs in Oil maybe they like GMO canola/soy oil as well.
depending how many barrels you have you could get some oil behind a restaurant that fries food. (or call, and ask)
Hmmm.......
Don't have much to say about eliminating roaches or mosquitos. Just keep the numbers low with stomping, spraying, and swating...
But concerning the statement:::
"Oil is heavier then water good for keeping pee jug from not smelling " = False
Choosing an oil heaver (more dense) than water or pee means the oil will sink below the water and or pee.
For the sake of anyone trying to pass a basic science test and the question states Does oil float on water? Answer Yes or true (some exceptions exist like when combined with silicon it sinks below water etc. etc.)
If this oil is floating on water it will be less dense per volume (space) occupied.
For the question of: Is it heavier than water? No .... It's lighter if floating... (Lead is denser (heavier per volume) and will sink to be bottom of pee or water)
I hope that most assume the oil used to cover the pee is actually less dense and lighter than pee and thus it floated above the pee thus lowering the vaporization and smell of the 2 month old pee jug...
If you really used oil that was heavier (denser) than pee.... It would have sunk below the pee and after 2 months that would be a foul smelling pee jug... :)
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I have some dumb questions. Are these mosquito larvae bad for plants? How do they negatively affect plants? If these tiny mosquito babies show up in rain barrel water, is the water no good then?
Not dumb at all!
The mosquito larvae don't hurt the plants, but they hatch into disease-carrying mosquitoes that suck our blood before all the water can be used.
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BioGants mosquito traps.
Electric bug zappers when working in the yard + Lemongrass and Eucalyptus oil sprays.
Mosquito Bitz/ BT in every wet area of the yard, especially water fountains, potted plants, etc.
Asian tiger mosquito are no joke -- you either have to give up your outdoor time until the warm season is over, or go to war with them.
Maybe this will be the solution: https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/epa-approves-pilot-project-to-release-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-into-california-despite-widespread-opposition/article_7f42c056-b43e-11ec-aafd-53405b3eb2bf.html
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Tigers are bad, but not the worst. We have dozens upon dozens of biting mosquito varieties here; it's crazy how small some of the species are, they'll be biting away at you while you are preoccupied swatting at their larger cousins. The worst, IMO, are the black salt marsh variety. They are maybe a little bigger than tigers, and more aggressive. Where a tiger will land on you and seemingly take a split second to decide it's found a good spot to bite you, the salt marsh suckers land by harpooning you. They go face-deep immediately and swarm you like yellowjackets.
Thankfully, they are primarily found in marshy areas (near the beach) around here. Two years ago some farmer several miles inland got the bright idea to irrigate his acreage with briny water, created an ideal breeding ground for them. It was the worst, all the youth athletic fields in the area were plagued by them that season. You either stayed in your car or put half a can of spray on you to watch your kids' practice. It took local officials several months to figure out where they were coming from, they finally found the cause and sprayed his farm from the sky.
I have my hesitations regarding tinkering with animal genes to suit our needs, but I'm all for these genetically altered mosquito releases. We'll never be rid of them around here, but I sure would love to get to a point where I'm not screaming like a lunatic, "shut the door!" when someone is all too casually entering/leaving the house this time of year.
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I use my rainwater barrels as mosquito traps. I just water with the larva in the water. I figure they are extra fertilizer. When the barrel is mostly used up I just dump the whole thing. No more mosquitos. Periodically I go looking for anything that has standing water and dump it. If you put apple cider vinegar in your water, your sweat will repel mosquitos. D
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If you put apple cider vinegar in your water, your sweat will repel mosquitos. D
Some folks (who have the right sort of metabolism) get a similar result by taking debittered brewers yeast, about a teaspoon per day. (It's still bitter so I stir mine into some OJ in the morning.) It is supposed to make your blood taste bad to the mozzies. It seems to work quite well for me, so it may be worth a try for others who seem to be skeeter delicatessens to see if it works for you.
PS - Please do not confuse this with Bakers Yeast which is a live organism and you may be sorry if you do.
Fingers X-ed!
Paul M.
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Bat houses and mosquito dunks. I have dunks but haven't used them as the bats keep the mozzie population down. I have heard that beautyberry leaves rubbed on the skin repels them, but I haven't tried that.