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Mosquito Control

Hi all,
I have been lurking on the forum for several months and really appreciate all the great pictures and growing tips. I am fairly new to CPs, growing for about a year now.

I have what I hope is an easy to answer newbie type question. What do folks use for mosquito control? I catch rainwater for my CPs, which of course has led to an increase in mosquitoes. I have found a couple of pesticides online that will kill the little buggers, but I am worried that they will also be harmful to my plants.

Any suggestions / advice would be greatly appreciated.

Keith
 
Use mosquito dunks. They don't use chemicals but instead use a bacteria that targets mosquito larvae. It will have no effect on your plants or any animals that might drink the water so it's perfectly safe.
 
Depending on where you are located and where your collection... barrels(?) are you could throw in some of the larger bladderworts. I don't think Aldrovanda would be easy to keep. Other than that those mosquito dunks work well supposedly.
 
Hi Keith,

Pesticides and CPs hardly go well together so kudos on staying away from them. How large are your rainwater containers? You may wish to consider biological contol in the form of mosquito fish. According to wikipedia they are hardy fish that will tolerate lows of up to 42F. In my case, I keep bog gardens which have very small pools of water and I can simply run dry for a couple of days and that will eradicate any larva and pupae.
Good luck with them!

Hi all,
I have been lurking on the forum for several months and really appreciate all the great pictures and growing tips. I am fairly new to CPs, growing for about a year now.

I have what I hope is an easy to answer newbie type question. What do folks use for mosquito control? I catch rainwater for my CPs, which of course has led to an increase in mosquitoes. I have found a couple of pesticides online that will kill the little buggers, but I am worried that they will also be harmful to my plants.

Any suggestions / advice would be greatly appreciated.

Keith
 
Covers usually work.
 
You could put something over the top of the container, that the rain can leak through but the mosquitos can't. Maybe a towel. That should keep them from laying eggs in the water, but I don't know what you should do about the ones left flying around.
 
you could get mosquito fish

they eat the larvae
 
I have a rain barrel:

CP2008-087.jpg


I tried sealing it up against mosquitoes..
its impossible to seal it completely..so I gave up.
yes, mosquitoes breed in it all summer..
but I found that every time it rains, it washes most of the larva out!
so its never a major mosquito factory..I just dont worry about it.

If we get an unusual rain-free spell, like 2 weeks or so with no rain (very unusual)
I will dump the barrel completely the day before the next rain is forecast..
but around here, we get some rain at least once a week..

For CP pots in water trays on the deck, I just dump the water once a week or so..
keeps them clear of larva..

Scot
 
Guppys! Bugweed also suggest spraying with Pam or another non-stick spray. It asphyxiates them.
 
  • #10
All,

Thanks for all the helpful advice. I have two 35 gallon trash cans that I use as my rain barrels and based on your advice I think I will try fish in one and mosquito dunks in the other.

Again, thanks for the advice.

Keith
 
  • #11
Your name is Keith Ellison? don't you play for the (4-time Super Bowl losing) Buffalo Bills?
 
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