Mosquito Dunks: What They are and How to Use Them
Rain barrels are great for collecting and conserving water, but they can attract mosquitoes if you don’t take precautions. The good news is that there are a couple of simple solutions.
1. Your first option is to get a sealed rain barrel.
2. Your second option is to get a larvaecide like mosquito dunks that kills mosquito larvae.
Mosquito dunks are easy to use. You simply toss them in your rain barrel and they start working. Summit makes dunks that are organic. Each dunk lasts for 30 days, and you don’t have to worry about them harming birds, animals and other beneficial insects. If you have a bird bath or a koi pond, you can use them in those too.
3. A third option is to add a few tablespoons of vegetable cooking oil to your barrel. According to the Rutgers University Water Resources Program, this will suffocate the mosquito larvae and will not harm your plants.
The following video reviews the mosquito dunk product and its safety in your garden. Keep in mind that you can use these dunks in small puddles where water may accumulate in your yard. They are not just limited to rain barrels.
In addition, you don’t necessarily need to use a whole “dunk” at one time. For small puddles or areas of water, you can use just a portion of a dunk. This makes the package last longer and essentially saves you money. See more:
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