Mosquito dunks?

[whygreenberg]

Hello there all!

Anyone ever used mosquito dunks before and could testify to whether or not they work? Are a good thing/bad thing around orchids?

Isn't a problem yet, but I'm thinking ahead for the summer. Where I am in Brooklyn, we get TONS of mosquitoes, and unfortunately, they are always invading my apartment. Am thinking they might take an unfortunate liking to my humidity trays...

Plus, I just really hate them. Is it bad to say that the day before Earth Day?

[gerneveyn]

I think they work. At our last orchid society meeting, we were talking about collecting rainwater, and someone mentioned that they used the mosquito dunks. Another person swore by a drop of Dawn.

[whygreenberg]

I do like the idea of using a biological control instead of chemicals...

[AHAB]

works great!
AHAB

[caseydoll]

I have read before that it also works great on fungus gnats. You have to break it up in some water and then you can water your orchids with it. I have tried it before with no ill effects. I also worked at a pet and garden center and they seemed to be very popular so I'm sure they work well.

[Jerry Delaney]

They will work great to keep the mosquito population down. They contain a bacterial spore/toxin/crystal of Bacilus thurengsis var isralinsis. I don't know about fungus gnats Sarah. I do know that it is effective for Black Fly larvae as well as mosquitoes, so it's possible. I think I would try some of the insect pathogenic nematodes for the gnats (Stinernema feltiae). Both of the above are completely harmless for mammals, birds, fish etc. as well as other insects.

[Ray]

They are quite effective on mosquitos and are apparently quite innocuous to other critters. I too, have heard they are great for ridding your pots of fungus gnats, but recommend avoiding that.

Fungus gnats are present because there is fungus for their larvae to eat. Fungus grows on decomposing organic tissue, such as potting media components. Their presence indicates you have a problem with your potting medium, so they are something like the canary in the coal mine. Would killing the canary mean "all is well"?

[whygreenberg]

Looks like I may be much less annoyed come late summer this year!

Ray...totally agree w/ your position on the fungus gnats.

Thank you all!

[orchids3]

I use mosquito dunks disolved in my fertilizer tank. It doesnt hurt anything certainly and seems to help keep away the crawly critters. The dunks turn into little chips which clog my spray nozzles - so I put them in an old sock to keep that from happoning. Does not seem to kill bush snail - unfortunately.

[Randy]

Originally Posted by whygreenberg

Hello there all!

Anyone ever used mosquito dunks before and could testify to whether or not they work? Are a good thing/bad thing around orchids?

Isn't a problem yet, but I'm thinking ahead for the summer. Where I am in Brooklyn, we get TONS of mosquitoes, and unfortunately, they are always invading my apartment. Am thinking they might take an unfortunate liking to my humidity trays...

Plus, I just really hate them. Is it bad to say that the day before Earth Day?

I have used and continue to use Mosquito Dunks! They cannot hurt the orchids because they are a bacteria specific to the mosquito larvae, Bacillus therignsis Israelinsis. I think I spelled that right. It is commonly known as BtI.

Get a package and break one up putting a tiny bit into each humidity tray whenever you change out the water. It should keep the mosquitos from breeding in your trays. I know they have them a Lowes and Home Depot.

Now, if you want to keep the mosquitos out of your apartemt period you may want to use a product called Mosquito Magic. I have had fantastic results with this product. Where I live the mosquitos are large enough to pick you up and carry you away. You may also get some of them. The salt marsh mosquitos are the largest being about 2" long and viscious.

I have taken the wipes put them on my legs and arms and gotten 0 bites when they were flying all around. One time I had a yard party and when it was getting dark I started to hear people slapping the skeeters and spread a circle of crystals around the party area. All of a sudden people were asking me what happened to the mosquitos because they were gone.

randy6 - Market America :: Built on Product. Powered by People.

You can find serveral different groupings of the mosquito magic products at the above URL. If you spread the crystals around your window sills or door to your porch/deck if you have one, this should help. Of course you will need to reapply occasionally.

Randy