How can I prevent mosquitoes in humidity trays?

[nynighthawk]

They can breed in almost any small reservoir of water, Bud.....puddles, saucers under plants, any debris in backyards, etc. that can retain water long enough for the larvae to mature. Even in Manhattan. I'm hating those Asian Tiger mosquitos, in particular. The ones I've been seeing are bold and seem to be strong flyers. And, they're around during the late afternoon...not just at dusk/night. With the rainy spring we've been having, they're breeding like crazy. If you're a couple of stories up, I'm sure the breezes or the updraft of air currents that swirl around the buildings is most likely bringing them up to your place.

Urban wildlife...sometimes not such a good thing.

:-O

I appreciate the good suggestions everyone's made.

Jess

[imationkarl]

Use these. Mash them up and put bits of them in there. It works really well and is an organic bacteria called BT:

Mosquito Dunks | Planet Natural

[nynighthawk]

I'll definitely give the mosquito dunks a try. My local hardware store sells them. It seems like a good, simple, organic solution to the problem.

Thanks!

[isurus79]

Why not put gravel in the trays? Then the skeeters can't reach the water and you don't have to add any chemicals.

[nynighthawk]

I do have broken shards of terra cotta pots in the trays. But there are lots of nooks and crannies for them to breed in, if they get into the house. Also, from what I've been reading, the Bt dunks are safe for other critters, so they can be used in bird baths, etc. That was good to know.

[desertanimal]

As has been mentioned, a tiny bit of soap should do it. It breaks the surface tension of the water, which should both drown females as they try to lay eggs and should prevent larvae from utilizing the surface tension to breathe.

[nynighthawk]

That's also a good option. Thanks. :-)

[Wild Orchid]

Originally Posted by silken

a product called mosquito dunks I think is available. Some people on here use them and say they work.

I was told at Home Depot that mosquito dunks are banned in Canada. (Was looking to use it on fungus gnats.)

[imationkarl]

Not sure why they would be banned as it is a bacteria specific to fungus gnats and mosquito. Read reviews. They are clean and awesome

---------- Post added at 03:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:20 AM ----------

Looked it up, could find nothing online about them being illegal in Canada and we have no shipping regulation on it.

[nynighthawk]

Yes, this is a little odd. I took a little look online. From what I can see, Canadian Hope Depot website says it is selling the Bti mosquito dunks "online only". But, I saw some ads for other vendors almost shouting that they are being sold legally, and touting their safety and "organic" certification.

I didn't find any info about legal ban or debate over any problems with their use. The only thing I found was some info distinguishing between the dry cakes and a liquid product. From what I could tell, the problem was with the liquid products...something about a toxicity issue with the medium that the Bt was in...not the Bt, itself.

I'll take another look around the internet and see what I can find out.

If anyone else in the forum has info on this, please do let us know what's what.

Thanks so much.

:-O