It’s the growing season and that means lots of time spent outdoors. It also means mosquitoes are active.
Homegrown New Hampshire host Emma Erler, lead horticulturist with Kirkwood Gardens, has some suggestions for ways to keep pests at bay without killing beneficial insects.
The first preventative step is limiting the available breeding habitat on your property. If you have anything that is holding stagnant water, like a bird bath, old tires, or buckets, be sure to empty them frequently or turn them upside down. Stagnant water is attractive to mosquitoes as a place to lay their eggs.
You can also eliminate some of the resting places for adult mosquitoes. Cut down tall grass and weeds near the house, so that mosquitos don't have a place to hang out.
A mosquito dunk bucket is an effective, eco-friendly DIY mosquito trap. It is as simple as filling a bucket with water, organic material, and an easily-found larvicide, called mosquito dunks.
Although this creates a breeding habitat for the mosquitoes on your property, the larvae are killed as soon as they hatch out from the eggs, without harming beneficial insects, pets, or humans.
A mosquito dunk contains a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis that specifically kills aquatic mosquito larvae. Mosquito dunks are sold at hardware stores and gardening centers.
To create your own mosquito dunk bucket, start with a 2 to 5-gallon bucket. Drill a few holes in the top for overflow and fill it one half to two-thirds full with water.
Add a handful of straw or grass clippings; this decaying organic material is what attracts female mosquitoes.
Depending on the size of your bucket, you may only need part of a mosquito dunk, so be sure to read the product label to see how much you need.
Also essential is an escape ramp, like a stick, so squirrels or small animals and insects can get out if they fall in.
Many people use some screening over the top of the bucket so only mosquitos can get in the bucket, no bees or other insects. Window screening will block mosquitos, so use chicken wire or wide-mesh hardware cloth.
“It’s important to maintain your mosquito dunk bucket,” says Erler. “They work well on a temporary basis, but you do need to replenish them fairly often.”
“We should point out that mosquitoes are beneficial, especially for the birds who eat them, so we don't want to eradicate mosquitoes” says Erler. “Just decrease their presence near your house.”
See you in the garden!
If you have a gardening question for Homegrown NH, email or send a voice memo to HomegrownNH@NHPR.org.
Homegrown New Hampshire is a collaboration between Squam Lakes Natural Science Center and NHPR.
