Excerpt from the Popular Farming Series magabook Organic Farm & Garden with permission from its publishing company , BowTie magazines , a division of BowTie Inc. Purchase Organic Farm & Gardenhere .
Organic gardener and farmers know that they can hold open money and serve the surround by cultivatingrain gardensor collect rain in rain barrels or other receptacles , but some people reverence that conserving water in these ways will form dynamic gentility grounds for mosquitoes . Pesky mosquitoes do more than just disturb people and pet with their never-ending buzzing and barbed – mosquitoes may also dribble serious diseases like West Nile computer virus . Mosquitoes lay their eggs on the surface of standing piss and within two days , the mosquito orchis incubate into larvae that live in H2O for up to two weeks . Mosquito larvae issue forth to the urine airfoil to take in O through a breathing apparatus that resembles a snorkel . After a resting , pupal stage of a few days , the adult mosquito go forth . Male mosquitoes dine on flower nectar , while distaff mosquitoes sting and drink profligate from humans and other mammals . fortuitously , there are earthly concern - friendly solutions to discourage mosquitoes . patently , your first strain of defending team is to keep your rainwater bbl tightly covered with a lid after rainfall , but call back that mosquito eggs are super pocket-sized and may still make their way through these barriers . There are a issue of ecological precaution you may take to keep your standing water detached of mosquito larvae and subsequent grownup hatchings . Your pesticide - free garden already has a natural direction of holding down mosquitoes . bird and bat on your holding will enjoy a hearty meal of mosquito and other undesirable louse . Some good , predatory insects also dine on mosquito and mosquito larvae ; for example , dragonfly larvae feast cordially on mosquito larvae . To see to it that mosquitoes do n’t proliferate in your rainwater barrels or backyard pool , consider non - toxic water treatments . One of the best - know treatments is the use of Certified Organic mosquito dunks . These small , donut - mould products slowly release Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis ( Bti ) , a character of bacteria toxic to mosquito larvae , but harmless to humans and other mammal . You ’ll need one dunk shot per month during mosquito time of year for approximately every 100 straight foundation of control surface water ( regardless of the body of water ’s astuteness ) . Unused dunks can be stored for tenacious periods of time without lose their authorization . Quick Kill Mosquito Bits is another production that check Bti and promises result within 24 hours . One tablespoonful of the bite disperse into standing water every two weeks during mosquito time of year will kill mosquito larvae before they can develop and emerge as adult insect . For longer - lasting protection , use a follow - up treatment of mosquito dunks , which tend to last longer . Another product that ’s designed to verify these insect is call Mosquito Barrier ; its alive ingredient isgarlicjuice . Sprayed on grass and the lower leaves of trees , it repels adult mosquitoes . spray on the surface of standing water , it prevents mosquito larvae from get oxygen . Keeping your garden and curtilage devoid of mosquito does n’t have to demand toxic chemicals – stay constituent and natural while keeping these pest at bay .
