I put a goldfish in each barrel and they eat the larvae and algae. You can also buy dunks that kill the larvae.

Mosquito larvae are called "wrigglers" because that's what they do. They look like tiny worms (less than 1/4 inch) that hang vertically in the water and squirm all about. Mosquitos can breed in a bottle-cap, and any other container that holds water. I just shook out the water in the crevices of my two last leaf-bags by the compost pile to kill the wrigglers that were growing there from the last few days of rain.

eeewwww... i didnt know that was mosquito larvae.
gross, gross, gross!!!
i am soooo glad i did not know what that was when i emptied it. bleh
jennifer 'momkoz'

Hi, momkoz,
your story made me laugh - when I started gardening, I would put on gloves to CAREFULLY pick up the snails by their shells ONLY and drop them into a sack to put into the trash.
Yesterday, I found a slug under a pot, casually cut it in two with my thumb nail and wiped my hand on the grass without even thinking about it.
Gardening ain't for the squeamish!
You'll get used to it!
Nik

That's why they've been saying for years on the news to 'remove any standing water on your property' to help control the mosquito population. I always have to remember these 2 dumb 'self-watering' planters that I have. The bottoms stay full of water forever if I don't tip it out. You'd think a mint in its' 2nd year would be thirsty enough to dry that out, but it just doesn't work. And the tarp over my lawnmower, a pool forms there every time it rains. I change the bird baths every 2-3 days. I actually kind of enjoy it, knowing I'm ruining mosquito progeny-to-be. Take THAT you vile blood suckers!

Bt pellets are good at mosquito control. They are not harmful to fish and birds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mosquito Dunks (Bt)

NIK you made me laugh. I am right there with you. A year ago I would do the same thing, now I find a grub when working my dirt I rip it in half and throw it back in the garden to decompose. My daughter gross's out. Momkoz you'll get used to it. Feeder fish at Petsmart are 12 cents apiece. They work well.

Good luck.

Life

My Grandmother used to put a small amount of oil.. about a tsp of vegatable oil in the top of her rain barrels..she never had a bug problem and these barrels were sitting at each corner of her house. Just a thought from the 50's and 60's. Beats the chemical alternatives.
Have a wonderful summer.

Feeder fish and gold fish are not a good idea, feeder fish are often poorly taken care of and goldfish are herbavores and will only eat significant amounts of larve when they are very hungry. Your best off with gambussa affinnis affinnis or white cloud mountain minnows, or even better get your hands on some native minnows.

I just buy the 20/$1 minnows from the local pet store, or the 8/$1 feeder goldfish and throw them into my stagnant ponds and rain buckets (don't have a barrel), and I've never had mosquito problems. Of course, they have to be fed, but it's well worth it.

You can also use BT (Bacillus Thuringensis) or the pond mosquito dunks for control. If you're not drinking the water, it won't hurt. Actually won't hurt the plants at all.

Elaine3,

I am intrigued by your grandmother's remedy with veg oil - gonna have to look into it. I wonder how the veg oil affects plants (i.e., if you use the water in the barrels to water with)??

Veg oil should work, and I think in such small quantities it should have little or no effect on the plants. In fact, based on observations in the kitchen, much of the oil probably clings to the sides of the barrel when the water runs out, rather than going along with the water. It would then detach and float when more water goes into the barrel. The directions I've seen call for renewing the oil every couple of days, but that argues that the oil does degrade pretty fast.
Before we realized that petroleum products were such nasties in the environment, people used to regularly control skeeters by 'oiling' small bodies of water. The vegetable oil does the same thing, but in the quantities recommended, would serve only to suffocate the mosquito larvae and pupae. Also, a rain barrel isn't an ecosystem where other members could be suffocated along with the mosquitos. Just don't try to combine fish with oil, as dual solutions to the problem!
See link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: mosquito control in rain barrels

Is there anything for mosquitos that is not harmful to frogs and toads? They are so sensitive to many chemicals that I'm afraid to use the dunks. And when the tadpoles are small, the goldfish will gobble them right up. Any ideas?

-Kimberly

Try placing a fine mesh screen over your barrel to keep the mosquitoes from getting in there. I was having a problem in some of my tanks, & the screen cut down my problem immensely.

You don't always know that's why its best not to have standing water. One tell tale sign is tiny tadpole like things squirming about in the water. That is the larvae. If you see it dump it asap. You don't want to get bit and west nile is still a problem. :)

How quickly do the mosquito dunks work? I forgot to empty our small fountain/bird bath when we left for a 4-day weekend and, sure enough, there were the little black squirmers. I put in a piece of the "dunk" yesterday. But today I'd like to clean the fountain and get it running. When people say they just dump the larvae-infested water, how does that kill them? Aren't they then in the damp soil, still alive?
Thanks!

5 years ago, my Wal Mart had the "WEED BLOCK" cloth on sale at the end of the season...$1.25/roll. It isn't all it is cracked up to be for blocking weeds in my flower beds...BUT, it is GREAT at keeping mosquitos out of my rain barrel. I cut a large circle, placed it over the top of the barrel, used a bunge cord around the top to hold down the weed block fabric....NO MOSQUITOS in over 2 years.

WORKS LIKE A CHARM!

I use bleach in mine to take care of the problem.

just in damp leaves! She wants me to get rid of all the leaves that do not dry out completly between waterings. It is sort of absurd as the yards all around us are full of leaves (among other things.)
I have a big tub in the front with two goldfish in it; we had trouble keeping them happy until I dumped a HUGE amount of water weeds in there. Now we can't see them but they eat a lot of the weeds and are happy, and no mosquito larva in it. I got it for the frogs to breed in but I think they may be eating the tree frog larvae. It seems perfectly balenced; anyway if you scoop up the water and sniff it smells fine. It looks good, although it is absolutly full of weeds. No algae, either.
Now if I could just get rid of the adult mosquitos (which are getting into the house even!) all would be well....

I know this is an older post but I've been searching for this very thing & it came up in Google. We have a rain barrel to go green. I haven't had any probs until now. My rain barrel & my 2 water jugs are filled w/ tiny worms. I searched & some say it's mosquito larva & others say Planaria. They are small, thin, whitish/clearish. Think like a paper clip & the length is like the lead on a #2 pencil.
From what I read in here, they ARE mosquito larva. Only problem is we have been using the mosquito dunks!! & up until now, they worked.
We put another dunk in there hoping it will kill the wrigglers. Any other Âgreen solutions?
Also how can you tone down the stench naturally? Use liquid soap (castile) or any essential oils that may help?
Thank you!

Reina

All the mosquito larva I have seen are always black. However, it could be that the dunks are too dilute and didn't work. Maybe you need to add two into your barrel to have it work effectively. I am not sure how big of a barrel you have.

Our rain barrels do not smell because we use the water often and they do not have any leaves or decomposing matter in them. Do you have a grate on top of your barrel to prevent leaves and stuff from getting into it?

-renee

Mosquito Dunks do NOT harm tadpoles or frogs. I've been using them for years and my still ponds are full of both.

Mosquito larvae are not white and they don't look like worms. They wriggle back and forth but otherwise look like tiny fish.

Dunks are used by surface area, would not need two in an average rain barrel. I only use a half of one in a six by four foot wide pond. I use quarters in my whiskey barrel ponds.

Hi, all

From what I was researching on the mosquito dunks it does not immed. kill the larva... they prevent them from completing the cycle. The larva is not able to fully transform into flying insects which eventually kills them.