any place water can collect, mosquitoes will breed. You can get "dunks" granules and treat the collected water every single week forever, but that probably won't happen.

Even if you treat the skeeters, organic stuff accumulates in puddly places, too, leaving your pretty totem dirty and stinky.

Besides mosquitoes and gunk if you are collecting water in your totem glass you will find it cracks the glass in freezing temps. Had this happen once and it was very sad.

So I guess the ones I see with the pretty plate designs up are probably something brought out for a party and then put away as opposed to being left out all the time.

I like a plate face up for the shine of rainwater in it. In dry spells, I use hose (city) water in it, but that eventually forms dulling mineral deposits; periodically I clear those with "Lime Away", trying not to kill plants underneath. I like the look of tiny pebbles and marbles glued onto my dark blue glass totem top plate - freeformed like a river bed - but that traps even more mineral deposits.

I'm in a no-freeze part of Florida, so I'm sorry for those of you who must contend with that. (But what beautiful photos ya'll post of your winter scenes!)

irma, sounds pretty! You don't get mosquitoes breeding in the water?

I have made some both ways--up and down--and you have to make sure the plates you buy have colored 'bottoms' If they are used upside down. The other way will collect water, but when you water your plans just spray the totems and 'change' the water often and mosquitoes won't have time to breed.

I have also used the donut dunks (broken up) and the granules. I am in Florida too, but we do have freezes in NW Florida! we just had a freeze warning two nights ago but it only got to 33 degrees....That is much colder than I like it.