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Before I do this... Mosquito dunks

 
Pearl Sutton
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I'm about to put out Mosquito Dunks, just want to confirm with people I trust (as opposed to the package)
Are they ok for EVERYONE that drinks that water? Frogs, bees, wasps, birds, dragonflies, cats, dogs, squirrels, possums, woodchuck and I have no clue who else... ?

We have had a lot of rain and flooding, I don't want a heavy crop of mosquitoes...

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My impression is that some are just BT (which I guess I agree is safe) and some are BT plus larvacides which the manufacturers claim to be safe, but I'm pretty skeptical. I looked at them two years ago and decided to suffer the mosquitos because I couldn't assure myself, but I also thought I was being overly cautious.
 
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I have heard good things about the BT dunks, but never used them myself.

From what I have heard, it is safe for anything except things in the fly family.

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." C.S. Lewis
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Are bees, wasps and dragonflies in the fly family?

Can you add a hungry fish instead?

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Pearl Sutton
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Cannot add a fish, no. Planning to put them places that make puddles when it rains, when the ground is saturated like now,the puddles stay long enough to hatch mosquitoes. But may be only an inch deep.

Gardens in my mind never need water
Castles in the air never have a wet basement
Well made buildings are fractal -- equally intelligent design at every level of detail.
Bright sparks remind others that they too can dance
What I am looking for is looking for me too!

 
Jay Angler
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Pearl Sutton wrote: Planning to put them places that make puddles when it rains, when the ground is saturated like now,the puddles stay long enough to hatch mosquitoes. But may be only an inch deep.


Do you have a wet/dry vacuum that could suck up the puddle and dump the water where it will drain?
That might be too much work...

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Pearl Sutton
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Jay Angler wrote:Do you have a wet/dry vacuum that could suck up the puddle and dump the water where it will drain?
That might be too much work...


Way too much work, the puddles come back almost every day at this point.
This will dry out in a month or so, but it's a swamp right now.

Gardens in my mind never need water
Castles in the air never have a wet basement
Well made buildings are fractal -- equally intelligent design at every level of detail.
Bright sparks remind others that they too can dance
What I am looking for is looking for me too!

 
Matt McSpadden
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Jay Angler wrote:Are bees, wasps and dragonflies in the fly family?



Those ones are not in the same family. Things like horsefly, house fly, black fly, etc are.

Long term, I'd suggest attracting bats and dragon flies... short term... maybe the dunks. I'm not crazy about them, but it's either that... or some sort of bug repellant... or getting lots of bites.

"When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind." C.S. Lewis
Visit https://themaineingredient.com for organic, premium dried culinary herbs that are grown, processed, and packaged in the USA.

 
Carla Burke
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I've never had any critters die from the dunks, and I've used them for years. Doesn't phase the dragonflies or frogs, the birds still drink the water - including the tiny tufted ones that build their nests in our eaves. They contain an oil that gives a super light film on the water that makes the water unfriendly to mosquitos. It doesn't even kill them - just ruins their nesting area.

"The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance."~Ben Franklin. "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." ~ Plato

 
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