Organic Answers Column – July 13, 2022

Mosquito Control Program Update

You can use Bti to establish traps for mosquitoes. Use any kind of containers but I use 5 gallon black buckets. Black buckets don’t show up as much around the landscaping. They can be put behind things and in utility areas, greenhouse and show up even less.

Fill the buckets with water then throw in a bunch of plant material such as leaves, grass clippings, spent flowers, whatever, because you want the water to get all cruddy (stagnant). This will cause it to attract female mosquitoes to lay their eggs.

Tuck the bucket back against a wall or in a corner of the garden.
Black is less conspicuous for a mosquito trap.

Why do you want to attract mosquitoes? Because you will have put liquid Bti or granules (such as Mosquito Bits) or broken off pieces of Mosquito Dunks, any of the Bti products, in that water. You’re attracting them with the stagnant water that’s growing all kinds of things, but you’re attracting them to their death. Mosquitos come to the traps and lay their eggs, but the larvae are killed when they hatch by the Bti in the water. Bti only kills mosquitoes, black flies and fungus gnats. Won’t hurt wildlife, pets or any other insects.

Bti is Bacillus thuringiensis ‘Israelensis’ and it’s sold as mosquito dunks and mosquito bits. The Summit brand will probably be the easiest to find. You can put some fresh crumbles of Bti in these buckets of water every few weeks and it actually lasts a long time. It doesn’t cost much money and it will really help you with the mosquito population in your yard.

This is your basic scuzzy weeds and water in a bucket, with a mosquito dunk

There are also liquid Bti products that can be used. They are great for commercial projects but pricey for residential use. Another and cheaper what to make liquid Bti that can be sprayed is to soak crumbled pieces of the dry product in water. Spraying the site with liquid Bti can greatly help with the overall mosquito control program. Mosquitoes can grow from extremely small amounts of water, even from moist mulch and the axils of plants, especially bamboo.

To complete the natural organic mosquito control program, alternate the site sprayings of Bti with garlic, then cedar, then one of the essential oil products.