Skeeters in the waterer! Yikes!

[MidGaMarine]

Ok, I went to change the water in the waterer the other day and I noticed that mosquitos had somehow gotten inside the filled tank and had larvae. Now mind you, I change the water every two days. (2-7 gallon waterers). I keep them in the shade and rinse them each water change. I feel like I must have left some in the tank somehow, but uncertain. At any rate, I had a crop of skeeters at the top of the tank.
Anyone have any suggestions on what I can use to help me in this battle?

 

[Ginmary]

Can you cover the top? I'm surprised they chose that site since it gets changed. They usually prefer stagnant water.

 

[centrarchid]

Can you put a couple drops of vegetable oil in tank after refilling? It will form film on surface and suffocate the larvae and pupae.

 

[Ginmary]

Can you put a couple drops of vegetable oil in tank after refilling? It will form film on surface and suffocate the larvae and pupae.

brilliant! I just wish I didn't have hundreds of tadpoles in the outside planters where the mosquitos are. I hope the Mosquito dunks work.

 

[NewBoots]

Mosquito dunks are great, we use them in our rain barrel. I can't speak about chicken safety specifically, but I know that since it's just a mosquito disease that does the killing, it's supposed to be safe for humans and other animals.

Cool to see it working. When you first drop it in, all the little wigglers are wiggling around like crazy. Then the next day, you see them moving much slower. By the end of the week they just seem to have vanished.

Then the females still keep laying their rafts of eggs in the barrel not knowing that those eggs are doomed.

We don't use insecticide so I just love a practically magic fix for a bug issue.

 

[Folly's place]

I dump the bird waterers often so the mosquitos don't develop in there. In hot weather things move fast! Can you dump them out daily?
Mary

 

[Ginmary]

Mosquito dunks are great, we use them in our rain barrel. I can't speak about chicken safety specifically, but I know that since it's just a mosquito disease that does the killing, it's supposed to be safe for humans and other animals.
.

Actually, the mosquito dunks aren't a traditional poison or disease. They work by altering the larva's ability to morph beyond the larva phase. So, they can't develop into full blown mosquitos and they die off. They have no effect on fish or any other insect so they are safe for fish ponds etc. Works for me!

Trivia: What animal is responsible for more human deaths every year than any other?

Answer: Yup! mosquitos!

My first question to God when I die: Why mosquitos?????????????????
(I know they are a large food source for some predators but couldn't it have been something different?)[/

 

[MidGaMarine]

Update. I took the various bits of advice from you all. I added the VO and decided to go with ACV as well. I also put some DE in the feed and dust bath areas. I hate skeeters.

 

[Steven Bussell]

Actually, the mosquito dunks aren't a traditional poison or disease. They work by altering the larva's ability to morph beyond the larva phase. So, they can't develop into full blown mosquitos and they die off. They have no effect on fish or any other insect so they are safe for fish ponds etc. Works for me!

Trivia: What animal is responsible for more human deaths every year than any other?

Answer: Yup! mosquitos!

My first question to God when I die: Why mosquitos?????????????????
(I know they are a large food source for some predators but couldn't it have been something different?)[/

Your one 100 % right about mosquito dunks being safe.
I have a huge water filter system for my pond. Long story short I didn't run it for a week because my ducks were still in the border.
I used them before adding mosquitoe fish.
Birds and fish are fine

 

[HopeSprings]

The dunks and granules contain Baccillus thurgensis, a bacteria that infests the gut of mosquito larvae and kills them before they can become adults. When I lived in an area that had the Asian tiger mosquito, I set out 4 buckets of water around my yard with a quarter of a dunk per and a stick protruding out for landing pad. These really put a dent in the mosquito population and my dogs could drink out of the buckets, no problem!