Is there any way to keep mosquitoes from laying eggs?

Actually, there is something that’s safe to use with dogs. Mosquito dunks are made from naturally occurring soil bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis strain israelensis (for the rest of us: Bti).

If you can keep the water moving the mosquitoes won’t lay eggs there. A small pump in the water would fix it. You wouldn’t have to run it all day I don’t think. An hour or two would probably be enough.

Thank you! Perfect.

This is why I love Fluther!

If you think about the pump research how often it needs to be on. All I know is females don’t like to lay eggs in moving water and the newly born mosquitoes need the water to be still. I don’t know if there is a time if day mosquitoes are more likely to lay eggs?? In general mosquitoes are out in force at dusk, but I don’t know if the female has a special hour of the day for laying eggs?

I’m wondering, if you can’t install pumps (due to the cost or the labor involved), how about just supplementing the rain water with running hose water into them several times a day? Then there’d be movement several times a day, and hopefully the mommy mosquitoes will see this is not a good place to put their maternity ward.

Change the water every day.

Right now, we have neither running water nor power. I don’t know how water pumps work – do the bigger ones require an external power source?
For the long term, definitely looking into that. The water would benefit from more movement, anyway. For now, we’re ordering those tablets. I just checked, and they’re even available on our Amazon.

Thanks, everyone!

Move your hands around in the water several times a day, to throw Mommy Mosquito a hint.

@jca Think that would do the trick? I guess it’s worth a try, while we’re waiting for the tablets. Those mosquitoes are out to kill.

The tablets really work. The county drops them into our lawn drains and it makes a huge difference. Another way to control mosquitoes is with bat houses, but I hate the idea of bats so in my community I asked they don’t install the houses.

That’s another great idea. Maybe there’s a similar program in my area. I love bats, and they’d have a nice, quiet spot at the training centre.

From what I understand, if you put up the houses the bats find them.

Where I live the county actively helps take care of mosquito problems. Maybe a government agency can help you if you don’t solve it easily yourselves.

The Bti works, or you could buy some fish. I don’t know how big your tubs are.

In my area we actually have a mosquito control agency that uses helicopters to disperse agents that prevent mosquitoes..
Here’s the link.
It explains a bit about what they disperse and how it prevents mosquitoes from maturing/hatching.

Because we have two ponds (well, sometimes I consider them more like swamp land) on our property we get helicopter service (they fly amazingly low..you can actually see the pilots up close and wave to them!) a couple times a summer. No cost to us. Thank you tax dollars!

Lastly, there are “foggers” – sprays you can find at DIY places like Home Depot which can be used to make a perimeter around your yard where ‘squitoes won’t enter for a period of time. We do this when we’re having outdoor parties.

Its stagnant water that is the issue. So keep the water moving and mosquitoes shall be frustrated!
Ayodele Komolafe.