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Mosquito donuts


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#1 Moontanman

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Posted 30 July 2015 - 02:37 PM

Does anyone know if the mosquito control donuts that release a bacterium that kills mosquito larvae will hurt daphnia? 


Michael

Life is the poetry of the universe
Love is the poetry of life

#2 Matt DeLaVega

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Posted 30 July 2015 - 03:27 PM

Try a small sample. Otherwise not worth the risk. Maybe Phil Nixon could answer this, it seems like it is possible that the bacteria is that mosquito specific. I would like to hear the outcome for sure.


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#3 Mysteryman

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Posted 30 July 2015 - 05:21 PM

Do those things really work? I've wondered about them, but never tried them. I usually have fish enough in the pools to take care of any mosquitoes, but not always. For example, I have a bog pool with a nice cluster of Orontium growing in it, but no fish.

 

Speaking of which, my Orontium pool is still back home in very south Alabama. I'd like to move it up here to North Alabama so I can enjoy it. Will it survive in Huntsville?



#4 Moontanman

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Posted 30 July 2015 - 06:28 PM

Normally I use water movement to discourage mosquitos but my pump has been weak and the mosquitos have been rather aggressive this year... 


Michael

Life is the poetry of the universe
Love is the poetry of life

#5 swampfish

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Posted 31 July 2015 - 03:15 PM

Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis), the active ingredient in Mosquito Dunks, has been found to have no significant nor observable effect on the mortality of Daphnia pulex or D. magna, which are the two lab-rat daphnia used in pesticide toxicity testing. In other words, Bti does not kill daphnia. The toxins produced by the bacteria are very specific to many mosquito and buffalo gnat (black fly) species. It is not even toxic to many species of chironomids (bloodworms, midges) which are closely related to mosquitoes.

 

Mosquito Dunks are very effective against clear-water mosquito larvae. The Bti toxins get bound up (adsorbed) by organic matter, making them poor in effectiveness against container-breeding mosquitoes including Culex pipiens, northern house mosquito, which transmits West Nile Virus. Container-breeding mosquitoes select water with large amounts of suspended organic matter to lay their eggs. In the Caribbean, Bacillus sphaericus Is used to control container-breeding mosquitoes to reduce the spread of dengue. B. sphaericus is less-commonly used in the U.S., but is used more in southern states. 

 

Mosquito Dunks normally provide control of mosquito larvae for 30 to 60 days. My understanding is that they are working on some microencapsulation technology that will provide control for 120 days. Bt materials do not last as long as other insecticides and pesticides. They tend to lose effectiveness after 3-5 years, so old product may not provide control. Realize that retailers commonly save unsold insecticides to sell the next year, so avoid containers with faded printing, indicating age.

 

Research that I conducted showed that goldfish, golden shiners, fathead minnows, gambusia, and variatus platies all provided excellent control of several genera of mosquito larvae. Koi were not very effective. I chose fish species that were easily obtainable by homeowners and had a wide temperature tolerance. All six species survived imprisonment in icy slush in the fall. Any minnow, topminnow, or sunfish should provide excellent control of mosquito larvae as long as there are no inaccessible shallow water or planted areas.

 

Phil Nixon

Extension Entomologist

University of Illinois



#6 Matt DeLaVega

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Posted 31 July 2015 - 03:50 PM

Heck yeah. That is what I was hoping for. Thanks Phil. Do notice that the excellent mosquito larva killing fish that Phil suggested are not picky, and will gladly eat your daphnia as well, but I am sure you already knew that Michael.

 

I inject BT into the stems of squash in the garden. I get some success against vine borers as far as I can tell.


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#7 Moontanman

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Posted 31 July 2015 - 03:56 PM

I think I have a handle on the mosquitos by making sure I harvest all the mosquito pupae every day They seem to be thinning out and I skim the surface with my net to make sure I pick up the floating mosquito eggs as well... 


Michael

Life is the poetry of the universe
Love is the poetry of life

#8 Betta132

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Posted 03 August 2015 - 10:54 PM

Our neighbor has a pool that's turned into a pond, and they always have at least 3 mosquito donuts in there. The pool is full of tadpoles, dragonfly larvae, damselfly larvae, water beetles and aquatic walking sticks. No mosquitos. I can't speak for daphnia, but I'm assuming there's a healthy population of small buggies to feed the larger buggies. They probably just all slipped through my net. 






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