Fight the bite’ with mosquito dunk trap buckets

[July 18, 2022]  By Zeta Cross | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – Summertime is mosquito season and the Illinois Department of Public Health is reminding people that mosquitoes are more than just a nuisance. They carry West Nile virus and other diseases.

Last year, 64 people in Illinois were diagnosed with West Nile virus. Five of them died, IDPH spokesman Mike Claffey said.

“We have an active surveillance program that is conducted through local health departments,” Claffey said. “So far, we have tested positive batches of infected mosquitoes in 10 Illinois counties.”

By the time the summer was well under way last year, West Nile virus was found in nearly every county in the state, Claffey said.

People over the age of 50 are more susceptible to serious harm from West Nile virus, IDPH said. Most people who get infected never experience any symptoms.

Dusk is the time when a lot of mosquitoes are out.

“If you are outside, wear insect repellent,” Claffey said.

IDPH is encouraging people to “fight the bite” by getting rid of containers that collect standing water where mosquitoes breed. Any container that holds even a little water can produce mosquitoes. Old toys, flowerpots, bird baths and patio furniture are all potential breeding sites. Old tires are well known as standing water collectors where mosquitoes breed, Claffey said.

Change the water in bird baths frequently – or daily – to prevent mosquitoes. Consider installing a bat house. The average bat can eat 1,000 to 1,200 mosquitoes in a single hour.

Make a mosquito trap using non-toxic dunks, a mosquito control product, that are sold in hardware stores and garden centers. Dunks can also be added to ponds and rain barrels.

Doug Tallamy, professor of entomology at the University of Delaware, said mosquito foggers and yard sprays are not effective mosquito killers.

“You don’t control mosquitoes at the adult stage. Spraying only kills 10 to 20% of adult mosquitoes,” Tallamy said. “You have to keep spraying all summer.”
 

Commercial mosquito products don’t just kill mosquitoes. They kill fireflies, butterflies and beneficial pollinators that people want in their yards, Tallamy said.

Mosquito dunks do a much better job of controlling mosquitoes without harming people and pollinators, he said.

To make a mosquito trap, fill a bucket with water and throw a handful of straw or hay on top. Let it ferment for a day or two. Then add a mosquito dunk.

The diatoms and algae that mosquito larvae like to eat will blossom in the bucket and attract female mosquitoes. The dunk is a natural bacterium that kills aquatic dipteras. The only aquatic dipterum in the bucket is the mosquito.