OCD anti-Zika mosquito control

[Iglooo]

I think it’s best to let a company do it for it. You need something more powerful than a graden sprayer.

[greenwitch]

A treasure trove of OCD anti-mosquito info:

http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2016/07/how_to_prevent_mosquitoes_from.html

[quote]
Some problem areas aren’t as obvious as water-filled flower pots. A recent call in a “flawless neighborhood” left Foulon scratching his head. The yards were groomed, and he couldn’t find any open containers or other “breeding habitat.” The culprit? Grass clippings clogged a storm drain.

“The grass starts decomposing, gets real organic, and as soon as it starts stinking, the mosquitoes are going straight for it,” Foulon said.
[/quote}

“Real organic”, lol.

Foulon said to look for other bloodsucker hiding places. That beautiful front door wreath? It’s a mosquito hotel with a blinking neon vacancy sign. The insects love cool, dark places to hide. “They’ll pile in there, and every time you open that door…whoosh.” They can hide out in patio furniture cushions, too.

What about mosquito-repelling plants? “You would have to literally put one every 5 inches around you” for it to work, Foulon said. “You’d have to be doing snow angels in it.”

[greenwitch]

http://www.nola.com/science/index.ssf/2016/03/your_yard_may_be_a_haven_for_z.html
for @coralbrook -

• Rain barrels

The popularity of rain gardens, in which storm water is captured before it enters the municipal storm sewer, has led to the parallel interest in rain barrels to capture water coming off roofs (we called them water butts where I come from). These barrels can become prime breeding sites for mosquitoes if you’re not careful. The slightest opening between downspout and barrel should be well screened. “I’ve seen some with not-good screening and [mosquitoes] breed like mad,” Jeannine M. Dorothy, an entomologist with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, wrote via email.

If you have a rain barrel, you should also use mosquito dunks containing a biological larvacide named Bt. One method of thwarting mosquitoes is to put a few drops of mineral oil or detergent on the water to break the surface tension they need to hatch. These “would not work so well and would need constant re-application, which homeowners are not likely to do,” she wrote. So screen the barrel, add a dunk and use the water for your garden.

[greenwitch]

And bromeliads:

http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2016/06/how_to_prevent_mosquitos_from.html

If you only have a few plants, you could just dump out the water and refill the cup with fresh water once
or twice a week. If you have a large number of bromeliads or don’t want to have to remember to dump them, you can use a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis serotype israelensis (Bti). A granular product like Mosquito Bits would be easiest to use in the bromeliads. Although it effectively kills mosquito larvae, Bti is safe for other living organisms.

Apparently the active ingredient in mosquito dunks also comes in a granular form for smaller areas. Nice! I already gave away my bromeliads but I didn’t like them much anyway. They are sharp!