Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death • Hacker News Board

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#201

Post by toast0 » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 5:58 PM UTC

because_789 wrote: post #69

Anyone else use mosquito fish? I got some from the pet store, put them in our small koi pond, and the mosquitoes really died off dramatically.

Some vector control programs give out mosquito fish, worth checking in. Where I live, mosquito fish are specifically discouraged in waters that may flow into natural waters because they can feed on native fish and amphibians. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any advice about what native fish I could put in the small, mucky, pond on my land. :( (Kitsap County, WA)

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#202

Post by bobafett-9902 » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 5:59 PM UTC

schiffern wrote: post #161

pavel_lishin wrote: post #129

One question - how does this prevent mosquitos from breeding in other bits of standing water that I can't locate? I have no idea where ours are coming from; I suspect they hatch somewhere, and then migrate to the shaded areas of my yard, which is where I typically get bit. Adding a bucket will prevent some mosquitoes from laying eggs elsewhere, but not all, right? Or is the bucket so attractive to mosquitoes that the…

After checking the obvious like old tires or stagnant ditches or tire tracks, the more hidden breeding sites include house gutters, French drains (under the gravel), buried yard drains, and garage floor drains. The general rule is that mosquitos need a pool of water the size of a bottle cap, and it needs to be there for at least a week. Good luck, and good hunting.

beware the undulated lids of garbage bins standing outside your house ... or an uncapped recycling bin

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#203

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 5:59 PM UTC

pavel_lishin wrote: post #129

One question - how does this prevent mosquitos from breeding in other bits of standing water that I can't locate? I have no idea where ours are coming from; I suspect they hatch somewhere, and then migrate to the shaded areas of my yard, which is where I typically get bit. Adding a bucket will prevent some mosquitoes from laying eggs elsewhere, but not all, right? Or is the bucket so attractive to mosquitoes that the…

[deleted]

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#204

Post by BugsJustFindMe » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 6:00 PM UTC

One thing I never see discussed about these is what you're supposed to do when rain inevitably fills the bucket.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#205

Post by progbits » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 6:00 PM UTC

johnthedebs wrote: post #180

The comments saying that other sources of water need to be removed are spot on. Another technique I've tried which works (observably) well is described in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BhV-o77RqQ tl;dw: Get a big drum fan with a screen on the back, attached with small/powerful magnets. Mosquitos are such poor flyers that they get pulled against the screen and can't escape, and they pretty quickly desic…

The fans in that video are probably 200-400W, running that nonstop seems pretty wasteful.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#206

Post by autoexec » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 6:00 PM UTC

Arainach wrote: post #192

dfxm12 wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it comes to it, cops, 311 and probably other means are available. It's possible to enforce and court is not needed.

It's hard enough to get the cops to come out to a robbery - I know of nowhere in America where they're bored enough to come look at someone with poor landscaping. Unless you're a decamillionaire (or a cop), the cops in America don't care about you.

> I know of nowhere in America where they're bored enough to come look at someone with poor landscaping.

People get fines all the time for failing to cut their grass. Some cities just love the income. They can add up to several thousand (https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/in-court-of-appeals/168774...).

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#207

Post by Terr_ » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 6:01 PM UTC

beala wrote: post #158

A bit of a tangent, but BT is also great for getting rid of tomato hornworms. The bacteria is harmless to humans, but fatal to the hornworms. A single application saved my tomato plants last year. That said, the more I garden, the more I find the entire process a bit horrifying. Waging biological warfare on the critters is not what I thought I was signing up for.

> Waging biological warfare on the critters is not what I thought I was signing up for.

Alternate framing: A grey-goo apocalypse caused nanobots to consume and occupy all the convenient parts of the planet, and after billions of years of assimilation and hacking, some of the survivors formed a mobile hivemind megafortress which can "garden" and feel conflicted about it. :p

In other words, it's biological warfare all the way down.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#208

Post by pentamassiv » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 6:05 PM UTC

Wouldn't you be able to just set up buckets of water and then dump the water every few days before the mosquito larvae hatch? Is the point of the bacteria that you can set and forget about them?

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#209

Post by steve_adams_86 » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 6:05 PM UTC

If you'd like to use tap water without waiting, you can add ascorbic acid to water straight from the tap and it'll neutralize the chlorine and chloramine.

Ascorbic acid is a great, environmentally-safe reducing agent that readily donates electrons to these compounds. A 500–1000mg Vitamin C powder capsule will contain enough ascorbic acid to neutralize 5 gallons of even the worst city water with a good buffer to spare. What's left is harmless to most life, so you can throw your organic matter straight in.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#210

Post by steve_adams_86 » Wed, Jul 30, 2025, 6:06 PM UTC

pentamassiv wrote: post #208

Wouldn't you be able to just set up buckets of water and then dump the water every few days before the mosquito larvae hatch? Is the point of the bacteria that you can set and forget about them?

The longer the water sits, the more suitable it is for the larvae and the more likely it is that the adults will lay eggs in it. If you refresh it frequently, it won't be as appealing.