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Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

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Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#211

Post by autoexec »

gspencley wrote: post #130
kspacewalk2 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To each their own. I much prefer to live in the neighbourhood where each neighbour does what they feel like with their property, within reason. It ought not be any business of yours what I do with my yard, front or back, as long as it doesn't adversely affect your enjoyment of your own property - and this last part is key - as a reasonable person would interpret it. In other words, smells and health hazards - sure. U…

> and the laughter of children This I will take a nuanced position on. If your kids are playing in the backyard, and it doesn't impact me at all ... perfect please enjoy life. But I can often hear people outside, especially children screeching and yelling, over my television with all of my doors and windows shut and the air conditioner on full blast. In those scenarios, the laughter IS adversely affecting the ability…

children screeching and yelling, provided that it isn't going on for hours at a time or in the middle of night, is just a normal consequence of living in a community.

I do feel for people who move in next to schools or public pools/playgrounds but considering how much time kids spend indoors these days I'd guess that people today have it much easier than people did in the past.

I'd much rather have to occasionally be reminded that kids are somewhere playing and having a good time than deal with a lot of the other noises that can disrupt a person's day like loud cars/motorcycles, drunk people fighting, landscapers or sirens.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#212

Post by jlg23 »

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…

> One question - how does this prevent mosquitos from breeding in other bits of standing water that I can't locate?

It cannot and that is not its purpose. Practically you should be able to locate any other breeding grounds by mere observation and then you have to eliminate them one by one until the mosquitos are left with the ones you set up.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#213

Post by c22 »

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.

If you're feeling like an asshole and you complain to the city about your neighbors overgrown yard most places will start fining your neighbor daily if it's actually a problem. It's not really a police matter though.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#214

Post by autoexec »

jmuguy wrote: post #28
tqwhite wrote: post #18

Every time I have read science guys about things that you can do to kill mosquitos there is an analogy to putting a drain in the ocean. You can kill mosquitos at a fantastic rate but, unless you are also killing them in all your neighbor's yards for a mile around, they are just going to keep coming as fast as they die.

Bingo. We did these buckets, were very diligent about it. They appeared to work (at least in terms of attracting Mosquitos, which they're meant to do) but had no real effect generally. House next door is a rental, with a rotating cast of 20-somethings that do not keep up the yard and its filled with nice little habitats for Mosquitos. One thing that an HOA might actually be good for - I would love to see what happens…

You might have some success with talking to them, or even dropping a leaflet or a print out in their mailbox explaining the problem and encouraging them to check their yard for breeding grounds. A lot of folks (especially young ones) just don't think about that kind of thing, but very few people actually like mosquitos, so a polite reminder every couple years or when someone new moves in might do some good.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#215

Post by petcat »

antisthenes wrote: post #185
VWWHFSfQ wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I question the motivation of people choosing to live in a place where they are constantly at odds with the agreed-upon standards of the community. They should leave if it is really that stressful and onerous.

> place where they are constantly at odds with the agreed-upon standards of the community. I didn't write those standards, so why would I agree with them? Should I be homeless now?

You seem to not understand what a Homeowner Association is. You have to agree to the rules in order to live in the community. However, you can choose not to agree to the rules if you don't like them. In which case, you can move somewhere else in order to avoid homelessness.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#216

Post by throwawaymaths »

Xss3 wrote: post #189
jmuguy wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bingo. We did these buckets, were very diligent about it. They appeared to work (at least in terms of attracting Mosquitos, which they're meant to do) but had no real effect generally. House next door is a rental, with a rotating cast of 20-somethings that do not keep up the yard and its filled with nice little habitats for Mosquitos. One thing that an HOA might actually be good for - I would love to see what happens…

I would love to live in a neighborhood full of meadow style gardens, where native plants are allowed to flower and feed bees, with bug habitats instead of neatly cut astroturf looking golf green lawns chock full of pesticides. I can't understand the people that think the artificial look holds any beauty whatsoever.

although meadow style gardens would increase bugs, i imagine they would decrease mosquitos?

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#217

Post by c22 »

gspencley wrote: post #130
kspacewalk2 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To each their own. I much prefer to live in the neighbourhood where each neighbour does what they feel like with their property, within reason. It ought not be any business of yours what I do with my yard, front or back, as long as it doesn't adversely affect your enjoyment of your own property - and this last part is key - as a reasonable person would interpret it. In other words, smells and health hazards - sure. U…

> and the laughter of children This I will take a nuanced position on. If your kids are playing in the backyard, and it doesn't impact me at all ... perfect please enjoy life. But I can often hear people outside, especially children screeching and yelling, over my television with all of my doors and windows shut and the air conditioner on full blast. In those scenarios, the laughter IS adversely affecting the ability…

Sometimes I hear dogs barking and loud cars on the street. Or just the constant drone of weed whackers and leaf blowers from about april to october. I have triple glazed windows and eight inch thick walls so I don't hear any of it when I go inside.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#218

Post by c22 »

autoexec wrote: post #211
gspencley wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and the laughter of children This I will take a nuanced position on. If your kids are playing in the backyard, and it doesn't impact me at all ... perfect please enjoy life. But I can often hear people outside, especially children screeching and yelling, over my television with all of my doors and windows shut and the air conditioner on full blast. In those scenarios, the laughter IS adversely affecting the ability…

children screeching and yelling, provided that it isn't going on for hours at a time or in the middle of night, is just a normal consequence of living in a community. I do feel for people who move in next to schools or public pools/playgrounds but considering how much time kids spend indoors these days I'd guess that people today have it much easier than people did in the past. I'd much rather have to occasionally be…

If you move next to a playground you should know what you're doing. My parents live next to a school on purpose and we all enjoy the sounds of children when we're out in the yard. Recess isn't even that long and always happens in the middle of a weekday.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#219

Post by 8organicbits »

8organicbits wrote: post #111

My neighbors and I have been using the dunks and mosquitos have been significantly reduced this year in Northern Virginia. I'd prefer not to use the dunks as I'm uncertain they only impact mosquitos, but my insect population seems healthy. I saw a stag beetle two weeks ago! There are certainly fewer spiders though.

I checked on my bucket just now- I see three adult mosquitoes dead in the water (incidental? The dunk isn't targeting them). There is a spider web above the bucket with a trapped mosquito. I sat outside for a couple minutes and saw two adults flying around me. In prior years I'd be swamped by them even with bug spray; so this is a big improvement.

Re: Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death

#220

Post by petcat »

JohnFen wrote: post #178
VWWHFSfQ wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I question the motivation of people choosing to live in a place where they are constantly at odds with the agreed-upon standards of the community. They should leave if it is really that stressful and onerous.

It's not a question of being at odds with the agreed-upon standards. They aren't. > They should leave if it is really that stressful and onerous. Easier said than done. A few people I know found that it was difficult to sell their home because the existence of an HOA scares off buyers.

> difficult to sell their home because the existence of an HOA scares off buyers

It can be a concern. But I actually found the opposite to be true in my case. During my house-hunt I was far more turned-off by the appearance and disrepair of several houses and properties near the places that I was looking at. So it can definitely be a consideration from both perspectives.

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