CouchHatter - 18-8-2019 at 16:19
I have a pest problem, and while I can think of several chemical solutions, none of them meet all my criteria.
I have a sink converted to a recirculating aspirator, and so there are 3-5 gallons of standing water when not in use. I put 1/4 tsp of bleach in it
before but that caused some foaming. I want it to
- kill the mosquito larvae while in the sink aspirator,
- react minimally with anything I'm distilling under vacuum,
- not be a hazard to the other wildlife when I want to drain some water,
- not encourage the ice to melt or lower the freezing temp of the water, and
- not evaporate appreciably below 80ºC.
Google suggests dish soap or shampoo, both VERY foamy. I can live with a little bit of inefficient bubbles, but thought there might be a simple
solution I'm overlooking. Anything else come to mind? Maybe I should just run it shortly for twice a week - surely they can't last in the turbulence
of a 3/4 HP pump.
Sulaiman - 18-8-2019 at 16:50
I think that adding some methanol to the water kills the larvae,
or you could use a u.v. lamp to prevent algae which I believe is their food source.
The easiest and most environmentally responsible method would be to ensure that mosquitos cannot get to the water !
Cover the tank with a lid or netting.
WGTR - 18-8-2019 at 18:03
Maybe a tiny bit of copper sulfate?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4640347/
It shouldn’t take much at all, less than a ppm.
BromicAcid - 18-8-2019 at 20:17
I use Mosquito Dunks in my backyard pond. They are a bacteria toxic to mosquito larvae. They do leave some particulates though when they dissolve.
draculic acid69 - 19-8-2019 at 00:32
Is borax any good for this?
rockyit98 - 19-8-2019 at 06:42
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycBv24djPDM
3 DIY Mosquito Trap Comparison
TD64209 - 21-8-2019 at 20:43
I'll second the mosquito dunk recommendation, takes care of gnats too iirc.
unionised - 22-8-2019 at 10:29
Enough washing soda or rust remover to push the pH too high or too low for the larvae.