Sharing because I know the chemical-free crowd here will appreciate it.
We have a mosquito problem, mainly in during summer time. My wife banned the sprays and the citronella for obvious reasons (kids, pets, just being indoors-adjacent) and I'd run out of "natural" things to try.
Old farmer told me the trick I hadn't heard from anyone else: mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water, larvae take ~4 days to hatch and if you flush the water before they hatch you skip an entire generation. Do it consistently for a few weeks and the local population collapses.
I tried doing it with a bucket and a phone reminder. Failed within a week.
So I built a small auto-flusher. Two pumps (one to drain, one to refill from the hose), a water-level sensor so they don't run dry and a small timer that fires every 4 days. About $35 in parts. No chemicals, nothing toxic to the soil, no scent traps for the bees.
Three weeks in, mosquitoes in our yard have collapsed. We eat dinner outside. The kids can play in the grass at dusk again. And critically – nothing in the yard is poisoned, sprayed, or fogged.
If you've got any standing water you can't drain permanently (rain barrel overflow, birdbath, ornamental pond), this is the workaround. Happy to share parts and wiring.
by SaltArrival8522
46 Comments
This is the kind of thing you could legitimately sell mate.
Yeah you should make a video of your contraption
I am very interested in how to build this
Municipalities should take note of
Have you tried misquote dunks? Supposed to be a natural enzyme that kills them but is safe for people/pets/plants
I will like to know parts amd how to make it please.
ETA: That is awesome
I am ALL in for this if you can share the parts
Now this is a summer project im looking for.
Do you have a YouTube chnl for it? Can I get parts list and plan too? Thx!
More details! Seems like a great idea.
Now do it into a aquaponics system and feed the fish with them
This is AMAZING!
Can we do wasps next? I know they’re pollinators, but theres tons in my area and they’re absolutely unhinged.
Wo this is super cool, can you share the build? I’m trying the dunk buckets this year but I’d love to have this in my back pocket to try if those fail.
This is incredible! I’d pay for you to set this up!
What’s wrong with citronella? Is there something I’m missing?
Make mosquito bucket of doom. Be happy.
This is awesome and using science and engineering to create a nice simple solution !!
I did something similar but low tech myself. I used to breed and sell aquarium fish, so when I did aquarium cleanings I dumped the dirty fish water in a clear tank outside in the sun. I put in daphnia to eat the algae which ate the fish poop. Mosquitos loved that tank so I’d scoop the larvae off the surface a few times a day to feed the fish. I noticed over time there were fewer and fewer mosquitos in the tank and almost none in the yard.
Just FYI I’ve read that mosquitos release some chemical in water that basically tells other mosquitos that it’s a good place to lay eggs. I’ve read filtering the water is more ideal than just dumping and filling. You could basically have it circulate through some fine mesh or something so that the larvae dry out and die.
Please tell me how to make it. Links to supplies would help, I need specific directions lol
What stops the mosquitoes from breeding in the stagnant water you can’t drain? Mosquitoes travel 1-3 miles from where they breed.
Thats very very cool.
Why did you fail when you tried doing it with phone timer?
I wish this could work for me, but I have a nearby large body of water they can breed in.
Rad!
Is that not a bunch of dihydrogen monoxide?
I do the same thing but manually. I have a Google calendar marked for the rest of my life every 4th day to dump and refill 😂 this is so awesome
I just put a bowl out with mosquito bits in it. Its passive and if you add a roof (to stop rain overflow) you only need to top it up once a week. No draining required the BT bacteria in the mosquito bits is harmless and is already found in the soil but in smaller quanities.
I’m curious why the bucket of water and a phone alarm to dump every 4 days was a failure. I thought that was a decent idea too lol
You have saved my life (and likely legitimately are saving others’), this is so freaking cool and can’t wait to make it myself. Thank you so much!!!
Nice job. Mosquito bits-best thing I’ve found that works.
Dude that’s awesome. Might put something like that in at my farm (close to a swamp). Now if you could make something for gnats, that would help near my river house lol
I would love to see the plans. I’ve had this same idea for years but I’ve never gotten around to building it.
Does it require constant connection to a hose? It so that would work for me. I was working on one that could be freestanding, which would be preferable.
But your completed one is much better than my not completed one. I’d love to build this. My backyard has always had tons of mosquitoes
Bro this is incredible. I have zero programming or electronic experience, is this still something I can make? Like are you directions in that link you posted that followable?
That’s actually genius, you basically turned mosquito control into a low-budget engineering flex and I respect it.
Nice
I love this!!!
This could also be incorporated into a bird bath. This is really cool and I agree you should try to make a few dollars from this.
Great idea!! Is the auto flush like a dehumidifier pump?
Please send me a kit.
Gran’s check is in the mail. 😉
how big of a yard does this serve? i would imagine they find and breed in all water sources, so this has to big and attractive enough for them to favor this over all other possible sources
Additionally, this would function as a reliable water source for desirable creatures like birds and bees, but would avoid having the birdbath breed mosquitoes.
Why don’t you use citronella?
2nd try…. I live in So. Oregon. Wet winters and springs. Hot, dry summers. Plus a river 150′ down across street but is moving water. Also in a neighborhood. Would this cover an acre or at least my front yard area? My Aussie pup is MDR1 positive. No heartworm meds. Problems with other meds too. TYIA
Is yours the only standing water in the area? We have a problem here but literally no clue where they are coming from as people are vigilant about standing water and such.
I wonder if you could get an ancillary benefit by adding rocks or something that floats to make it a usable water source for bees and other critters?
Does it just dumb the water into the grass? is the water being dumped into the grass enough to kill whatever larve is in it?