Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 5/16/2010

Question
I keep my collection of Sarracenia & Drosera in large water trays in my greenhouse. The trays soon get mosquito larvae in them. It is a nuisance to have to take all the plants out of the trays (I have a large collection) eery few weeks to pour out the water. Is there anything I could put in the water that would kill the mosquito larvae but would not harm the plants? Any advice you can give me would be appreciated.

Answer
Hi Lloyd,

Yes, we have this same problem at our nursery.  We use mosquito dunks.  You can search for it online or look for it at your local garden center.  Just ask the folks for mosquito dunks, and the should know what you're talking about.

The dunks contain spores of a particular bacteria that wrecks havoc on the larvae's intestinal system.  In a short while (24-48 hours), they die off.  The bacteria is specific to mosquito larvae and fungus gnats.  A lot of research shows that birds, amphibians, fishes, mammals (including humans, dogs and cats) are unaffected by the bacteria.  I just placed a bunch of mosquito dunks in our Sarracenia pools, and within 24 hours all of the mosquito larvae were dead.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin