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c/diy-backyard•ray_kingray_king•1mo agoProlific Poster

Found out my DIY rain barrel was breeding mosquitoes the whole time

I read on the EPA site that a single mosquito can lay 300 eggs in a bucket of standing water, and I left my barrel uncovered for 2 weeks. Anyone else forget to add a screen and deal with this nightmare?
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2 Comments
bethcarr
bethcarr1mo ago
300 eggs in a bucket of standing water" - that's honestly horrifying. I left my rain barrel uncovered for only a week and ended up with a layer of wigglers so thick you could scoop them out with a cup. You have my deepest sympathy, that's a nightmare cleanup.
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betty_reed61
Oh man, that's brutal! I had a similar thing happen with a kiddie pool I forgot about for two weeks last summer. I went to dump it out and it was basically mosquito soup with a side of sludge. I swear I still get the creeps thinking about that thick layer of wigglers just wiggling around in the sun. Now I keep a tight lid on everything and check my gutters like a hawk, lesson learned the hard way.
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