Fountains are becoming increasingly popular as people get more and more fascinated with them. Since it is placed in the backyard or indoors, the sound of running water creates a calming atmosphere that they enjoy. They’re a magnet for a wide range of wildlife, including colorful birds, small mammals, and intriguing insects. However, mosquitoes can also be an unwanted addition to the landscape if they aren’t regulated properly.
A large indoor fountain is a perfect example of a water feature where mosquitoes will almost certainly breed due to standing water. Even though it is intended to beautify and personalize vital indoor spaces, it can also attract armies of mosquitoes during the warmer months. And before you know it, your place has become overrun with bug infestations.
To avoid mosquitoes or their larvae, you must know the best practices for keeping mosquitoes away from drinking fountains and other water sources.
Regularly Change And Run The Fountain
The most effective method of preventing mosquito breeding on your fountain is to keep it running regularly. By stirring up the water, you make it difficult for mosquitoes to lay their eggs in it. If there are larvae on the water’s surface, the pumping and flowing motion will most certainly kill some of them, but not all.
Furthermore, it takes a mosquito 7 to 10 days to develop from an egg to an adult, depending on the species. The result is that mosquitoes will be unable to complete their life cycle if you drain and replace the water in your fountain at least once every five days.
Impede Mosquitoes’ Breeding Activity
There are several ways to keep mosquitoes from coming to the surface to breathe, including bubblers, fountains, water-wigglers, and waterfalls.
Mosquitoes need a steady supply of still water to lay eggs, and fountains provide this abundantly. By agitating or aerating the water, mosquitoes cannot lay their eggs in fountains because the surface tension is broken.
Also, you may keep mosquitoes at bay by agitating the water in your fountain using a device such as the Water Wiggler or a miniature waterfall. The sound of water splashing will attract birds, and they’ll help you keep the insects away from your fountain by acting as predators.
Add Natural Habitats
If it is possible, include fish in your fountain. In less than a week, minnows can swallow the equivalent of their body weight in mosquito eggs. Mosquitoes can be controlled by using predators found in nature, such as bats, dragonflies, and fish. These organisms are voracious feeders of adult mosquitoes as well as larval mosquitoes.
Therefore, one of the best methods to keep mosquito numbers under control is maintaining a healthy natural habitat and rivers. You may help preserve nature and battle these mosquitoes simultaneously by participating in conservation initiatives in your area or at your local parks.
Fill The Water Fountain With A Bacterial Solution
It would help if you avoided using chemical insecticides in your fountain; instead, use a bacterial insecticide to treat it. This type of insecticide eliminates mosquitoes while being non-toxic to birds and animals. These are available for purchase in garden centers in most cases.
With chemicals such as Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis (BTI), mosquitoes can be controlled in 30 days. However, they are not a long-term solution. Consider installing an agitator or aerator in your water supply system for long-term solutions.
Splash A Traditional Repellant: Cinnamon
Cinnamon is more than simply a tasty seasoning; it also has numerous health benefits. It’s also an excellent mosquito repellent, both indoors and outdoors. You can sprinkle the cinnamon in your fountain so that mosquitoes will find the water unattractive due to its oils and extracts that linger around.
Besides that, this traditional repellant kills mosquito larvae in under 24 hours when used at a concentration of 5 percent. To destroy all the eggs and larvae within six hours, you can boost the solute concentration to 15%.
