mosquitos in stocktank

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I had to go out of town for the Labor Day weekend. I filled two stock tanks with water and equiped them with floats, so they wouldn't run dry. When I returned, I noticed that they were full of mosquito larvae. The tanks were too full to dump, and I didn't want these monsters to hatch, so I poured a dollop of olive oil in each tank. The next morning, the larvae were dead. The horses and goats don't seem to mind drinking through the olive oil, but I wondered if it would go rancid. Does anyone know if and when olive oil goes bad?

-- Judy in IN (whileaway3@cs.com), September 07, 2001

Answers

It doesn't go bad in the sense of being poisonous. It probably won't taste as good, but the stock will still drink - let's face it, they won't have any option. Comr to that, it's probably more enjoyable for them than being pestered by the mosquitos, too.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), September 08, 2001.

Put a few small fish in the tanks and your mosquito problem will disappear.

-- Bruce (Rural@inebraska.com), September 08, 2001.

minnows work great

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), September 08, 2001.

The olive oil should last about a week, in full sun before it goes rancid.

Be sure to skim ALL the oil off before putting any fish in there, the oil will stop the oxygen exchange between the air and the water, and the poor fish would "drown", so to speak!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), September 08, 2001.


A friend had goldfish in her tank for several years, they were heated in the winter. I have heard of adding cider vinegar to tanks to prevent algae buildup. Wonder if this would discourage mosquitoes as well.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), September 08, 2001.


Gambusia species work well for this, nickname "mosquito fish" LOL I keep them in our bird bath(cement bowl, 48 around and 16" deep) and in our pond. They overwinter here but our winters are mild. Don't know about how they'd do in severe winters.

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), September 08, 2001.

Cider vinegar definitely keeps mosquitos away from the watering tanks. I use it all the time. And it's good for the livestock (loaded with B vitamins!).

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), September 08, 2001.

Turn off the float. Bail out the water tank. Clean, refill, & get some minnows (they will also help keep down the algie). Mosquitos need calm stagnent (still) water to breed (can't breed in moving water). Get one of those air hoses (with a stone on the end) that is used in fish tanks. This will keep the water moving enough to prevent the pests from breeding, will keep air in the water for the fish, & in winter will help keep the water from freezing without useing a heater. Air hoses for fish tanks also tend to be more energy effentient then water heaters.

My 2 cents.

animalfarms

-- animalfarms (jawjlewis@netzero.net), September 09, 2001.


Thanks, everyone, for the thoughts. With the West Nile virus in our state now, I don't want to contribute to the mosquito population.

-- Judy in IN (whileaway3@cs.com), September 09, 2001.

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