Skeeter beater

I live in a neighborhood of hardworking, friendly people. I can't say that it's like the one I grew up in. Back then, people from all walks of life beat a path to the annual Memorial Day Picnic thrown by my next-door neighbors. While I feel nostalgic for those days, and the easy comradery of both the adults and kids back then, I understand we live in a different era. People are caught up in busy jobs, and spend the bulk of their socializing on local fields watching their kids play sports.

I don't throw an annual picnic, but I make an attempt to get to know the folks who live around me. I wave at everyone when I'm walking my dogs, and have, subsequently, gotten to know most of the people who live on my street. I met the police officer down the road who is training a German shepherd for the canine unit, I admired the tree peonies of the across-the-street neighbor, welcomed my new neighbors who just moved in next-door, and thanked the fellow behind me who offered to run my tree branches through his mulcher.

It makes me proud to say we look out for each other in this neighborhood. With that happy thought in my mind, I realized the best way I could be a good neighbor was to share some knowledge I've acquired from years spent in my garden. During this time of year, pest control is vital, so I've made the effort to educate folks in order to reduce the mosquito population in my area. This information will help everyone, no matter where you live:

Standing water is a safety risk. From a stagnant pond to a tiny puddle, water that isn't flowing is bound to be breeding mosquito larvae. As we all know from paying attention to numerous news stories, mosquitos carry deadly viruses, like West Nile, and the new-to-our area Zika--a particularly scary strain for pregnant women (due to the link with birth defects) and the immune-compromised. My neighborhood is in transition, with many new families moving in. There are a number of newborns and pregnant ladies in the area, so this is a particular concern of mine. Fortunately, it's a quick and simple fix to get rid of the pests without harming people, pets or wildlife.

First of all, keep all fountains and ponds flowing. Make sure those pumps are cycling water through the day. I turn mine off at night, but start it right back up when daylight hits. Moving water is hard for pests to settle in. Other eco-friendly tips: dump a few minnows in your pond. Minnows are natural predators to the larvae that becomes hazardous insects. If your pond is less than three feet deep, minnows need to be scooped out and kept in a basement during the winter so they don't freeze. If that seems like too much work, encourage frogs to populate your pond. As we all know, adult frogs eat insects, but did you know that tadpoles eat larvae?

If you can't coax the horny ones to your yard, you can opt for mosquito dunks: small, compressed discs containing the naturally occurring bacteria bacillus thuringiensis israelensis  (AKA bti), which naturally inhibits mosquito populations by poisoning them. I know it sounds toxic, and it is--to mosquitos. Yet this treatment, in use since the 1920's, is actually eco-friendly. Here's how it works:

Bti, a naturally occurring bacteria, is harvested from soil and packed into the briquettes which float on water surfaces, and are eaten by mosquito larvae (which ever-so-conveniently hatch from eggs also deposited on top of the water). The toxic crystals that the larvae ingest explode only the cells of mosquito and black fly stomachs, forcing them to stop eating and starve to death. It's as simple as that.

What isn't so easy is ensuring that the dunks (or smaller pellets for tinier spaces) are in all your landscape's nooks and crannies. You really have to scout out areas that allow water to gather: gutters, old pails, flowerpots, wagons and wheelbarrows--even poorly draining areas and dips in your lawn. Larvae can survive in just a teaspoon of water!

Time is also a factor. These dangerous insects are breeding and hatching now, so there truly is no time to lose. Since no other species are harmed by the dunks--including wildlife like birds and tadpoles, pets and people--there's no reason not to protect your friends, family and neighbors right now. I've spread these potentially lifesaving discs around my yard--just in time to consider reinstating that time-honored tradition of my childhood: the neighborhood Memorial Day Picnic.