Rain barrel protection is easy.
The best defense is a good offense, so take a couple of simple steps to secure your rain barrel from mosquitoes and other debris before you put it in use. If you don't take precautions you will get mosquitoes, which means you'll have to dump out all harvested water and disinfect the rain barrel or use a biological control to kill the young mosquitoes. When kept free of debris, your rain barrel will conserve water resources and cut down on your watering bill. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Measure the diameter of your rain barrel lid with a measuring tape.
2. Draw a circle that's just slightly smaller than the lid's diameter onto the mesh screen, approximately 3/4 to 1/8 inch smaller than the diameter of the lid. Cut the circle using scissors.
3. Tape the mesh to the underside if your rain barrel lid using electrical tape. Not only will this keep mosquitoes from getting into your rain barrel, but it will also screen out leaves, pollen and other debris that could contaminate your harvest.
4. Leave the lid on your rain barrel at all times, harvesting water from the spigot at the bottom of the rain barrel. When you open the lid, you run the risk of allowing contaminants inside the barrel.
5. Inspect both the screen and the rain barrel once a month for signs of damage or mosquito invasion. If your screen rips (which is unlikely), you will need to replace it.
6. Use only rain barrels that have an overflow valve near the top, which drains excess water out when the barrel is full. A barrel without this valve can collect water on top of the screen and the lid, which may lead mosquitoes to breed in the lid area.
7. Treat any signs of mosquito invasion with a biological mosquito control product, such as those offered by Aquabarrel (see Resources). The tablets kill any mosquitoes in your rain barrel with a biological compound that won't harm your plants.
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