Do mosquito dunks work? Our "bucket of doom" experiment
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Jason started his first "bucket of doom" in his yard on July 8 and is still assessing whether it works. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios
🦟 Jason here. I recently decided to test mosquito dunks — a pest control measure one of our readers recommended.
Why it matters: Des Moines isn't spraying this summer, and an army of bloodsuckers is in full force.
How it works: The dunks are small, round objects resembling donuts that contain Bti, a naturally occurring bacterium that kills mosquito larvae in standing water.
- The idea is to lure momma mosquitoes to lay eggs in your "bucket of doom" and then watch them perish.
- I bought a six-pack for around $8.
The intrigue: I was so jazzed about the first bucket a few weeks ago that I added a second one in a different spot in my yard a few days later.
Reality check: While the experiment is still in full swing, my yard remains buzzing with mosquitoes and I'm using more bug spray than ever.
- I don't see larvae in the buckets, so the population may come from surrounding areas.
What they're saying: Bti works well for standing bodies of water if used correctly and replaced every month, Ryan Smith, an associate professor of entomology at Iowa State University, tells Axios.
Yes, but: Many people probably don't properly maintain the doom buckets, which would lead to more mosquitoes.
- It's probably most effective to simply remove any standing water in your yard, Smith said.
🤷 My thought bubble: I'm still assessing the dunks and, in the meantime, blaming the City Council every time I get bitten!
