We live a pretty crunchy lifestyle and try to do things are are considered good stewardship of the earth. Two of our favorite things involve composting and rainwater collection. We have the neighborhood's largest compost heap and TWO rain barrels. *hippy alert* *hippy alert*
Problem: bugs. The compost and all that water are attracting all manner of insects.
Solution? We've already put mosquito dunks in the rain barrels. We could move the compost farther from the house. The crunchy solution would be to get some chickens to eat the bugs.Any other ideas?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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4 comments:
Rain barrels; I think I remember that you can put a little bit of oil on top of the water to keep the skeeters from laying eggs in them--something like that was how they stopped yellow fever in the Panama Canal zone.
You might need to add a spigot at the bottom of the barrels to let water out, of course. I'm not sure whether one would need to use mineral oil, edible oils, or others.
Compost; maybe a barrel? My family's compost pile isn't terribly buggy, and one advantage we've got is it's at the top of a hill. No water collects there.
Mosquito prevention can also be done using a mesh screen. Also be aware of the overflow and add a valve close to the top of the barrel with a hose running out so excess water has somewhere to drain
you should check out the comparison video at http://www.aquabarrel.com - they offer a rain barrel design without screens and kits to modify your existing barrel for better function too. Beware of rain barrels with garden hose sized overflow - they don't work!
Get the chicky babies. You have always wanted them! Plus, kids lovem. I bet you farmer neighbor would give you a hand:)
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