Re: west nile virus

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Hi Kirsten, At Hosta Hill I use Mosquito Dunks by Summit Chemical Company, Baltimore, MD. The dunks that look like doughnouts can be broken into small pieces for pot saucers and float. They prevent maturation of the larvae for 30 days. 2 to 3 applications are required per season but the stuff is cheap 6 dunks for 5 bucks applied as 1 dunk per 100 sq. ft. of water surface. It is biological and the effective agent is Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. This strain of bacteria reportedly does not affect the larvae of butterflies. EPA Regs. No 6218-47 and 6218-MD-2. For larger ponds here in Georgia we use mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis). For sources contact your extension agent (some counties in the South give them away) or go on the web through "google" searching for "mosquito fish." The are small like guppies, hardy, multyply rapidly having 3-4 broods annually with 40 to 120 young and they favorite food is mosquito larvae.

W. George Schmid
Hosta Hill - Tucker GA
Zone 7a - 1188 feet AMSL
84-12'-30" West_33-51' North

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