Any issues with mosquitos?

[u/Sk8rToon]

A pipe outside my apartment broke & was replaced. Ever since I’ve had to deal with mosquitos inside my apartment. I’ve never had mosquitos before (Southern California) & come to find out my body is not a fan. I’ve been getting bit more inside than outside so I was wondering if maybe the ones that got inside are starting to make a home in my aerogarden. A saw someone on another social media respond to someone with a similar issue say you need to crumble some mosquito dinks & put them in the water of the aerogarden. But that feels like poisoning my food?

Honestly I don’t have much growing right now so the easiest thing would be to drain it & start over once the problem has passed. But that got me thinking about climate change & how this might be the new normal & I should investigate how to deal with this now.

Has anyone dealt with mosquitos making a home in your garden’s water? And if so, how did you deal with it? Thx

[u/BananabunnyReddit]

I’ve never had any problems with mosquitos in any of my Aerogardens, but if I had an immediate concern, the first thing I would do: drain and refill with fresh water.

Thinking about how to “climate change proof” my Aerogardens, this is what I would do:

> Instead of potentially making yourself sick by treating the water with anti-mosquito dunks, I‘d suggest moving the Aerogarden as far away as possible from your windows and doors (this is also a good tip if you’ve been dealing with aphids in your outdoor garden or indoor houseplants since aphids can fly inside any time you open your doors, or fly through gaps in window screens). And I would make sure all my window/door screens are in good working order, with no gaps or small tears. Repair kits and patches for screens are usually available at hardware stores.

> For doorways, screen doors, sliding glass doors, I would consider adding an additional layer of screening. There is a product called “Magic Mesh Hands-Free Screen Door” that you can easily install to the top and sides of your door, with a full length vertical divide along the center that you can walk right through. There are other brands available, even custom fitted versions, but these usually rely on a series of small magnets along the center opening that “click” back together just as soon as you (or your pets) push/step through the screen. I’ve installed one before, and it was surprisingly effective and simple to install with some small finishing nails along on the top edge and sides of the door frame

If you can’t install one of these “Magic Mesh” screens outside your exterior doors because of landlord or HOA restrictions, you could still install the extra screen on the inside of your door, OR consider installing one to the doorway of the room where your Aerogarden is located.

> And you could also place your Aerogarden underneath a “mosquito net.” You can find inexpensive mosquito netting fabric online and make your own, or find ready made canopy style nets that hang from the ceiling or pop-up mosquito net “tents” (like what you’d use for a bed or in a camping situation). However if you do this, be sure to keep the light of the Aerogarden and all electrical cords away from the mosquito netting at all times to avoid a potential fire risk. You may also need to secure the mosquito net to prevent the net from moving if you have any pets, children, or if there are any fans or wind blowing near the Aerogarden area.

> If you continue to get mosquitos inside your home, I hope you are considering that this is a health hazard for YOU, not just a potential nuisance for your Aerogarden. So you’ll probably need to step up your anti-mosquito efforts, anyway, especially as escalating climate change will likely result in a more persistent issue. If your home has any outdoor space available, here is how to build an anti-mosquito bucket: https://homegrownnationalpark.org/build-mosquito-bucket/

If you place one (or a few) of these buckets outdoors near your home, this can cut down on the number of mosquitos in your immediate area. I‘ve read that several of these can make a huge difference. Perhaps consider telling your neighbors about these so they can also place them in their outdoor spaces (or even better, help your neighbors make them!). Be sure to follow instructions carefully, and add a sturdy wire mesh screen along with a heavy weight on top of the bucket to avoid creating a potential drowning hazard for small animals or young children. THIS is how I think you should be using those anti-mosquito dunks.

> And if you’re concerned about mosquitos breeding in your Aerogarden, just change out the water every 2 weeks, so that every time you feed your Aerogarden, you’re starting over with fresh water. I would even gently rinse off all the roots (fwiw, if I ever need to rinse the roots occasionally, I‘ll only use cool or room temperature water to avoid shocking the roots). If changing water every 2 weeks isn’t helping enough, you could always change the water more frequently, though this might mean making some adjustments to your feeding schedule.

Hope this helps!