Mosquitoes tore me up this year. I was reluctant to spray chemicals in my yard - where I grow food.
I was sitting and thinking over this and an idea came to me. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to set a few buckets of water mixed with larvicide. This would attract them to lay their eggs, and their eggs would die. I would then throw out the water and avoid getting it in my garden. The next generation of mosquitoes becomes absent.
Any thoughts on this idea?
I do that… I have a “squirrel swimming pool” out back which I keep full and I also float some of those Bt donuts in it. When the donuts run out of juice I see tons of larvae and quickly throw in another donut.
I still get lots of mosquitos, I think my gutters are a major breeding ground. So, I think it cuts back but if there are still lots of other standing water areas it is not going to solve your problem.
I wear long pants all summer now, tired of having to lather myself with deet every time I go out.
It’s been a while, and my knowledge might be a bit rusty, but during college I worked summers for a mosquito control company. I also got licensed as a certified applicator for mosquito abatement shortly after graduating college in hopes of starting up a small scale mosquito control company to compliment my summers off as a teacher. Based on my experience and knowledge, I would probably say that buckets of water with larvicide in them isn’t going to do much.
First, when it comes to mosquito egg laying, you have two types of skeeters - standing water and flood water mosquitoes. While your Bt dunks in a bucket of water might address standing water mosquitoes, the floodwater ones, such as the aggressive aedes genus mosquitoes, won’t care. It might differ though based on location…
Second, if you have mosquito breeding in/near your property, you are not removing the source of breeding in the first place, you’re simply providing a more artificial one as another possibility. It would be best to focus on removing that water source or treating that source with Bt, if possible.
Finally, while the mosquitoes might be laying eggs and pupating in standing or flood waters, as adults they are drawn to harborage areas that provide shade and moisture. Even though a water source might not be very close to your house, nearby vegetation might still provide a good home for them.
So, all in all, you can use the buckets of water with larvicide, but I wouldn’t anticipate it doing much to mitigate their numbers, sorry 
.
@chingchungly
I think your idea is a good one.
Mosquitoes are attracted to standing water,
More so to water with leafs rotting in there.
So I would recommend that as bait.
Don’t put the buckets where you hang out. They draw in the biters.
I use the mosquito bits Bti. In trays of water under potted plants.
Needs a little sprinkle of bits every ~ 3 weeks or so.
I see adults hanging around there, and no doubt they lay eggs in there. As long as I put a small sprinkle of bits every so often ,
no larva.
It won’t hurt you or your garden, nontoxic.
@scottfsmith yah I think the gutters are a problem.
I bought a sling shot to shoot mosquito bits up on the roof gutters.
For larger water tanks , a few minnows, shinners , creek chubs, guppy’s, work good.
I’ve been collecting rainwater in 2 tubs and a dozen buckets to water my trees. The trees like that water much more so than city water. I keep an eye on the water. Once I see larvae, I know I have less than a few days to use the water. So my system acts as a mosquito sink. I tried goldfish to control mosquito larvae, but invariably something happens to them, and their attrition is too upsetting. I don’t think I’m making a dent in the Florida mosquito population, but frogs have used the tubs and buckets to lay eggs, and those tadpoles do eat mosquito larvae. Plus we can’t have enough frogs in the world. All in all, it’s a good system that provides free quality water +/- frogs. You just have to keep on top of it to not let the larvae grow into adult mosquitoes.