Mosquitos in my Bamboo?

Question

I have a small bamboo plant outside and I discovered today that mosquitos were breeding in it. Is there any way to keep the mosquitos out without killing my bamboo?

NOTE: I am currently broke some home remedies would be best.

Answer 1

Are you sure that they're mosquitoes? They could be flies that bite too. Usually mosquitoes breed in watery area, so maybe there is water collecting in or around the bamboo. you can either smoke it (expensive and time consuming), dry it out (easiest), or just burn it or throw it away. I need to know where in the bamboo its breeding and how wet the plant is, and how much water you feed it.

Answer 2

You can control mosquitoes a couple of ways,  and these are not necessarily expensive.

These pesky flies can be killed with diluted washing up liquid, as can many insects.  It suffocates them so, if you have a sprayer (reuse a kitchen product sprayer if you don't have a garden one - wash thoroughly first) and spray them regularly to control the numbers.

If you can minimise the standing water then this will help, as they need an inch or two of water in which to lay eggs.  The wriggling larvae then live in the water for a while, before turning into the adult form.

More expensive options -

-ultra violet light insect killers will attract and kill the adults.  I use a solar powered one, which cost about $14.  

- mosquito dunks: these sit in the water and release a natural bacteria that prevents the wrigglers from maturing into adults. They last around a month, and cost about $10 a pack from somewhere like Home Depot. As your standing water is a small volume, you can break them up, and a pack will last a couple of years.

Hope this helps.  Good luck!  Rob

Answer 3

The standing water is the problem.

Just empty the water out of the pot every three days should kill the mosquito wigglers. Let this outer pot dry for a couple of hours. Then put the bamboo back and rewater. Or buy a mosquito fish to put into the water. It will eat all those wigglers and keep you mosquito-free.

Now if I could just convince my next-door neighbor to do this...

Are you sure this plant should be sitting in water? I'm no expert on bamboo, but most plants need air on their roots and keeping them in water is not good for them.