Join us as a volunteer!
Thousands of regular, major breeding sites and hundreds of other smaller, sporadic breeding sites have been mapped in the Dyje, Morava and Danube river basins. As Bti is highly effective against mosquitoes, but only in the limited period during the larvae stage, regular monitoring is the key to effective interventions. Monitoring starts in early spring when mosquito activity also begins, but the most intensive monitoring must take place in the warmest periods, when temperatures reach 30°C. If high temperatures are accompanied by torrential rains or floods, we have a maximum of 3 to 4 days to check all locations in a large area. In this time frame, it is necessary to thoroughly monitor the breeding sites, be it a forest, field, gutter, trench, an old pit, or a pile of construction debris.
This type of intensive monitoring is not possible without the involvement of a large number of trained people ready to assist with this innovative project. You can get involved too! This is an opportunity to do something fun and useful at the same time.
What are the other options for mosquito control?
What should you do to keep from accidentally putting out the welcome mat for mosquitoes at home, in your garden or on your balcony?
Regularly empty all barrels in the garden. On the hottest days, mosquito eggs only need a few days to hatch, so use up all the water from the watering barrels at least once a week. It is important to use all the water on a weekly basis. Just a little water left in a barrel can heat up quickly and provide a perfect environment for the larvae to develop into mosquitoes.
Old tires, buckets, watering cans, bowls, cans, trays, plant pot saucers – in warm weather, hundreds to thousands of mosquitoes can hatch in your garden every few days. It is therefore also very important to either keep any smaller containers in which water can collect out of the rain or keep them emptied out. And keep in mind that smaller areas of water heat up faster, making mosquito larvae develop even faster.
If you have a garden pond on your property, we recommend stocking it with fish, as fish are natural predators of mosquito larvae. Currently valid only in Austria: If despite having fish there are still larvae in your pond, you can use 2-3 tablets of Culinex dissolved in a watering can and spray the solution around the edges of the pond – don’t worry, these tablets containing Bti selectively eliminate only mosquito larvae and are therefore harmless to fish, frogs, dragonflies and other animals.
How to prevent mosquitoes from hibernating in your area
As temperatures fall, fertilised female mosquitoes try to use every frost-resistant place to hibernate. Even inside our homes. Therefore, you should check the cellar in particular and carefully scrub all harder to reach areas. You can use netting to prevent mosquitoes from entering your cellar. Since female mosquitoes spend the winter in a fertilised state, they need only a small amount of water in the spring to lay hundreds of eggs that will hatch and make our lives miserable.