Bromiliads

[birchl]

Do bromiliads attract Mosquitos?

#10048;

[Wao nahele wahine]

It's my understanding that the mosquitoes are attracted to the standing water in the central cups of the bromiliads.

Wahine

[WillyHunglo]

That is a fact! I have removed all from around the house.

[Carey]

We had a neighbor in lower HPP that had a lot of large bromiliads, and each cup was pulsing with mosquitoes larvae (we lived next to the only really mosquitoey house in the neighborhood!)

Interesting side note, most of the larvae in teh bromiliad were a nice birght green, not the duller color...& I was told it was due to the algae that grows in the bromiliad... never did confirm the algae/color connection...but they were purdy little buggers

[WillyHunglo]

Oh yes and those plants are coveted by coqui too. Its where the frogs love to lay their eggs.

[msrocket]

I was told to put a grain of laundry detergent inside the water of each bromeliad. Won't hurt the plant and discourages the larvae. Seems okay so far.

[oink]

I had a bunch of them at one time. I would never have them again because of the mosquitoes. I don't know about the laundry detergent thing but you can flush them out with the hose if you want to be tied down doing that faithfully. I don't.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[birchl]

So rip 'um up!! I can probably control the few pineapples. Thanks peeps

#10048;

[Carey]

When we were in HPP, our neighbor allowed us to try detergent, hort oil, veg oil.... all to no avail, as the rains would eliminate our efforts (there were hundreds of bromiliads on his property... it was a chore to do all of the plants...and then they would get washed out!)

Have not noticed the mosquitoes on pineapple & the other non-cupping bromiliads, maybe they are there, but not as noticeable...

[kaialoha]

What I do is buy those 'Mosquito Cakes' (sometimes called 'Dunks'), crumble them into a powder, and then distribute them wherever I find standing water. It takes VERY LITTLE for the stuff to work.

The ingredient in cakes/dunks is Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), a naturally-occurring soil bacterium that is EPA-registered for use DIRECTLY in ponds and standing water as a microbial larvicide. Once ingested by mosquito larvae, it quickly affects their gastro-intestinal cavity, then the entire body cavity, preventing the larvae from developing into biting, breeding adults. The good news for you and your backyard friends is that Bti DOES NOT POSE a RISK to non-target life in and around the pond – including your fish, pets, and other wildlife.

FYI ~ ~ ~

Punanny