Getting ready for more time outdoors—It's almost Earth Day!

When Lee and I moved into our Penn Wynne home, we were delighted to have a little postage stamp of a backyard and looked forward to enjoying the long days of summer outside. One of the first things we did was to fill the space with trees and perennials, creating as we soon came to find out, a perfect haven for mosquitoes.

Of course, we reached for the topical repellents first, but as I'm sure you have experienced, mosquitoes have a knack for finding that unprotected patch of skin. If you've read this blog, you know that Lee is basically mosquito bait. Fast forward twenty years, and we've been using the backyard less and less.

But now it's spring again, and it's Earth month, so like the start of a new year—I'm full of good intentions. As I write this, the heat has already landed in the tropical zone, so it won't be long before the inevitable onslaught of mosquitoes, and I am on a mission to make better traps.

Earlier this month, I joined some members of  H-Can's climate action group who, in preparation for Earth Day, are getting ready for The Mosquito Bucket Challenge. I've tried making these before, but the little pots of water with the dunks that I set out were too small. I also waited too long to set them up. But this year, I'm trying to do better.

Several of the H-Can volunteers who have experience with the process say that the mosquito buckets do work—not perfectly, but they make a good dent in the population. And it's way better for the environment than fogging, which harms birds, pollinators, pets, and humans. 

To start, you will need 5-gallon buckets and mosquito dunks, which you can buy at your local hardware store.

1. Fill the buckets up about 2/3rds full with water and add a couple of handfuls of organic matter like leaf litter or grass clippings. (When this starts to ferment, it will attract more mosquitoes.)

2. If you're on a public water system, it's best to let the buckets sit for a day or two so the chlorine evaporates, or if you have rain barrels, use that water.

3. Break up the mosquito dunk and add about 1/4 to each bucket and place them in a shady spot. Refresh the dunks each month.

4. Cover the buckets with a wire mesh or a lid that has about eight evenly spaced small holes in the top. This keeps pollinators and other creatures from drowning. If you don't have a lid, put a sturdy "rescue stick" in it, unintended victims can crawl out. Note: I have read that the advantage to the lid is that mosquitoes like the darker environment.

In addition to the mosquito traps, you'll have better luck if you're vigilant about ridding your yard of the standing water. Many folks know to add the mosquito dunks to things like bird baths and water trays under planters. But Joy Baxter, H-Can climate-action organizer, mentioned that there are lots of places we might not think about.

A common culprit are those black accordion downspout extenders. If you have corrugated extenders that are not buried, you can dump them out after a rain. But it's more effective to replace them with smooth-sided extenders. If you can't make that happen before the mosquitoes arrive, crumble and add the dunks where they attach to the downspout and throw some in the outlet portion.

Even if you're doing everything right, that doesn't mean your neighbors are, so when you want to enjoy a fine day or evening, a couple of strategically placed fans do keep the mosquitoes at bay since they are not good flyers.  

If you want to get involved in the fight to take better care of our planet, consider joining a local organization like the Haverford Climate Action group or the Clean Energy Co-op. And definitely come out to celebrate Earth Day! The Haverford Township celebration will take place at Bailey Park on April 25th. There will be free mosquito buckets, kids' bike bells, and lots of environmentally friendly tips.

The Haverford Climate Action group is looking for volunteers to help with the event. This is also an opportunity for high-schoolers to earn service-learning credits.  

If you live outside of the Haverford area, be sure to find your local celebration!