Protect Bird Baths & Fountains From Mosquitoes With A Simple Solution From Lowe's

Nobody wants to step into the outdoor space they've carefully cultivated into a private retreat just to be swarmed by insects. Unfortunately, if your yard is speckled with water features like bird baths and fountains, you may find that you've accidentally created the perfect mosquito maternity ward. Mosquitoes prefer water with little to no movement, and, as a result, leaving standing water may be attracting mosquitoes to your yard. Luckily, you don't need to get rid of your wildlife-magnet and eye-catching water features just yet. Instead, there are several ways to help keep mosquito larvae to a minimum, including the Bonide Mosquito Beater pouches from Lowe's.

These pouches are safe for various types of water features in your yard. You can use them in bird baths and fountains, as well as flowerpots, butters, and rain barrels. They're fast-acting, and they last anywhere from two to four weeks before you'll need to use another. They're also safe for various animals, including pets, fish, and amphibians. Rather than using a true chemical repellent or insecticide, these pouches use bacteria that prevent mosquito larvae from being able to thrive and flood your yard. That can make them useful for keeping mosquitoes away from your home, though they don't target already-developed adults.

The Bonide soluble pouches rely on Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally-occurring bacteria that helps keep mosquito larvae from developing. As a result, they often do well on their own, and because they last up to four weeks, you won't need to reapply them to the water features around your yard too often. However, there are other easy non-soluble solutions that you can pair with these pouches for a stronger line of defense against mosquitoes. By investing in a bubbler or using an empty litter container to create a drip bird bath, you can further decrease how attractive your bird bath will be to the blood-suckers.

There's one thing to keep in mind if you plan on using the Bonide Mosquito Beater pouches for your bird bath. Although the exact timing may vary depending on where you live, mosquitoes are typically most active during the warmer months of the year, which is when you can expect to also see the most reproductive activity. Unfortunately, this time also lines up to when your bird bath requires the most maintenance. During the hottest times of the year, you may need to replace the water in your bird bath daily, which means also replacing the Bonide pouch if you dump the basin entirely. With a container of 24 pouches being priced at $20.52, the costs can quickly add up. Mosquito eggs generally take at least 24 hours to hatch, so dumping alone might be sufficient for smaller bird baths. Larger water features that aren't being dumped routinely, like fountains, will get more of a benefit from these pouches for a longer period of time.