Discovered my rain barrel needs a screen after a mosquito invasion

I set up a rain barrel last spring to water my garden and cut down on city water use. After a month I noticed the water getting cloudy and found a swarm of mosquito larvae swimming around in there. A friend told me to put a fine mesh screen over the inlet to keep the bugs out. Now the water stays clear and I haven't seen a single mosquito since. Has anyone else had this happen with their rain collection setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie77024d ago

Oh man, I'm gonna push back hard on this one. I actually think screens are overrated and can mess up a good rain barrel setup if you're not careful. A fine mesh clogs up super fast with leaves and pollen (especially in spring), and then your barrel just sits there empty because water can't get in. Plus those larvae are harmless, they turn into mosquitoes that just fly away and die. I've had a screen-free barrel for three years and my only trick is to dump out the first few rains after a dry spell to flush the eggs out. Saves you the hassle of cleaning gunk off a screen every other week.

ericj4524d ago

Dude totally get it, screens are more trouble than they're worth half the time.

ninas6723d ago

Jamie's got a point about the clogging. Picked up one of those cheap fine mesh screens last spring and it looked like a felt blanket after two weeks of oak pollen. Had to scrub it with a brush every time I went out there. Ended up tossing it and now I just run the first heavy rain through a 5 gallon bucket with some old pantyhose stretched over the top to catch the big stuff before it hits the barrel. Way less maintenance and the bucket trick gives me a little extra water for the garden beds without dragging a hose around.