Q: I have a well and rain barrels that catch the water from my roof. I’m concerned these barrels are a breeding ground for the Zika virus. I periodically put a cup full of bleach into each barrel. Are we at risk for the Zika virus?
—Mary DeLong, Monroe
A: Unattended rain barrels could become breeding grounds for mosquitoes that spread the Zika virus.
The virus develops in humans and is primarily transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is “very rare” in Georgia, Elmer Gray, an entomologist with the University of Georgia, told Q&A on the News in an email.
“I am concerned about all of the rain barrels that were constructed and situated a few years back during the drought,” Gray said. “An unprotected or improperly maintained rain barrel is a perfect habitat for larval mosquitoes and will surely be colonized over the course of a summer.”
He suggests repairing barrel openings to seal them against mosquitoes and treating the water with an EPA approved larvicide, which can be purchased online or at home and garden stores.
The mosquito dunks, as they’re called, will treat a surface area of 100 square feet, so only a quarter of a dunk is needed for a rain barrel.
Bleach kills mosquito larvae, Gray wrote, but isn’t designed for “mosquito control and will eventually affect the water quality within the rain barrel.”
The active ingredients in the mosquito dunks have no “mammalian toxicity and consequently will not hurt us, or our pets,” he wrote.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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