As people look to reduce their water use for environmental and ecological reasons, rain barrels have gained popularity for catching rainwater that can be stored and used for irrigation.
As people look to reduce their water use for environmental and ecological reasons, rain barrels have gained popularity for catching rainwater that can be stored and used for irrigation. These green infrastructure tools can conserve hundreds of gallons of water per year and reduce stormwater runoff. However, as a source of standing water, improperly maintained rain barrels may also be comfortable homes for juvenile mosquitoes.
In their new paper, published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, researchers at the University of Illinois surveyed residential rain barrels around Champaign County to determine how often mosquitoes took up residence in rain barrels and what preventative measures would most effectively keep mosquitoes out.
Not only are mosquitoes annoying, they are also vectors of many dangerous diseases, such as West Nile virus. These mosquito-borne diseases continue to pose a threat to public health in part because of the prevalence of human-made mosquito habitat in urban and residential areas. Juvenile mosquitoes require standing water to develop in, and some of these water sources come from our own backyards.
“Rain barrels are an excellent tool for homeowners to help in reducing water use,” said Brian Allan, Principal Investigator on the study and Professor of Entomology at the University of Illinois. “But they hadn’t been carefully evaluated yet as a potential habitat for mosquitoes.”
Read more at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment
Photo Credit: Benoit Rochon via Wikimedia Commons
