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Stopping the Cycle, Naturally
I started Mosquito Jill out of a simple desire: to enjoy my Virginia yard without the constant hum of mosquitoes or the worry of what "heavy-duty" sprays were doing to the environment. I started with big Mosquito Buckets.
Chic “Garden Art” traps are even better!
Traditional sprays often kill the beneficial insects that are your garden's best defense. At Mosquito Jill, we focus on the source: the water where they breed.
Targeted Biological Control: Our kits require Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis), a naturally occurring soil bacterium that is lethal only to mosquito and gnat larvae.
Pet and Wildlife Safe: Unlike broad-spectrum chemicals, Bti is safe for birds, fish, honeybees, and pets.
Sustainable Protection: By eliminating the next generation of mosquitoes before they ever fly, you reduce the need for constant reapplications of harsh toxins.
What’s Available? Several types of decorative kits are available for your "garden rooms" and patios.
Every kit is assembled with care in Reston, designed to be a simple, elegant addition to your landscape that works quietly in the background. This solution is effective enough for a long summer but safe enough for my family and our dogs to play around.
The Stand-Alone Kit
The starting point for most kits. Use Stand-Alone traps where they are not exposed to the elements. This matters because you want the mosquito eggs to hatch in the jar and the larvae to eat the Bti; if there’s too much water, the water and eggs may overflow, and larvae may survive to adulthood.
Includes: Wide Mouth Quart Ball Jars, rust-resistant stainless steel jar rims, and tin grid inserts.
Choose: The black cover to attract mosquitoes and hide the lure solution. Choose between neoprene or silicone covers.
Download: Detailed instructions with photos and lessons learned for managing the traps throughout the season.
The "Garden Art" Hanging Kit
A chic, decorative solution for your "garden rooms" and patios. Used where the traps are exposed to the elements – rain, sprinklers, or other irrigation.
Includes: Stand-Alone kit with your choice of cover, stainless steel hangers, and decorative black metal rain covers
Add: A shepherds hook to suspend the trap or hang from a tree branch or the like.
Hard to Find Components Kits
Already have Wide Mouth Quart Ball Jars? Jarless, Hard to Find Components kits allow to get just the hard to find parts described above, several variations are available.
Maintenance Tracker and Tips Digital Download -
Master the mosquito Larvae Trap What-Ifs
Maintaining the larvae traps is essential for good results. I've come up with an Excel spreadsheet where you can enter the date the trap is set outside and it calculates the maintenance dates for you.
Why: To help you manage the maintenance reminders during your busy summer season. What should you do when you are on vacation?
Enter Date: Enter the date that you set out the trap, and it will calculate the dates to replace the Mosquito Dunk and check the water. Sometimes I goof and miss a date; when that happens, just enter the actual date to reset the calculations for the rest of the season.
Print it out or Track Online: Print it out and put it where you’ll see it, or track it online. You know what works for you.
Get Started Managing Mosquitoes with a Kit
Kits come with the hard-to-find components to get you started and the downloadable instructions, but we also recommend these high-quality essentials to maintain your protection all summer long. Water and some starter organic material will start the lure (full details in downloaded instructions) and then you must add the larvicide.
Essential Biological Larvicide
To make your kit functional, you’ll need Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis). The Summit Mosquito Dunks 6-Pack is the gold standard for your trap. Each dunk provides 30 days of protection for up to 100 square feet of water, making them perfect for your kits or other problem areas like birdbaths and rain barrels. Kits can use as little as ¼ of a Dunk, however, I’m finding that ½ is more realistic as they are hard to break into quarters.
No active Bti in there? You are breeding mosquitoes.
Heavy-Duty Shepherd Hooks for Hanging Traps
Not suspending from a tree branch? To suspend your hanging kit under the rain cover, a sturdy shepherd's hook is essential. The Ashman 35-Inch Heavy Duty Hook features a weatherproof, rust-resistant metal design and a sharp base for easy ground insertion. The 35-Inch allows the trap to be suspended about the ground and our dogs and other wildlife visitors have not knocked them over.
By eliminating the larvae before they mature into biting adults, you reduce the mosquito population without using toxic chemicals.
Wildlife Friendly: Our grids are sized to let mosquitoes in but keep curious critters out.
Easy to Clean and Maintain: Jars, tin grid, and stainless steel parts can go in the dishwasher. Covers can be sprayed off, hand washed, and silicone can go in the dishwasher. Refresh Dunks every 3-4 weeks.
Support Local Wildlife: A portion of our proceeds supports wildlife rehabilitators and other environmental non-profits.
Whether you DIY with information at the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance Wildlife Sanctuary Program site, order Mosquito Jill Kit or detailed mini trap instructions, order Larvae Trap Maintenance Tracker and Tips Spreadsheet for essential maintenance, you will support our health and our environment.
Thanks for stopping by and please message me with any questions!