Before I forget yet again: I noticed something before I left that might warrant further research. After the big rain a few weeks ago I put a little oil (olive oil, as I had no other) floating on top of the water in my roof catchment cistern. At that time, a few days after the rain, the mosquito larvae were already squiggling on the surface, so of course the oil cut off their oxygen and they died. After subsequent rains, the oil spilled over the top and no longer covered the water, but no more larvae appeared. Hundredth monkey phenomenon? Spirits of the dead larvae telling living mosquitoes not to lay their eggs there? Weird. Or maybe, more believably, there is still an invisible oil layer.
last updated 2013-01-10 20:48:10. served from tektonic.jcomeau.com