<br>I saw that I had a active bunch of mosquito larvae in a 3 gallon bucket in the yard. The bucket was full. Decided that it would be an interesting test to see how well bleach worked in "purifying" the water.<br><br>Started with 4 drops per gallon, which is what I thought was the correct amount. Stirred it up. Waited about a half hour - still alive and kicking. Bumped up the dosage to 20 drops/gallon. No change. Let it sit overnight. Next morning all is well, all larvae alive. Finally just dumped probably about a quarter cup into the bucket. An hour later, no change. Dumped the bucked in the garden and called it a day...<br><br>- Does bleach go bad, ie ineffective over time? This was an old gallon jug that only had about 1/8th left, gosh only knows how old it is, no intelligent expiration date listed. Clorox 5.25%.<br><br>- Can/does/should bleach kill mosquito larve (about .25")? If so, at what dosage?<br><br>Thanks!<br>blkjeep

Try one drop of motor oil the next time. <br><br>Bleach kills everything. Im just not sure if it will kill mosquito larvae or humans first.

The recent spread of West Nile virus via mosquitos makes this a timely post. The small amount of oil is the most expedient method. Long term control consists of eleminating any standing water. Dedicated water containers; horse troughs, cisterns, ponds etc. are best maintained with mosquito fish available from the local abatement offices for free ( Bill Van, I do tropical fish too ;O)

Over here we used to use 1 cup kerosene to one household 5000 gallon tank. The fuel floats on the water and prevents the larvae from breathing. Water is drawn off from the bottom so taste isn't an issue unless you're close to dry.

The problem is that the mechanism that bleach uses to kill water-borne things is not the same as will work on mosquito larve.<br><br>Bleach works by the clorine combining with/ burning delicate membranes. In fish this manifests as damaging the gills. For bacteria the clorine "burns" the exposed bacteria. Mosquito larve breath atmospheric air, this is why they live in stagnent water and not agitated water. Agitated water will tend to drown them. Oil floating on the water forms an unbreathable layer over them, and they sufficate.<br><br> Seth

Bleach in the water will not kill mosquito larvae per se, but I suppose putting them in bleach will do the trick.<br><br>I reminds me of something i did when I was a kid.<br>I had discovered some mosquito larvae floating in an old flower pot wriggling away. I took a can of insecticide and sprayed the surface of the water and lit a match over it.<br>Cooked the wrigglers there and then.<br>Of course, when my dad found out.....well, you know what happens to kids who like to play with fire.....<br>they grow up to be adults who play with fire <br><br>