On 2014-08-15 19:31:45 +0000, David Hill said:

On 15/08/2014 19:27, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Sacha wrote:
snip

I was thinking mainly of the garden of a hotel in Corfu which had
(apparently) been sprayed with paraffin. It absolutely reeked and it
does seem a very dangerous method! This was back in the mid-70s.

Ah, no, that's not what they had done. Mosquito larvae hang from
the surface of stagnant water, which is why draining the Fens
eliminated marsh ague a century or two back. The usual method
of preventing that is to put a small amount of oil in, and that
kills the larvae. Paraffin is cheap and not very volatile, so
is safe, but it does stink when it evaporates (e.g. on a hot day).

You can also use detergent, but that usually needs a LOT more and
taints the water worse.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I've found that if you give a quick spray with an aerosol fly spray
over the surface it kills off the mosquito larvae and doesn't leave any
deposit on the water surface.

Good tip!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk