Billy wrote:
In article ,
Nad R wrote:

Higgs Boson wrote:
Message I posted a while ago didn't get through. I was asking (I
think NAD) what he/she put in the barrels to keep the water from
getting contaminated or breeding mosquitoes w/o harming plants that
drank that water.

Anybody?

HB

I replied. Again, I do not put anything in my rain barrels. My Barrels are
small only 40 gallons and under each of five downspouts. They are open tops
when it rains they just overflow. When it does not rain or i see scum or
bugs on the tops of water, I will top them off with my well water or from
another barrel so it overflows. I will use one barrel at a time. Mosquitoes
are mostly from the drainage ditches or my pond.

I learn to live with them. I do not go out at dusk or early dawn. When the
sun shines the bugs seem to go away. I wear light weight long sleeve shirts
and pants and once in a while spray my clothes with a bug repellant.

In about three weeks the infamous Fish Flies (May Flies) will be more of
nuisance than the mosquitoes. But with all this rain the bugs are bad this
year.

Why don't you just put a screen over the top of the barrel? If it is a
wooden barrel, you probably have some old barrel hoops around. Lay one
hoop down. Place the screen over the hoop, and then lay the second hoop
over the first, which will pinch the screen and hold it in place.

My home is out in the open, I do not get much leaves or anything else in my
gutters or my cheap plastic barrels. I have inspected my gutters and they
are always clean. I have plants and shrubs next to the barrels so the
overflows does not seems to create any problems. I will often take my
watering can and dip it in the barrels for watering my hanging plants. A
cover is something I have no need for. I should also mention I have a two
foot roof overhang that also cuts down on Floating objects. So far I have
no real problems with my cheap lazy system. The barrels are also on raised
bricks for a cheap plastic bottom spigot for draining them. The plans was
in an issue of Hobby Farm Magazine.

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Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)