These are mosquito buckets. The white, donut-shaped discs floating in them are called MosquitoDunks®.
MosquitoDunks® contain a mosquito-specific toxin, B.t.i. (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis), a naturally occurring bacterium found in soil and known to kill mosquito larvae. B.t.i. will not kill adult mosquitos or their eggs; it stops mosquito reproduction only in the larval stage. The mosquito bucket system is a bee-friendly, vegetable garden-friendly, and pet-friendly way to eliminate mosquitos.
This post is for you IF:
- You hate using Mosquito Joe-type fogger sprays to manage these pests because you suspect there is collateral damage to beneficial insects, but you hate mosquitoes more.
- You hate to wear bug spray and socks, a long-sleeve shirt, and pants in the middle of a hot summer day when you weed your garden.
- You worry about diseases spread by mosquitoes.
- Mosquitoes love you.
I am very thankful for the day my naturalist friend, Joanna Brichetto, posted a story called The Mosquito Bucket of Doom on her blog, Sidewalk Nature. Joanna learned about the bucket system from famed etymologist Dr. Doug Tallamy.
Here is a link to Dr Tallamy’s explanation. He says companies that spray for mosquito removal kill 10% of adult mosquitoes and many beneficial insects.
I have four mosquito buckets spread around my half-acre backyard: one industrial-looking bucket in each vegetable garden and one attractive fiberglass bucket on our patio.
I’ve just added a fifth bucket to cover the area around our herb garden in the side yard.
HOW TO MAKE MOSQUITO BUCKETS
Supplies:
-Use a 3-5-gallon bucket, planter, or any container with a wide top
-ONE handful of grass clippings
-Water
-ONE Mosquito Dunks® (a larvicide)
-If you are concerned about wildlife falling in the bucket, Dr. Tallamy suggests placing a chicken wire screen over the top
Instructions:
Add a handful of greens and a Dunk® into each tall, wide-topped container.
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Half-fill the container with water. As the organic matter decomposes, it produces carbon dioxide, an attractant for female mosquitoes.
Place buckets near your seating and work areas. Thirty days later, add a new Dunk® to each bucket. Pro Tip: take a photo of the bucket when you add a new Dunk to help remember the date! For convenience, I purchase packages of 20 Dunks from an online source.
You do not need to change the water each month. You want swampy water, but it shouldn’t be smelly. Add more water to keep the buckets half full and pour off water after a heavy rain.
Testimonials:
We hosted my son’s rehearsal dinner in our backyard in the middle of July with just four buckets for mosquito control. We never saw a mosquito.
I volunteer at a community garden near a floodplain inhabited by many mosquitoes. I showed the local residents how to set up mosquito buckets, and within two weeks, the mosquitoes were gone.
My friend, who lives in Sewanee, TN, known for having so many mosquitos people can’t sit and visit on their porches, now uses four buckets around the perimeter of her house and five more around an ephemeral pond on her property. She reports they now sit comfortably outside. I believe they will work for most residences if she says they work.
How Do Mosquito Buckets Work?
MosquitoDunks® work by killing mosquito larvae, not adult mosquitos; it is a larvicide.
It takes a few days for mosquito eggs to hatch into the little swimmers (larvae) seen in Joanna’s container, shown below.
Mosquitoes need ¼-inch of standing water to lay eggs. With that in mind, inspecting your property for hidden bodies of standing water and turning unused containers upside-down is essential for successfully using this system.
I want readers to succeed when using the buckets, so please comment if you have a question or feel the buckets are not working.
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@judyschickens 
Oh my goodness you have just saved my life to enjoy my yard! I just found dunks in my garage that had not been used yet since Texas has had such a profound drought this year. The last couple weeks has rendered rain and the little gnarly beasts. I will be trying this! Thanks for sharing!!
it’s not too late. The buckets I made for the community garden worked in just 2 weeks. Good luck, Brenda!
Hi. This is very interesting. I am going to try it. One question though…is it fine to dump out the excess water OR even all the water when cleaning, anywhere? Is it toxic to us? Or chickens and ducks? Dogs? Thanks!
Hi! That’s a good question, Amy. Yes, you can dump the water wherever you please. If it’s okay for birds and dogs to drink the water, it won’t hurt the soil. The bacterium that gets into the guts of the larvae to kill them is a microorganism found in soil.
GREAT info, Judy! Mosquitos love me too 😩
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What is it about us?! I’d start with two buckets in your backyard. xo
I have used Mosquito Dunks for several years in all animal water buckets here in Norco, CA… This product is great, non-toxic to critters…and I have had only one mosquito bite so far this year…!!I need to mail order some more this week as a matter of fact as we are having endless summer heat here and that really increases the insect populations.
Hope your heatwave ends soon. We experienced bad heat waves this summer in Nashville. I’m in RI visiting family, and I loved having to put a sweater on!! Thanks for writing.
Thank you Judy, this is the best news I’ve heard in ages.
Cheers, Loraine on Meadow Dr
Thanks, Lorraine! Once you try it and it works, you will WANT to spread the word because you are thrilled!
Thank you!!! Since retiring, I’m spending more time outside! I’m ordering these now!!! I’ll need advice on chiggers and poison ivy too!! Haha
I feel your pain about the chiggers. For some reason, I have not gotten chigger bites this summer. I know not why. I usually get lots of those, too. For chiggers, I would wear socks, leggings, and long-sleeved shirts. I don’t have poison ivy, fortunately.
Judy, this is fantastic! I use Dunks in my birdbaths, so I’m already a fan. I’m sharing this with all my neighbors.
Thanks!
Jana
Jana Talbot REALTOR®,ABR®,ASP®,E-Pro®
The Wilson Group Real Estate Services
Mobile 615-275-9450
Office 615-436-3031
License #300660
Thank you for spreading the word!!!
ste
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I can’t wait to try this!
But does the decomposing organic matter stink?
Good question. None of them smell.
Love this so much, Judy! I too, am a mosquito magnet! I had no idea Dunks existed!
What is it about us?! They could care less about my husband.
Terrific article.
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Judy, Hope you and your family are doing great! I always enjoy your recipes and tips. Keep up the good work! Carol
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Thank you, Judy, for spreading the word about the Mosquito Bucket of Doom! Don’t forget one more crucial ingredient: the stick! Every bucket needs a stick poking out of it as an “escape ramp.” A thick stick is ideal, but even just a bamboo-cane plant support can work. An escape ramp helps bees, beetles, crickets, chipmunks, baby squirrels, and other critters climb out if they accidentally fall in.
Quick question…I know you said to add a new dunk ever 30 days, but do you ever need to add more grass cuttings? Or change the water?
Hi, Emily! I kept my buckets going from May through October. During that time, I changed the water once. I would add new water so the buckets were always half full.
Someone wrote to say their buckets smelled. That happened to me the first time, too. I started again with fewer greens in the bucket (2 big handfuls).
Any other questions? I’m thrilled you are giving the bucket system a try.
Judy- I’m doing this project today! Mosquitoes looove me! And the grandchildren. 😢
I see that you add another Dunk every 30 days, but how often do you add more water and clippings? Thx, xo, Libba
I don’t add extra clippings. Rainwater typically refills it. If not, I add water when watering the garden. I have 4 buckets in my backyard. Had a wedding related party- no bugs.❤️
Perfect! Thanks Judy! Ready to enjoy my mosquito free nights in our backyard and terrace this summer! 😘
Just remember, it does not kill adult skeeters or their eggs. It does take a few days for grass to break down a little and for the eggs to then
hatch.
do i make new bicket of doom every month or just add to it
Add a new dunk to the old water every month. I keep the bucket half full with either hose water or rain water
Hi Judy
I have a lot of adult mosquitoes in my bucket. Is this normal. I am wondering if it is working. Thanks
Life cycle of a mosquito is 1-2 weeks. The dunk kills the larvae. How long ago did you start buckets?
About 3 to 4 week ago
Maybe start again. Be sure the dunks are new. Go around your property and turn any containers of standing water over. Honestly, I’ve heard only positive reviews from people who have used the buckets.
what’s the least amount of buckets you would need to effectively treat 3 acres of wooded land?
Will this work in a garage opening? It has 3 walls and no door. The mosquitoes and crane flies are everywhere with nowhere to escape
I would think so. Give it a try!
Hi Judy, I just came across your article that someone on FB posted and am so thankful! One question I have is, can you use a smaller bucket – say 2-3 gallon – or does it have to be a 5 gallon bucket?
Thank you!
Welcome Bea! A 3 gallon bucket would work. It needs to have a wide top. Look at my Instagram page for a variety of 5 buckets I made yesterday. It’s on the right side of my blogpost page.
Hi Judy! My husband and I are making our first doom buckets and wanted to know if keeping the lid on the buckets while drilling holes in the top would also work? Versus leaving them wide open?
Thank you!
The Sundbergs
That’s an idea! I would make the holes large. My concern is t may smell bad for you (but yummy for the skeeters!).
Hi, Bea! Last year I put out three takeout Chinese soup containers around our backyard deck and put a third of a dunk in each container. They worked great at controlling the mosquitos, but thunderstorms would blow them off the deck and I’d have to set them up again each time we had wind. This year I’m trying bigger containers to deal with the blowing-over problem, but I don’t think you need anywhere near 5 gallons. Mosquitos can lay their eggs in a bottle cap.
I use the dunks in my rain barrel but this is a great idea!!
Good to hear! So you know the power of the DUNK!!
Perfect use of them!!
Thanks Judy! I cannot figure out how to get to the pic of your variety of buckets, so if you can give me a link that would be helpful! 🙂
Hi, are they not showing up in the post??
Hi Judy
(This might be a duplicate comment. My computer did something and I can’t see my post). My question was:
I live in the center of a cul-du-sac on 1/4 acre. How many buckets should I make?
I’m thinking 4. (3 in the backyard corners and 1 at the back door at the patio).
Can’t wait to try this. Gosh I hope it works. Skeeters love me too.
Hi Judy. I’m a newbie at the dunks. I have five 5 gallon buckets in my 1/4 acre yard. They seemed to work for a while but then not so much after 3 weeks. The dunks get replenished every 30 days. I’ve added more one time so far. Does it make any sense to add more dunks at maybe 2 week intervals?
Have you looked around your yard for even small pools of water? A 1/4 cup of water can support hundreds of eggs.
I had mosquitos around my mulch pile a month ago. I moved one of my buckets into the middle of the pile and within 2 weeks the problem area was free of mosquitos.
Five buckets for an acre should be sufficient. One problem could be that your neighbors have standing water. You can’t do much about that except maybe move some of your buckets closer to your property line. If solving the problem by replacing dunks every 3 weeks, I would do that.
Thanks for writing!
Hello! I have set up 5 five-gallon buckets in a small radius however they seem to be very stinky. I assume it is the straw that I filled them with? To me it doesn’t smell bad but my girlfriend is complaining how strong of a smell it is. I’m assuming it is normal that it smells so bad?
I put one handful of Green grass in each bucket. More than that and I find they start to stink. You may need to start over again! Good luck
It’s my first time doing this and I had thought that the more straw I put in the the more CO2 it will release and it will make for a stronger attractant for mosquitos. I may have put so much that it really stinks however. Do I need to start over, or can I simply remove a bunch of straw from the bucket currently?
I put about 3 or 4 large handfuls of straw in each bucket, they have since sunk towards the bottom of the bucket.
Since I don’t know how to upload images here I took pics of the buckets and made a youtube post.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0LGN99XIdRmkNN6jxcCf4g/community?lb=UgkxTzmigkH7AfW31oVKXnDk2wIV51_UNksP
I have been trying this method this year for the first time and WAS having good results. I adopted a new dog and can not keep her out of the buckets! She dumps the water and eats the dunks if she can. I cover the buckets with chicken wire – she pulls it off. I placed the dunks in mesh bags so she at least can’t eat them anymore, but her constant dumping of them is impacting the effectiveness. Any suggestions?!? I’m completed frustrated and at a loss.
My husband said to hang the bucket on a limb out of her reach and report back! We feel your pain!❤️
I was worried about that with my dog too, so I purchased these, and so far it seems to be working well. These lids fit a standard 5 gallon bucket (which is what I use), and the the openings allow the dunks to do their thing, but are not big enough that other wildlife (including pets 😉) can get in there: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Viagrow-Black-Net-Pot-Mesh-Bucket-Lid-3-in-Net-Pots-4-Pots-per-1-Lid-5-pack-V4ML-5/324598605
I just started using a bucket with dunks 2 weeks ago. I do see lots of swimming larvae. Does that mean it’s not working if they are alive?
There are probably eggs in various stages of morphing. Did you use a whole dunk?
I used about half a dunk for a 5 gallon bucket. I do notice an improvement already but man…it’s gross seeing those things swimming around and I’d prefer them to look dead so I can tell myself it’s working hahahaha
I’ve started I’ve started using the dunks earlier this summer. I think they’ve helped some but I’m still getting bit. (I have 1/4 acre and have 5 buckets. I replenish the buckets every 2 weeks with at least 1/2 a dunk). I usually have to burn a coil to sit outside.
My question: It’s now October 17. When should I empty the buckets and start over next year? I’m in SC so it’s going to be mid 70’s next week.
is it okay to buckets out during rain? Also, I have about 1/2 acre & a creek behind me, which gets fairly stagnant in the warm months. Suggestions?
is it okay to leave buckets out in rain? Also, have about 1/2 acre & creeK behind me that stays pretty stagnant in warm months. Any further suggestions?
These work great! I have a single suggestion some folks may like to consider. I’d noticed some pollinators (bees and a couple butterflies) had died in my buckets. Wanting to keep all hard-won beneficial critters alive, and knowing the dunks didn’t kill them, I added a small stick to each one, so that anything that might fall in, can get out. So far so good.
I came across your post a while ago, and wanted to thank you. These have worked wonders for our yard. I bought a few decorative pots that I found for cheap, and I use four of them around my fair-sized in-town yard which has lots of places mosquitoes love to hang out, like a large patch of English Ivy. Anyway, after a few weeks, the number of mosquitoes on my block has plummeted. Two neighbors have even mentioned they’ve noticed less mosquitoes. Thanks again.
getting ready to setup 2 buckets for the first time. Should the buckets be placed in shade or sunny spots or dose it matter?
I haven’t found it to matter.
Is tap water okay to fill the bucket? Someone mentioned elsewhere that the chlorine in tap water might kill or otherwise negate the bacteria from the dunk.
Tap water is fine!
I put in too much yard waste my first time (on June 1) mostly dry leaves. Should I remove some or leave it until July 1 and start fresh then?
haven’t seen them work so far. But it’s still early. Hoping to see an effect by next week!
This video shows correct amount of green grass (or go to @judyschickens on Instagram) : https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKLE3pPgXbW/?igsh=MXNkczY4NXI0eXB4ZA==
Also, I think it takes a good 10 days for grass to break dow and attract mosquitos to the bucket. Another important part is to get rid of standing water in buckets and even bottle caps!
Vanessa, did the buckets end up working for you?
I can’t possibly rid my 1 acre woodsy, “swampy-out-back” yard of all standing water. Or the neighbors’ who don’t care. I hope to eliminate them up on our patio area.
Do you think I can?
It is worth a try. Perhaps put out two or three attractive containers and see what happens. Also, look for standing water in containers, even small ones. let me know!
should you see the larva swimming in the buckets? When will they die?
I’ve never seen them. Water tends to get murky!