Tried a rain barrel in my backyard and got a surprise with the water quality

Last spring I finally installed a 50-gallon rain barrel under my downspout in Portland, Oregon. I figured I'd use the water for my vegetable garden and save a bit on the hose. The first few weeks the water looked fine, just a little bit of sediment. But after a month I noticed the water smelled kind of earthy and had some tiny bugs swimming around. I learned that without a proper screen and a dark container, you get mosquito larvae and algae growth pretty fast. I ended up adding a mesh filter and a spigot cover, plus I throw a mosquito dunk tablet in there every few weeks. The water is much clearer now and my tomatoes seem to love it. Has anyone else dealt with keeping their rain barrel water clean?

3 comments

3 Comments

lopez.karen1mo ago

Those mosquito dunks actually kill the larvae before they hatch?

victor_adams1mo ago

Funny enough, the real game changer with those dunks is what happens AFTER the larvae die. The bacteria keeps working for like 30 days, but it only targets mosquito larvae specifically - doesn't mess with dragonflies or tadpoles if you got frogs around. Had a buddy who threw one in his bird bath and ended up with less mosquitoes and more dragonflies visiting lol. Just don't crumble them up too fine or they dissolve faster than the instructions say.

mark_thomas1mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, yeah those mosquito dunks are the real deal right? I had the exact same issue with mine last summer and the dunks cleared it up within a week.