Growing Together: Open Forum

Hello everyone,

I searched with the magnifying glass and saw no related posts about this problem so I am writing in hopes that someone has a suggestion that I did not consider yet. The problem is mosquitoes !

The situation: we have 3 courtyard schoolyard gardens at our school. They contain pollinator friendly native perennial plants that attract everything from monarchs to swallowtails and from bluebirds to American Toads. We use no spray or fertilizers and the gardens are doing well. We have picnic tables for kids to sit outside and eat lunch in the garden areas too. We have a garden club with some pretty great students who are willing to work hard and weed, plant, prune and carry things like wheelbarrows and dirt.

The challenge: MOSQUITO INFESTATION. We have drains in each courtyard and they contain standing water in a deep pipe .The mosquito problem is getting so bad and kids no longer want to go in the courtyards because they get bitten and leave with welts. I have tried monthly mosquito dunks and planting lemon balm and other "anti mosquito" plants but they are not working . Even teachers complain that mosquitoes are coming in when we enter and leave the gardens and they go into the classrooms. 

What could we do? I am aversive to sprays and we do not usually get frost until early to mid December .I know mosquitoes are a large part of the food chain but they are impacting our kids' enthusiasm about being outdoors and I want them to be the ones who are working in our gardens and growing up with positive experiences about outdoor learning. Has anyone had a similar problem and if so, what did you do to solve it? Thank you for any ideas or thoughts. I hate complaining but they really are pretty bad and felt so sorry for the kids last time we met for garden club. 

Hello everyone,

I searched with the magnifying glass and saw no related posts about this problem so I am writing in hopes that someone has a suggestion that I did not consider yet. The problem is mosquitoes !

The situation: we have 3 courtyard schoolyard gardens at our school. They contain pollinator friendly native perennial plants that attract everything from monarchs to swallowtails and from bluebirds to American Toads. We use no spray or fertilizers and the gardens are doing well. We have picnic tables for kids to sit outside and eat lunch in the garden areas too. We have a garden club with some pretty great students who are willing to work hard and weed, plant, prune and carry things like wheelbarrows and dirt.

The challenge: MOSQUITO INFESTATION. We have drains in each courtyard and they contain standing water in a deep pipe .The mosquito problem is getting so bad and kids no longer want to go in the courtyards because they get bitten and leave with welts. I have tried monthly mosquito dunks and planting lemon balm and other "anti mosquito" plants but they are not working . Even teachers complain that mosquitoes are coming in when we enter and leave the gardens and they go into the classrooms. 

What could we do? I am aversive to sprays and we do not usually get frost until early to mid December .I know mosquitoes are a large part of the food chain but they are impacting our kids' enthusiasm about being outdoors and I want them to be the ones who are working in our gardens and growing up with positive experiences about outdoor learning. Has anyone had a similar problem and if so, what did you do to solve it? Thank you for any ideas or thoughts. I hate complaining but they really are pretty bad and felt so sorry for the kids last time we met for garden club. 

------------------------------
Erin A.
------------------------------

Hello everyone,

I searched with the magnifying glass and saw no related posts about this problem so I am writing in hopes that someone has a suggestion that I did not consider yet. The problem is mosquitoes !

The situation: we have 3 courtyard schoolyard gardens at our school. They contain pollinator friendly native perennial plants that attract everything from monarchs to swallowtails and from bluebirds to American Toads. We use no spray or fertilizers and the gardens are doing well. We have picnic tables for kids to sit outside and eat lunch in the garden areas too. We have a garden club with some pretty great students who are willing to work hard and weed, plant, prune and carry things like wheelbarrows and dirt.

The challenge: MOSQUITO INFESTATION. We have drains in each courtyard and they contain standing water in a deep pipe .The mosquito problem is getting so bad and kids no longer want to go in the courtyards because they get bitten and leave with welts. I have tried monthly mosquito dunks and planting lemon balm and other "anti mosquito" plants but they are not working . Even teachers complain that mosquitoes are coming in when we enter and leave the gardens and they go into the classrooms. 

What could we do? I am aversive to sprays and we do not usually get frost until early to mid December .I know mosquitoes are a large part of the food chain but they are impacting our kids' enthusiasm about being outdoors and I want them to be the ones who are working in our gardens and growing up with positive experiences about outdoor learning. Has anyone had a similar problem and if so, what did you do to solve it? Thank you for any ideas or thoughts. I hate complaining but they really are pretty bad and felt so sorry for the kids last time we met for garden club. 

Hello everyone,

I searched with the magnifying glass and saw no related posts about this problem so I am writing in hopes that someone has a suggestion that I did not consider yet. The problem is mosquitoes !

The situation: we have 3 courtyard schoolyard gardens at our school. They contain pollinator friendly native perennial plants that attract everything from monarchs to swallowtails and from bluebirds to American Toads. We use no spray or fertilizers and the gardens are doing well. We have picnic tables for kids to sit outside and eat lunch in the garden areas too. We have a garden club with some pretty great students who are willing to work hard and weed, plant, prune and carry things like wheelbarrows and dirt.

The challenge: MOSQUITO INFESTATION. We have drains in each courtyard and they contain standing water in a deep pipe .The mosquito problem is getting so bad and kids no longer want to go in the courtyards because they get bitten and leave with welts. I have tried monthly mosquito dunks and planting lemon balm and other "anti mosquito" plants but they are not working . Even teachers complain that mosquitoes are coming in when we enter and leave the gardens and they go into the classrooms. 

What could we do? I am aversive to sprays and we do not usually get frost until early to mid December .I know mosquitoes are a large part of the food chain but they are impacting our kids' enthusiasm about being outdoors and I want them to be the ones who are working in our gardens and growing up with positive experiences about outdoor learning. Has anyone had a similar problem and if so, what did you do to solve it? Thank you for any ideas or thoughts. I hate complaining but they really are pretty bad and felt so sorry for the kids last time we met for garden club.