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Non paying guests in water butt
I poked my nose in the water butt just now and I've got literally hundreds of wiggly critters in the water! What on earth are they? Is it ok to use the water on my plants or should I empty the butt into the pond or a drain or.......
freaky little things they are, I fished a little cup gull out to get photos.
all about 1cm long and wiggle like tadpoles.....(which they're not)
help me! I need to water tonight, shall I use this or the hose?
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They are midge/mosquito larvae. They won't harm your plants so water away.
Thanks for the speedy response ladybird4, I e had the water butt for 10 years and never seen anything quite like it before....maybe I've just never shoved my nose in at the right times. Thanks for putting my mind at rest ??
Difficult to tell exactly, but if they are 1cm long now and the larvae of Midge/Mosquito they will grow to be the size of pigeons!!!
My guess is dragon fly larvae.
Don't freak me out with pigeon sized midges. Haha can you imagine! I'm tempted just to empty the butt into the pond now
They are definitely not dragonfly larvae
These look ferocious (and indeed are).The midge/mosquito larvae will not grow any bigger. They will pupate and turn into the adults.
I get these in my water butts. I put a drop of oil/WD40/lighting fluid (whatever is handiest at the time) in them. This gives a slight film which kills of the larvae as they have to come up to breathe. Makes the watering cans a bit sticky but better than being stung by mossies!
Thanks everyone, guess I'll water as normal and hope they clear off soon