COLLIER MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICT
Bromeliads & Mosquitoes
Love bromeliads in your landscaping? So do mosquitoes. But wait . . . don’t remove them! Here are 3 tips to help prevent mosquitoes from breeding in your beautiful bromeliads.
1
Sprinkle some safe, granular Bti** (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis) into the bromeliad’s center tank and leaf bases where the water is standing. When used as directed on the label, Bti is safe for people, plants, animals, and fish. Most Southwest Florida home improvement stores, hardware stores, and gardening centers carry a Bti product called “Mosquito Bits.” Follow the label instructions to apply the granules to your bromeliads.
**Bti is used widely by Collier Mosquito Control District in the control of mosquito larvae. Organic farming operations also use Bti, which is a natural soil bacterium that is benign to all organisms except the larvae of mosquitoes, black flies, and fungus gnats. Learn more about Bti from this EPA link.
2
Flush the water out of your bromeliad’s tank and leaves weekly with a water hose. The fresh water will wash away any mosquito eggs and larvae in the water. Try to flush the old water onto a dry spot (i.e., pavement, sand) where the eggs and larvae cannot survive.
3
Coat the standing water in the bromeliad with a tiny amount of food-grade oil. The layer of oil creates a barrier, making it difficult for a mosquito to lay her eggs there and will suffocate any larvae already in the water.
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