Last year, a desperate tenant reached out to Reddit about a mosquito problem that had grown out of control.
Mosquitoes are a problem across the U.S., especially during summer, the CDC explains. They breed in warm weather, laying their eggs in standing water. That can mean a small puddle in a gutter, rain collecting in an old tire, a muddy part of the yard that stays wet too long — or a neglected swimming pool.
According to this Redditor, the pool in their yard fit the bill. "My landlord has a pool he neither wants to maintain nor tear down so last summer it literally just created mosquitoes," they said in their post.
They also called the pool a "mosquito hatchery" and said, "we had to run from our house to the car to minimize bites."
According to the tenant, they had only a couple of months to go before moving out forever — but two months is a long time to live with such an intolerable mosquito problem. "Until then, is there anything I can toss in the pool to kill the mosquitoes?" they asked.
The post appeared in r/pools, a subreddit for pool care advice and discussion, so most commenters focused on pool products as a solution. One user recommended bleach, while others suggested Mosquito Dunks or other products based on BTI bacteria.
"Mosquito dunks are what I used when my pump broke and we couldn't find a replacement for a year," said one Redditor. "It may seem like a gimmick but throw a whole six-pack in and it will stop them from breeding at least."
One user even recommended small fish as a solution. "Go to the pet store and buy a hundred feeder goldfish," they said.
But one user had a different plan. "Call the town?" they suggested. "Not sure if there's zoning laws or an HOA, but if so, they would intervene."
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