QUARTERLY bills might not be the only reason homeowners feel the pinch when water charges are introduced next year.
Water butts — barrels for collecting rainwater — are expected to become common fixtures in Irish gardens as people attempt to cut costs by gathering their own supply. However, a two-year study has found a “conclusive link” between water butts and an increase in mosquitoes.
Research at the University of Reading has found that water butts provide a perfect climate for breeding mosquitoes. Research carried out in the UK during 2011 and 2012 found significant numbers of mosquitoes residing in water butts in urban areas. Amanda Callaghan, associate professor of zoology at Reading, said similar climates meant the findings would “almost certainly” be the same in Ireland.
“If you previously didn’t have standing water in your garden, and you’re bringing in a water butt, you are going to be bringing in mosquitoes to your garden,” she said. “You probably already have these mosquitoes in Dublin [and other urban areas] but you’re providing them with more habitats to breed in.”
Callaghan said consumers could reduce the chances of mosquito infestations by acquiring water butts that are completely sealed. “A lot of water butts that you can buy in garden centres have holes in the lid. Quite often there’s a handle on the top and under the handle there’s a hole. The mosquitoes that will go in the water butt like to lay their eggs somewhere dark. so it’s just ideal for them,” she said.
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Retailers are sceptical that water butts could cause an increase in the amount of mosquitoes in Irish gardens. Tony Murphy of Tanks.ie said he hadn’t heard of any such incidents in Ireland. “It happened in Australia but obviously their climate is more susceptible to that,” he said.