Hit 300 gallons of water caught off my tarp setup this spring

I rigged up a big tarp to a cleat and a dock post back in March to catch rainwater, mostly for rinsing deck boots and washing dishes... never actually measured before. Checked the bucket tally last weekend and I'm at 312 gallons collected, which blew my mind since my boat tanks only hold 40. How do you guys store your rainwater without it turning into a swamp full of mosquito larvae?

3 comments

3 Comments

simonw4118d ago

Whoa that's an awesome haul for a tarp setup, 312 gallons is no joke! I use a couple of those blue 55 gallon drums with the screw on lids. I cut a hole in the top for the downspout and covered it with a piece of window screen to keep leaves and bugs out. You definitely gotta keep the sunlight off them or algae will take over, so I painted mine with a light colored exterior paint. For the larvae problem, I drop in a few drops of vegetable oil every couple weeks, it coats the surface and suffocates the mosquito eggs before they hatch.

marymorgan18d ago

Hold on, you put vegetable oil in your water barrels? Isn't that going to make a mess with the oil floating on top when you try to water your plants?

ninab954d agoTop Commenter

Does the oil coat your plant roots or anything when you water? I've heard of using a drop of dish soap too but never tried it. Curious if it leaves any weird residue on the soil over time.