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| Purple Martin bird - JJ Cadiz, Cajay [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)] |
Q. How many bugs can a purple martin eat? I want to get rid of mosquitoes.
A. I don’t know. Purple Martins are known to have insatiable,
indiscriminate appetites for flying insects such as honeybees, mosquitoes,
moths, flies, etc. However, like the
rest of us, some grow older, lose their appetites, and don’t fly so fast.
If you fear mosquitoes, I suggest you rid your home and
garden of places where mosquito larvae can thrive. Are you catching rain water
in buckets or barrels for irrigation? That sounds like a good idea, but
mosquito larvae can thrive there. Stop collecting water, or treat the water
with organic larvicide.
Don’t expect Purple Martins to rid your landscape of
mosquitoes, but make homes for them, anyway. You’ll have lots of pleasure caring
for them, watching their aerial acrobatics, and knowing they are doing good.
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