Drain boxes in the back yard

[LCHIEN]

I had a guy come out and put some french drains in the backyard to drain areas that didn't drain well.

He put a few 12x12 boxes in the ground with grate covers and 4" drain pipe to the sides of these boxes. The water drains away except for an inch or two in the bottom that's below the bottom of the side pipe.

I worry that this remains there for days until it evaporates and gives mosquitos a place to breed.

SOmeone suggested putting some sand or something in the bottoms up to the drain pipe, but I think i heavy rains this will be washed out.

What I'm thinking is that I should drill a few (3 or 4 1/4" holes) holes in the bottom of the box... small amounts of rainwater will then leak into the ground and be absorbed in a short while while large rainstorms will flow out the drain pipe.

Does that make sense?

[tommyt654]

I'd put gravel down before drilling holes as they might cause dirt to come up inside the box and possibly clog the drain pipe.

[cabinetman]

I'd put gravel down before drilling holes as they might cause dirt to come up inside the box and possibly clog the drain pipe.

+1. Gravel under the boxes would be effective too.

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[jking]

Is there a way to screen material over or directly under the grate? My understanding has always been if you keep the mosquitos from getting to the water, they can't lay their eggs there. Window screen is tight enough it should work; it's what they use on rain barrels.

[cabinetman]

Is there a way to screen material over or directly under the grate? My understanding has always been if you keep the mosquitos from getting to the water, they can't lay their eggs there. Window screen is tight enough it should work; it's what they use on rain barrels.

That may be true. Of the 3,500 species of mosquitoes, some here seem like they can fly full speed right through screening without scuffing their wings.

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[jon_ramp]

You might look into this.

[LCHIEN]

dunks require maintenance and will float into the drain pipe when it rains heavily.
Screen mesh will lead to clogged drains as there will be grass clippings and leaves and other yard debris. The grates stop the large stuff but there's a lot of small stuff which usually will not clog the drains... unless you put something to stop it like a mesh.

Yeah the gravel underneath and then some holes would have been a good idea, certainly making the trapped water drain faster... a bit late now.

[cabinetman]

I added french drains to one of the homes I had. They were basically just a deep trench filled with gravel that led away from collection areas, no collection boxes.

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[jking]

What kind of soil do you have? If there's heavy clay soil under the boxes, I doubt drilling holes in the bottom will help much. If you have have sandy loam, the holes will probably make a difference.

Is there currently a standing water problem? If not, I'd give it a while and see. You can always try drilling the holes later if there is an issue.

[LinuxRandal]

Around here, there is a product called Soilmaster, that is used to break up clay soils so it drains better. They also use it to drain ponds.

[sailor55330]

I heard once that pouring about 1/4 cup of olive oil into a drain and "rubbing" it in to the sides would deter mosquitos as it forms a thin film on the surface. Because it's olive oil, it's naturally biodegradable.

I have no clue if it works.

[tommyt654]

OK Lots of good suggestions,Most boxes have a removable grate on top to provide easy access to remove any debris that might fall into them and clog the drain opening. I would find some hardware cloth in a 1 x 1 inch square or smaller and remove the grate top and place this directly over the 4 inch or larger hole that leads the water away from the drainbox into the pipe,Then I would fill in the bottom up to and over slightly the drain holes opening with 1/2 inch or larger gravel. This still allows the water to drain and doesn't allow the standing water to be anything the skeeters are gonna be able to lay eggs in as the water will evaporate more rapidly due to the gravel being in there causing air to mix more rapidly with whatever water remains Hope this idea gives you a better idea of what I was referring to when I mentioned the gravel in the bottom.You could even place some hardware cloth over the top of the gravel to ease cleaning of it should some foreign matter make it past the grate

[jdon]

I heard once that pouring about 1/4 cup of olive oil into a drain and "rubbing" it in to the sides would deter mosquitos as it forms a thin film on the surface.

This reminds me of an anecdote I read as a boy (and probably should be moved to the "Useless Knowledge" thread) During construction of the Panama Canal, malaria was decimating work crews. Ironically, malaria outbreaks were actually higher in hospitals. A genius realized that the legs of patient beds were placed in saucers filled with water, to prevent ants from crawling up and attacking bedridden patients. In hindsight the saucers were natural breeding sites for mosquitoes. A slick from a few drops of oil in each soon solved the problem.

That being said, I think the olive oil in the french drain would be washed out after a good rain or two, or a good food source for unknown soil bugs, so not a long term maintenance free solution.

[tommyt654]

After seing this article even my stock in bugspray has gone up as I garden outside usually in the cooler morning in shorts,can you say OFF , http://science.time.com/2012/08/21/w...und/?hpt=hp_t1

[justaguy]

[QUOTE=LCHIEN;506108]dunks require maintenance and will float into the drain pipe when it rains heavily.
QUOTE]

I use dunks in my drains. I take a old pair of panty hose and cut out a section. I wrap the hose around the dunk with a small stone and tie it off with a plastic twist tie. The weight keeps the dunk in place and the hose allows the ater to slowly disolve the dunk.