Rant: My neighbor laughed at my rain barrel setup and now I'm second-guessing everything

I was so proud of my DIY rain barrel system I rigged up from a 55-gallon drum and some PVC. But my neighbor Bob, who's been gardening for 30 years, just chuckled and said I'm basically breeding mosquitoes and wasting space. He told me I need a first-flush diverter and a mesh screen or it's all pointless. Now I'm wondering if I just made a giant bug hotel for the summer. Has anyone else had to redo their rain barrel after someone pointed out the obvious?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamieb801mo agoMost Upvoted

Whoa hold up, is this really that big of a deal? I mean yeah Bob might know his stuff after 30 years but a little bit of mosquito water never killed anyone's tomatoes right? @christopherw34 makes it sound like your barrel is a biohazard but frogs are just doing their thing, they eat bugs so that's kind of a win-win. I've been running a basic bucket setup for two years with just a spigot and I swear my plants are fine, water's a little green sometimes but it's not like I'm drinking it. If you're just watering flowers or something I wouldn't sweat it too much, Bob's probably just flexing his gardening trophies. Now if you're trying to drink from it that's a whole different story but for the lawn? Let it ride man.

brianm661mo ago

My neighbor had a similar setup for 5 years and swore by it, then his tomato plants got some kind of rot last summer and he tracked it back to the barrel... kind of made me think twice about the whole "it's fine" attitude. I'm with you @jamieb80 that a little green water probably won't kill your flowers, but after seeing that I added a basic screen and diverter for under 20 bucks and honestly the peace of mind is worth it. Bob might be showing off a bit but he's not completely wrong, a few small tweaks can turn your barrel from a frog hotel into something you don't have to worry about.

christopherw341mo ago

Did you think about adding a diverter from the start? Because I made the same mistake - my first barrel was just a big tub with a spigot, and I had frogs throwing parties in it after three weeks. I went back and added a simple first-flush setup from a home improvement store for like 15 bucks, plus a screen on top, and it made a HUGE difference. The water stays clear now and I use it for my tomatoes without worrying about filth. Bob might be a bit of a know-it-all but he's got a point, you can fix it easy and then you'll have a solid setup.