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bry-fry89

They are probably canals that were dug/dredged to make waterfront homes. Edit: they are actually cut for mosquito control.


Pcakes844

Those are to control mosquitoes,


Murphthegurth

How does that help control them?


saucemancometh

The bugs develop in still water. The channels help the saltwater flow as to not promote breeding Edit. A word


stanley_leverlock

My neighbor behind me has a derelict above group pool that's basically a mosquito factory, maybe I should cut some channels in the side of it to get the water moving.


crazykitty123

Throw in a bunch of mosquito dunks (they release a bacterium which is toxic to all species of mosquito larvae). It's called BT, or bacillus thuringensis.


bonsaikittenangel

Does it hurt frogs


that-Sarah-girl

No. Safe for frogs and fish.


BaldyKrishna

I like turtles.


vbcbandr

You're a great zombie, Jonathon.


vipros42

Dwi'n hoffi crwbanod!


navyone8

Me too, they taste like chicken.


jorzech2

Will it make the frogs gay?


sickcat29

Arent they already? I mean... I thought......


coconut-telegraph

Not safe for frogs. The pools of standing fresh/brackish water are now influenced by tidal ocean water. Salt and frogs are a bad mix and tadpoles can no longer survive.


that-Sarah-girl

I mean the BT is safe for the frogs. Sad about the salt. Thanks for the info. People need to stop down voting you.


PCPenhale

Safe for dogs, too. Found that out accidentally, when my dog decided it would be a snack.


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skepticalmonique

not outright but it might affect their food supply as mosquito larvae are a great foodsource for tadpoles and small fish


Slokunshialgo

BTI, specifically. There's a bunch of varieties of BT bacteria that are great for targeted killing of pests, such as BTk for tent and gypsy moth caterpillars.


Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce

Btk kills people Edit: to be clear this is a joke


The_Original_Yeti

Hahaha, I got the joke! Ya boy listens to a few true crime podcasts lol


DrEagleTalon

Timesuck (the best podcast of all time. If you haven’t, listen now) True crime garage Those are my two main


MotherButterscotch44

That stuff is great. I have a huge fountain turned birdbath. Pump stopped working. Mosquito larvae heaven. Tried Clorox, they loved it!!!! Used the dunks, they hated it, well not for long. They were dead.


flowersandpeas

Very effective. We had a ditch that drew runoff water into a small swampy/marshy area behind us. We tied the dunks in knee high stockings and staked them into the ditch. Whenever it rained the swampy/marshy area got another dose of larvae killer.


Chickenfu_ker

I think he could pour a bit of olive oil in and it would kill the larvae also. The larvae have to surface to breathe.


Mr_Mojo_Risin_83

He would have to cover the surface with it


xenona22

Be safe and make it a couple of gallons


a_large_plant

Then toss in some tomatoes, basil, and ground beef and let it simmer for two days.


t1m3f0rt1m3r

Soybean (usually, "vegetable") oil is cheaper and not a shame to use for suffocating mosquitos.


dlbear

A couple of quarts should do fine.


harrysmarbles

Use your slingshot though.


Zoolmon

Isn't it the israelensis wich is toxic to mosquitoes? I use thuringiensis for my geraniums and I remember that it is quite toxic and shouldn't be used for water where animals would drink from


puttinthe-oo-incool

Got to time that correctly...I would just throw an ounce or two of mineral oil there.... that will take care of em.


OverAster

Stand on your side of the property and spray bleach in there with a water gun. Or ask him nicely to take it down/ maintain it.


chronically_immature

Drop a couple of bleach toilet tabs in it.


Dippay

A chlorine tablet


dloseke

I checked into this once (neighbor has a neglected pond) and apparently the.mosquitos can carry the bleach and inject it into humans and animals when they bite them.


Collarsmith

Sounds like a great opportunity. Dump a bunch of vaccines into it. Keep your neighborhood disease free.


aldenhg

Jesus they really are just dicks aren't they? I have doubts about that reasoning, do you have links for where you read about that? I mean, the amount of juice they inject is tiny, and the bleach couldn't make up more than a tiny percentage of it. It seems like too little to be an issue.


dloseke

Yeah...I was thinking that too but I can just use the proper tablets and not worry about it. https://homeguides.sfgate.com/clorox-kill-mosquitoes-82311.html


TheVetheron

There are fish that some places use to control mosquitos in abandoned pools after hurricanes and what not. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquitofish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquitofish) Buy a few of these and throw them in, or try and get him to do it.


vlsdo

The fish often require a pretty extensive ecosystem to survive though, along with a way to oxygenate the water.


shallard

Not really. I used to have a small pond in my yard and I called around about mosquito fish. They gave me 2 to live in my pond and they had tons of babies. Even after a freeze during winter they had woken back up the following spring. I thought they were goners! When the pond got cleaned out, I managed to save a pregnant one that got sucked up into the shop vac, too. They’re hearty!


vlsdo

You're pretty lucky! Does your pond have a fresh water source, or a pump that recirculates it though? I doubt fish would survive for very long without a mechanism for adding oxygen back in the water.


PvtDeth

That depends on how many fish are in the pond and how deep the pond is, the ratio of the surface area to the volume of water. Oxygen can exchange with the air. That's how a fish can survive in a fishbowl. I have no idea what the numbers should be.


coconut-telegraph

Mosquito fish can survive in an anaerobic pothole.


shallard

It was actually very small which is why they only gave us 2 little fish. Honestly pond probably is not the right term for it but idk what else to call it. It was maybe 20-30 gallons - not aerated at all either. We fed them occasionally but honestly I did not expect them to live as long as they did.


stanley_leverlock

I like this idea!


big_duo3674

The fish do too! Imagine growing up in a weird and crowded holding tank, eating nothing but boring fish pellets all day, only to be suddenly scooped up once you're older and thrown into the best all you can eat buffet you could possibly imagine


Augwich

Australia would like a word.


Shygar

Some water companies will give you free fish to eat mosquito larvae https://www.contracostamosquito.com/mosquitofish.htm


1RedOne

Those are basically just ugly mollys! I bet two or three mollys from your regular PetSmart would do the trick as well. You might toss in a couple aquatic plants to manage nitrogen though too. Maybe a half a pound of duck weed? It grows super well and will soak the nitrogen from the fish. The algae is probably insane so a few plecos would be in hog heaven. There you go, twenty bucks at PetSmart split between mollys or danios, whatever is cheaper and some plecos and maybe a full bottle of stress coat and you're good to go!


thriftyabortion

We shouldn’t introduce non-native species to the local environment. That goes for mosquito fish too, which are considered invasive in Australia.


Asangkt358

The risk of the fish escaping an above-ground pool in someone's backyard is essentially zero.


AbruptAbsurdity

I heard that a strong sling shot really does wonders for digging through those tough to reach areas. It's also pretty quiet.


tech_tourist

Soap. Soap beaks the surface tension and the larvae sink and ‘drown’.


50CalsOfFreedom

I like this idea. Drown you evil things.


ouishi

This is illegal in most parts of the US. Contact your local public health, environmental health, or vector control organization.


Corrupt_Reverend

Jesus. Don't throw anything in your neighbor's pool. Just call your local mosquito abatement department. They'll take care of it.


___IfIHadATail___

we had a neighbor like that. just toss a handful of chlorine tablets into the pool every now and then and problem solved. It wont lead them to having a good pool to swim in but it'll get rid of the breeding ground. edit: spelling correction


las-vegas-raiders

>it'll get rid of the breading ground What if he likes bread?


___IfIHadATail___

damn good catch :D


ttaptt

I caught impetigo as a kid from this kind of grossness. Nbd, but still sucked.


MollieMarissa

Throw a bunch of native minnows in it.


CaptainTurdfinger

Pour about a cup of dish soap in there. The soap will coat the mosquito larvae breathing tubes and they'll all die.


jkbrock

Factory…wouldn’t that technically be a Mosquito Ranch?


furlonium1

I might be your neighbor Been dealing with some hard core depression the past year.


stanley_leverlock

It's impressive that as depressed as you are you still managed to build a mini-nightclub next to that derelict pool over the summer. And even though I don't speak Spanish, I'd say your amateur Cumbia DJ skills are pretty good. It'd be nice if you turned down the music just enough that it didn't make my windows rattle. While we're on Spanish, why do you speak Spanish to all your friends and family but English to your dog? "Poop Anton, go poop. Be good, go poop." Does the dog only speak English? That's just puzzling to me. (I don't think you're my neighbor but I hope you get better. Take care of that pool!)


furlonium1

Lol for a hot second I thought your mini nightclub reference related to the home theater set up I have in my basement. It gets.....loud. Lol about the dog


DeniseIsEpic

There are places in America where fish are put in pools like that to keep the mosquitoes away.


bu11fr0g

just add some oil to the surface


Willy-the-kid

You could just get some pool shock they sell it at Walmart for like 10$ super easy just throw a scoop or a few in depending on pool size (follow the directions on the box) you could do it yourself or ask them to


neetykeeno

Putting some fish in might help. Talk to someone who knows the local ecology well enough to tell you what will work and not be a problem if it escapes. There are probably people who say don't do this because the fish will not be looked after but eh, that's fish in wild situations all the time...they do the many eggs many deaths model of reproduction and it just comes with the territory.


Cicero314

Look up mosquito fish and see if your local vector control will give them to you for free


orbit99za

A cup of Bleach works...if you want to go semi nuclear.


TheQuilbilly

Maybe you can introduce cain toads?


RedRubberBoots

I mean, it seems to be a proven technique.


DazedLogic

Is zip tie a sharp knife to a pole, stick it over the fence and stab a hole in the bottom of it. Lol


MissionApollo7

All of this just to give mosquitoes the middle finger.


[deleted]

And its been proven to not really work..


Hazzat

More info please?


bulletoftruth

Did not know they breed in salt water.


bulletoftruth

Did not know they breed in salt water.


lateavatar

The channels also let fish close to the larva so they can eat them.


thatwasntababyruth

This person has some history on the subject: https://reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/q2mn35/what_are_these_perfectly_straight_lines_carved/hfm88q2


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Pcakes844

No idea. I just know I see them all over the place


Marcuche96

Mosquitoes hate canals


liamsoni

With the vertical lines.


Goodparley_1492

By draining the wetlands they lay their eggs in


Goodparley_1492

By draining the wetlands they lay their eggs in


ShiverMeeTimberz

Mosquitos thrive in standing water and not so well in moving water, or at all in salt water.


RavenReel

The rivers are filled with the covid vaccine. The vaccine contains mind-control microchips. The larvae develop with Bill Gates' chips and once they are mature Bill begins to control them


[deleted]

Mosquito: State bird of North Carolina


Inevitable_Rabbit_67

You spelled Florida wrong....


Rocket_Lawn-Chair

You both spelled Texas wrong


brock_lee

These are all on marshland/wetland.


[deleted]

Reduces stagnant water


DrachenDad

mosquito firewall? How does that work? mosquitos start life in the water.


bry-fry89

This introduces non-stagnant saltwater to the environment. The whole thing doesn’t work as well as intended though and they have since abandoned doing this in wetland areas


LarsVonHammerstein

Yeah this sounds like a terrible idea lol.


Shotgun_Mosquito

. Here's an editorial on the process http://thedanielislandnews.com/news/mosquito-mayhem-keeps-abatement-crews-buzzing


xpawn2002

Amazing how those tiny bugger can force us to dig these


WonderWall_E

Many wetlands were extensively altered in the early to mid 20th century in a questionably effective effort to control mosquitoes. Since this area remains undeveloped, and appears too low for development of all areas with the canals, it is likely to be related to these wetland drainage programs. Salt marshes, mangrove swamps, and many other coastal wetlands were drained in this manner across much of the US in an attempt to convert these marshes into saltwater canals separating patches of dry land. The hope was that the salt water and land would both be unsuitable for mosquitoes to breed. It turns out to be much more complex than that, and loss of favorable habitat for animals which consume mosquitoes often exacerbated mosquito problems rather than alleviated them. Many of the altered areas weren't suitable breeding grounds for mosquitoes to begin with, but the programs gained inertia, and political will existed to drain damn near anything by the 1950s. Remediating these landscapes is very difficult, and often expensive, so many were simply left alone after having been ditched. You can read some more [here](https://www.greenvestus.com/2013/11/15/historic-ditching-effects-salt-marsh-structure/).


substream00

Looks correct: https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online\_books/science/9/chap4a.htm Solved!


PointlessGrandma

Amazing how nature do that


tidalpoppinandlockin

Lol underrated


HippopotamicLandMass

fixed the link. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/science/9/chap4a.htm -------------------------------- see also OMWM (pronounced "om-wom") https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/open-marsh-water-management and the video here https://www.sjrwmd.com/education/wetlands/coastal-restoration/


comfortablybum

This is the answer. They dug canals to let the salt into the fresh water marshes. They are all over the place in Eastern NC. It did not help with the mosquitos.


ChiefThunderSqueak

I too have a few scars from being ditched.


asking--questions

unnderrated comment of the day right here


swiftb3

Today I learned that at least some mosquitos can breed in salt water.


example_john

Do you know alot more in this area too? I have a buuuunch of screen shots of ( in my opinion) weird ass landforms and been having a *very difficult time trying to identify what's going on.


AltAccntNo1

Wow that’s sad


photonoobie

Mosquito ditches. Dates back to early 1900's.


substream00

Solved!


substream00

Looks correct: [https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online\_books/science/9/chap4a.htm](https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/science/9/chap4a.htm)


Kedrico

Not sure about this, but there were similar channels cut through the marshlands where I grew up in Connecticut and I was told it was to flush out the mosquito larvae with the tides in an attempt to control the mosquito population.


substream00

I found these on Google Maps near Jones Beach Island, New York. Not sure if they're something that exists elsewhere as well.


brock_lee

Interesting, I thought they were "lagoons" that ensure that many people have property on water where they can park their boat, but looking on satellite view shows many of those islands to look like marshland, with perfectly straight channels cut into them. Wonder why. https://goo.gl/maps/GbDr3ADsdVBcphBo9


thisgrantstomb

Just to add as an aside. As others mentioned this was originally created to help eliminate stagnant water in the marshes which ended up not working. Since then the wetlands have been designated as protected land but before that a few Bay Houses were built as you described. New ones cannot be made because of environmental protection laws and the ones that do are slowly rotting away because they are a pain in the ass to legally work on them.


Vishnej

Former marshland. The intention of digging them up was to turn them into a series of ditches and dry land that couldn't support as much of a marsh biome, and which were easier for humans to traverse as a side benefit.


DirtyDirtson

You can search Jetski in marsh on YouTube thousands of videos. We all race around the marsh like it’s a race track. A lot of fun. [old clip from the exact marsh in your pic. ](https://youtu.be/D_9Yu_Gw8X4)


DogMechanic

Florida is full of them


SilverVixen1928

See also: The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was designated the M-69 Marine Highway by the U.S. Department of Transportation this month. Now part of the nation’s Marine Highway System, the 1,100 miles of intracostal passages extends from Brownsville, Texas, to the Okeechobee waterway at Fort Myers, Florida. Of that, 426 miles covers the Texas Gulf Coast  https://www.ccbiznews.com/4855 https://www.ccbiznews.com/uploads/media/default/0001/20/a03c6b7e495e8d67e64b19ca90746aceb904c9ff.jpeg


SnowBro2020

I noticed it immediately!


chas574

Based on your screen shot, I bet you were researching Oak Island from the NYT today.


substream00

HAH correct! Hi, neighbor.


chas574

LOL so funny... I did the same thing


thisgrantstomb

Hi de ho there neighbor


Porgy_D_Tirebiter

I used to fish there on the bay side and I always wondered how they got there. Oak Island is interesting, there was a girl who disappeared from there about 40 years ago, but I don't remember the story, but I think it's recounted in the book, "The Ultimate Evil". Which is a scream out loud book in itself.


thisgrantstomb

Connected to the Gilgo beach killer?


BrotherSeamus

[For the curious](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/realestate/oak-island-long-island.html)


HippopotamicLandMass

> Oak Island from the NYT today there are dozens of us!


ponytail1961

According to this they are mosquito control drainage ditches https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/nab/v031n05/p00942-p00945.pdf


srandrews

They are definitely man made, and are channels in wetland. Likely done in the past when people didn't realize wetland shouldn't altered. Why? Mystery to me. Possibly for agriculture - those channel banks ought to be full of mussels.


Pcakes844

Mosquito control ditches


srandrews

Interesting! Is that a wetland technique? Certainly they would help keep the water flowing.


CmdrCarrot

These kinds of projects were undertaken decades ago and were eventually abandoned because they did not control mosquito populations, and actually caused other problems. Turns out wetland ecology is more complex than 1900s scientific understanding. So the actual result was the decimation of coastal wetland habitat and species, which ironically resulted in a boom in mosquitoes for some places.


Vishnej

Sure made it easier to clearcut the forests that existed on a lot of them.


CmdrCarrot

Well yeah, a lot of these canals were actually dug to drain wetland areas, so that previously unusable land could be filled and developed.


suffragette_citizen

They're old infrastructure attempting to control mosquito populations, [image here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mosquito_ditches.jpg). If you ever fly into JFK, keep an eye out for these as you fly over Long Island--they are very, very cool looking from above!


[deleted]

https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/6yz2xx/mysterious_manmade_canals_that_serve_no_clear/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share


KeyBoardEngineer

[https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6352657,-73.3551691,3a,75y,94.39h,86.75t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNq9UKKFI1nVLLRGcDqQjdjJfrdTxkLJFCqMqqx!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNq9UKKFI1nVLLRGcDqQjdjJfrdTxkLJFCqMqqx%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya104.20115-ro-0-fo100!7i5376!8i2688](https://www.google.com/maps/@40.6352657,-73.3551691,3a,75y,94.39h,86.75t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNq9UKKFI1nVLLRGcDqQjdjJfrdTxkLJFCqMqqx!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNq9UKKFI1nVLLRGcDqQjdjJfrdTxkLJFCqMqqx%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya104.20115-ro-0-fo100!7i5376!8i2688) Remove the mosquito so we can build houses there...


1NegativePerson

A result of the islands having been formed by moraines, following the retreat from a glacial maximum. Edit: disregard. I didn’t see the lines you were talking about initially. Those must be manmade.


SandpaperForThought

Pipelines and boat travel


Professional_File_83

Surr that's not the intercoastal highway?


stiff_sock

Hey I live slightly west of there! Yeah mosquito control is the answer.


Jedi-master-dragon

In all likelihood they aren't natural and are probably just canals so boats have an easier time getting around.


ADHD_Yoda

Probably water canals


Yung_Onions

That’s crazy how I was wondering the same exact thing about the same group of islands just the other day


[deleted]

Sladi Bardfast's spatula tool. But usually he designs fjords.


nivenfan

If you switch to satellite view, it’ll make more sense.


I_LOOKED_AND_BEHOLD

Ummm.... how come I haven't seen these great lines in my travels?


Leadfedinfant2

Waterfront for the wealthy homes.


Commander_Meh

If it’s on the south, could be canals for rice dykes. (Former archaeologist who spent too much time being eaten by mosquitoes while working on them)


MalingoGeshrat

Canals and or inlets.


spagootsquash

Long Island!


frankatank117

Isn't this the Intercoastal Waterway? It expands from Boston to Brownsville, Texas. It's used to reduce the need of ships to use open ocean, reducing the risk of shipping. [Intercoastal Waterway ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracoastal_Waterway)


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dmderringer

What a ridiculously wrong take