Mosquitos!!!

I can't stand anything with DEET. Picaridin (I think that's how you spell it) works fine for the wimpy mosquitos they have here in the south, and I don't even hate the scent and the feel of it. DEET makes me ill and feels like getting covered in Wesson.

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There's nothing you can do. However, at our lake house this year the mosquitoes have been almost non existent, a real shocker. Smoky fire, go out later, ie after 11PM, use Off with 30% Deet. Then scratch like hell.
 
In 17 years of living in this suburb, without using any mosquito repellant, I have never once been bitten by a mosquito. There may be several reasons for that:

1) My suburb is heavily fogged, frequently, for mosquitos.
2) I don't sit outside a whole lot in the heat of summer.
3) Maybe mosquitos just don't like me. I should review Dale Carnegie's advice.
4) Admins have to develop thick skins? :angel:

:ROFLMAO:
 
We cover up. Remove any standing water. Use DEET if we go out birdwatching or whatever. DH who is out a lot treats his field clothes with permethrin.

If sitting out on the patio a rule is "don't step in the grass!" That seems to wake them up.

A patio fan also helps.
 
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We have bats that live somewhere around the lake. Almost zero mosquitoes here in our yard but others in our neighborhood have tons (like you might get bit 10 times running from car to house).

If the bugs bother me, I'll put a light misting of DEET repellent on. Seems to work.

FYI in North Carolina.
 
If you use DEET a minimum of 25% is needed to be effective.
Decades ago, when working in the bush we used liquid deet 95% It even kept the horse flys and deer flys off.
I'd have 20 deer flys buzzing around me within a foot but none landing to chew. :)

Fans work well as they cannot fly in a wind (or only sit out on breezy nights). Note that having hedges and things like that (solid fences) will block the wind and give them a place to shelter.

Those coil things and lemon candles and Avon Skin So Soft don't work regardless of what the shills say (in MHO).
 
I remember using those smoldering green coil thingys at the drive-in movies back in the 60s. I don't remember how well they worked since smoldering was happening elsewhere and I wasn't paying much attention. :LOL:

Cheers!
 
I just tried clove oil. Seems to be effective, only tired it once so far. Just watch out after applying to avoid contact to eyes, it can burn. Supposed to be effective for two hours.
 
I spray with a DEET based product. I put it on my cloths when I mow the lawn instead of directly on my skin but that would be had to do in shorts in the evening by the fire. The main thing I want to share is what I do when I do get bit. I found a product called SssstingStop and have found it to work very well at easing the itch. You have to use it frequently like 4-6 times per day, but it does work (at least for me and my family).

Link - Ssssting Stop - $7.39
 
Jerry1 said:
I spray with a DEET based product. I put it on my cloths when I mow the lawn instead of directly on my skin but that would be had to do in shorts in the evening by the fire. The main thing I want to share is what I do when I do get bit. I found a product called SssstingStop and have found it to work very well at easing the itch. You have to use it frequently like 4-6 times per day, but it does work (at least for me and my family).

Link - Ssssting Stop - $7.39
Click to expand...

You might want to try permethrin sprayed on your clothes, it lasts a number of washings. It even stops ticks.
 
I've used the coils with good effect, but your best bet is a Thermocell. Get the lantern type one or the personal sized one. They definitely work. A friend who is a surveyor swears by them, and convinced me on a camping trip where we were eaten alive if we set foot outside of the protected zone.
 
My son, who was a severe asthmatic when he was a child, never got bitten by insects. We all assumed it was the theophylline he was prescribed to take.
 
We live in Florida, on an island, next to conserved land. Biting insects can be a real problem.

For years, our solution has been to eliminate standing water and use a 'Mosquito Magnet'. About $300/stand - lasts for 3-4 years. A slow heat/burn of propane (lasts 3 weeks at $14/refill) emits CO2. Counter-rotating electric fans puts out the gas, the biting insects fly to the horn and get sucked into a net where they desiccate. Works on biting flies, mosquitos and no-seums (known as invisible flying teeth in FL) Collapses biting insect populations in about 4 weeks.
 
Re: Mosquito bites.

In an above post, I linked mosquito bite video... It was the wrong one. Try this. :facepalm:

 
I have your solution! I'll ask the colony of bats I just discovered in my attic to relocate to your place!

Well, actually there's a guy coming this afternoon to give me an estimate for getting them out. I doubt they'd relocate voluntarily!:LOL: We were gone for a week and in that time an abundance of guano showed up on driveway below a high vent that no doubt has deteriorated screen. Looking at over a $1,000. Unfortunately the attic space they've taken residence in is totally inaccessible except via that vent.
 
H2ODude said:
I have your solution! I'll ask the colony of bats I just discovered in my attic to relocate to your place!

Well, actually there's a guy coming this afternoon to give me an estimate for getting them out. I doubt they'd relocate voluntarily!:LOL: We were gone for a week and in that time an abundance of guano showed up on driveway below a high vent that no doubt has deteriorated screen. Looking at over a $1,000. Unfortunately the attic space they've taken residence in is totally inaccessible except via that vent.
Click to expand...

Is it possible to install some kind of funnel that permits egress but does not permit access? If so, when they're gone they 'should be' gone.
 
Yes, that's what they'll do. it doesn't appear they penetrated the screen and are living in the louvres. I could do it but it's at the end of my extension ladder and I've sworn off reaching that high. Plus, they'll treat for mites and other nastiness they can bring that I just don't want to mess with. This conforms with my goal of taking fewer risks as I age over saving money.

I am tempted to place a bat box in a tree out back by our lake but DW does NOT approve. Oh well.
 
H2ODude said:
I have your solution! I'll ask the colony of bats I just discovered in my attic to relocate to your place!

Well, actually there's a guy coming this afternoon to give me an estimate for getting them out. I doubt they'd relocate voluntarily!:LOL: We were gone for a week and in that time an abundance of guano showed up on driveway below a high vent that no doubt has deteriorated screen. Looking at over a $1,000. Unfortunately the attic space they've taken residence in is totally inaccessible except via that vent.
Click to expand...

Most bat colonies are summer colonies.
 
H2ODude said:
Yes, that's what they'll do. it doesn't appear they penetrated the screen and are living in the louvres. I could do it but it's at the end of my extension ladder and I've sworn off reaching that high. Plus, they'll treat for mites and other nastiness they can bring that I just don't want to mess with. This conforms with my goal of taking fewer risks as I age over saving money.

I am tempted to place a bat box in a tree out back by our lake but DW does NOT approve. Oh well.
Click to expand...

Pretty expensive for such a simple job, did you get other quotes ?

I'd be pretty tempted to wait until late evening after they fly out, and then spray the vents with something to make them not want to live there. Either wasp killer (it sprays 15 ft) or coyote piss in a spray bottle (used in gardening to protect flowers from deer).

The issue of mites, fleas etc is nothing as you are not going to be handling them and those insects are outside and will die off without the bats there.

Wear rubber gloves if you do ever touch a bat as they can carry rabies and fleas.
 
I didn't bother with other quotes as the description of what would be done was extensive (fogging attic and spraying, as well as blocking several other suspect entries). I'll admit it's not cheap, but was impressed with the guy. If you research "bat bugs" on wikipedia they aren't benign and can well enter the attic through the screen from an infestation. Highly likely? Probably not. Just want it done completely without any problems.
 
well that is interesting about "bat bugs".

Since they are so similar to bed bugs, the temperature of 120F or higher probably kills them off (if they were in an attic), but spraying the poison (fogging) would certainly help ease the mind.
 
For those who have used permethrin to treat clothes.

How well does it work to prevent mosquito bites? Do you still have to use a deet based repellant on your skin?
 
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