Mosquitos!!!

[Midpack]

Spent a perfectly lovely evening around a firepit with three other couples, S'mores with wine & beer, over the weekend. Unfortunately when the sun went down, we were all mauled by mosquitos despite the fire and citronella candles (useless IME). I was the only one (dumb enough) wearing shorts - so I may have the worst of it. It was so bad I could not sleep the night after.

So are there any really effective treatments for yards? Or really effective bug sprays that we can spray ourselves with? We've used Off! and Skin So Soft, and they probably help but they're not 100% effective. I'm tired of serving as a food source for local mosquitos...

 

[RobbieB]

You may want to get one of those high voltage bug zappers.

Lures them in with UV and HV grids zap em dead.

 

[Big_Hitter]

You may want to get one of those high voltage bug zappers.

Lures them in with UV and HV grids zap em dead.

I don't think those work that great. I had one and it only zapped non-mosquitos. In Houston, the only thing that really worked was a CO2 inverter. That's why they like us, we exude CO2.

DragonFly II Mosquito Trap - Model DF5000 - Model - DF5000

 

[MRG]

You may want to get one of those high voltage bug zappers.

Lures them in with UV and HV grids zap em dead.

Bonus, a zapper and a six pack is considered entertainment in many parts of the country.

 

[Big_Hitter]

if you have standing water, like a bird feeder, the mosquito dunks work great

 

[Totoro]

The only effective method I've ever seen is wind and altitude.

Works even better with other methods like DEET obviously.

Altitude to clarify: I'm not talking about going to the mountains, but sitting outside in a multi-story building. At fourth floor and higher typically the number of mosquitoes drops off drastically.

 

[MichaelB]

So are there any really effective treatments for yards? Or really effective bug sprays that we can spray ourselves with? We've used Off! and Skin So Soft, and they probably help but they're not 100% effective. I'm tired of serving as a food source for local mosquitos...

Citronella doesn't work, and yard treatments might last for an afternoon, but not much more. The most effective non-deet repellent is this Repel® Plant-Based Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent2 (Pump Spray), I carry some with me just about everywhere. Not toxic, but it does have an aroma.

 

[Nemo2]

Put up a bat house, and then sit and watch the bats earn their keep.

 

[jazz4cash]

Google bug buttons. I going to get some and test them out this week. They passed these out to people attending a cookout last year and several people said they really helped but I'm skeptical.
https://www.amazon.com/Evergreen-Re...TF8&qid=1467738170&sr=8-1&keywords=bug+button

 

[Senator]

I don't think those work that great. I had one and it only zapped non-mosquitos.

I like the bug zappers. I do not want non-mosquitoes around me either. It works day and night. Every night. Even when I am not outside.

Put up a bat house, and then sit and watch the bats earn their keep.

I have an active bat house. I never thought bats would move in when I put it up, but they did. There are still mosquitoes.


You can use citronella, but a Thermocell works great. I used one bear hunting up in Canada, and no mosquitoes.

 

[2017ish]

...


You can use citronella, but a Thermocell works great. I used one bear hunting up in Canada, and no mosquitoes.

+1 DW historically functioned as my personal mosquito deterrent, since they love her. The Thermocell has been amazing for her.

 

[LOL!]

I can smell the yards that have put up the anti-mosquito misting systems when I go out walking the dog. Presently, I'm against those systems because they would be harmful to all flying insects including fireflies, dragonflies, butterflies, bees, etc.

The mosquito dunks do not work instantly and do not affect adult mosquitoes at all. We do use them though. The bacteria in them will also kill other insect larva, too, but hopefully you keep the dunks in limited puddles.

Some mosquitos like to lay eggs in small puddles found in tree trunks, notches, etc. You are not going to get those places treated.

When I go outside to work in the yard, I wear long jeans, a long-sleeve shirt, socks, and a wide-brimmed hat. I do have mosquito-netting to go over the hat, but have only used it when camping up north during black-fly season.

Some folks have said putting a dryer sheet under their hat works. That seems appropriate for this forum. I have been with people who did that and they said it worked, but that was on a night that I didn't get bit by mosquitoes anyways.

Otherwise, cover up your skin, put DEET on your exposed skin and treat actual bites with anti-itch cream.

 

[LOL!]

I also wonder if having carbonated beverages increases the amount of carbon dioxide in one's immediate vicinity. I would think putting a chunk of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide available from your grocery store) out in the yard somewhere would confuse mosquitoes or at least compete with your own CO2 from exhaling.

 

[Nemo2]

I have an active bat house. I never thought bats would move in when I put it up, but they did. There are still mosquitoes.

Oh, did I mention getting non-union bats?

 

[Big_Hitter]

I also wonder if having carbonated beverages increases the amount of carbon dioxide in one's immediate vicinity. I would think putting a chunk of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide available from your grocery store) out in the yard somewhere would confuse mosquitoes or at least compete with your own CO2 from exhaling.

some of it is definitely body chemistry - DW always gets munched on when I don't - could be diet related?

 

[Katiek]

I was going to say invite me to go with you, and I can guarantee the bugs would spend all their time biting me!

 

[Midpack]

Put up a bat house, and then sit and watch the bats earn their keep.

We noted lots of bats flying around us that night, sure didn't prevent mosquitos that we could tell...

 

[Nemo2]

We noted lots of bats flying around us that night, sure didn't prevent mosquitos that we could tell...

There might have been a whole lot more without them:

Control Insects By Bolstering Your Bat Habitat - Nature and Environment - MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Many bats, and almost all in the United States, thrive on an insect diet. A single bat can eat up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects every hour, and each bat usually eats 6,000 to 8,000 insects each night.Their appetite for mosquitoes certainly makes a backyard more comfortable. Bats are opportunistic, and their lack of discretion benefits everyone. Some of their favorite prey include crop-destroying moths, cucumber beetles, flies and gnats. Natural insect control is their specialty.

 

[Midpack]

We noted lots of bats flying around us that night, sure didn't prevent mosquitos that we could tell...

There might have been a whole lot more without them:

Control Insects By Bolstering Your Bat Habitat - Nature and Environment - MOTHER EARTH NEWS

May well be, but NOT a solution as my ankles/legs can attest...

 

[eytonxav]

I play softball in shorts and normally get eaten alive by mosquitoes in the outfield grass, but since using Coleman Insect Repellant with 40% Deet, I haven't had a single bite.

 

[Nemo2]

May well be, but NOT a solution as my ankles/legs can attest...

It would appear that the world's bug-to-human ratio is around 200,000,000 to 1. Total avoidance is impossible.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

As some of you have seen, my house is in the middle of an urban forest. Trees, trees, trees EVERYWHERE and a creek on the backside of the property. So, mosquitos are TERRIBLE here. Last year, I had a commercial company start spraying the yard, and it worked...it worked VERY well...but it was about $50 an application every 4 weeks. Well, that's a little pricey, so I looked at what they used, and the magic chemical is Bifen IT which you can buy and spray yourself. It takes about 5 gallons (mixed) to treat my 3/4 acre lot. I have to do it about every 4 weeks and it takes about 30 minutes to do. This stuff works better than ANYTHING I have tried.

Bifen IT | Bifenthrin 7.9%

 

[Midpack]

It would appear that the world's bug-to-human ratio is around 200,000,000 to 1. Total avoidance is impossible.

Understood, but undoubtedly we can do better than the "protection" bats offered, no matter how steadfastly you cling to the idea...

 

[Nemo2]

Understood, but undoubtedly we can do better than the "protection" bats offered, no matter how steadfastly you cling to the idea...

I'm not really 'clinging' to it, it's more that I personally don't care to sit around breathing in crap that's toxic to things that are often a lot more resilient than I am; à chacun son goût, I guess.

 

[braumeister]

I'm a believer in bats, and have always had a couple of bat houses with numerous residents at houses I've owned. At our last house, based on the general environment we should have been deluged with mosquitos, but never had a single bite in nine years. I give the bats a good deal of the credit.

Beyond that, I've always relied on 100% DEET. I prefer the liquid or roll-on stick type but a spray is OK too. Another good option is to treat your clothing, especially socks and shirt cuffs, with pyrethrin. You don't want it on your skin, but treating clothing with it is effective.