Mosquito Control and Asthma

[HF63]

I enjoy working on cars during the summer weather because winter's are horrible. I am having a real problem with mosquitos getting into the garage and have notice that any over counter stuff like foggers, and the stuff your spray w/ garden hose is no good for my lungs. I put my charcoal grill to the dumpster when the smoke started to bother my chest also, I can not seem to get a break



Any ideas of what else to try??

 

[savory]

To get fast relief, you might want to try a fan aimed from inside your garage to outside. Mosquitos are lazy flyers. The fan will make it difficult for them to enter the garage.

The longer term solution is to determine where they are breeding near your garage. Mosquitos lay their eggs in areas that puddle, dry, then puddle again. This could be a low spot in your yard or a can left outside. Remove/fix anything that allows water to accumulate and evaporate in a few days. I expect that will reduce much of your mosquito problem.

 

[5Miler]

Agree wholeheartedly on the fans for quick relief. I think professional mosquito control is the more viable long term solution. I live in the Atlanta area and mosquitos are a big problem for us 8 months of the year. It had gotten so severe that I gave up use of my deck and back yard for almost 10 years. When just putting gas in my lawn mower in front of the shed in my back yard I would get swarmed.

Three years ago I contracted with my pest control company for mosquito control with very low expectations. Right behind my house is a drainage ditch and leading to a retention area one house away from us. I considered it a hopeless case but gave it a try anyway. How wrong I was. The results were amazing and ever since starting the service, spraying once a month March - October, we have regained use of our outdoor space and rarely experience mosquitos. Well worth the cost. My next door neighbor has even commented on how his mosquito issue has slackened since I started the service.

 

[euro]

Agree wholeheartedly on the fans for quick relief. I think professional mosquito control is the more viable long term solution. I live in the Atlanta area and mosquitos are a big problem for us 8 months of the year. It had gotten so severe that I gave up use of my deck and back yard for almost 10 years. When just putting gas in my lawn mower in front of the shed in my back yard I would get swarmed.

Three years ago I contracted with my pest control company for mosquito control with very low expectations. Right behind my house is a drainage ditch and leading to a retention area one house away from us. I considered it a hopeless case but gave it a try anyway. How wrong I was. The results were amazing and ever since starting the service, spraying once a month March - October, we have regained use of our outdoor space and rarely experience mosquitos. Well worth the cost. My next door neighbor has even commented on how his mosquito issue has slackened since I started the service.

Problem is that this also kills many other insects (in spite of what the exterminator company claims). Our bee, weavel, butterfly, etc populations have declined to almost nothing since our neighbor started the treatment. Even with all the insect attracting plants my DW cultivates. To make it even worse, we still have some many mosqutoes that even our cat gets swarmed when he leaves the house... needless to say: fewer bugs equals fewer birds as well

 

[Arizona1]

I had the same problem in my shed. Lots of mosquitoes and black widows. I tried everything then did a bug bomb. It solved the problem immediately and I didn’t notice any lingering smells.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Agree wholeheartedly on the fans for quick relief. I think professional mosquito control is the more viable long term solution. I live in the Atlanta area and mosquitos are a big problem for us 8 months of the year. It had gotten so severe that I gave up use of my deck and back yard for almost 10 years. When just putting gas in my lawn mower in front of the shed in my back yard I would get swarmed.

Three years ago I contracted with my pest control company for mosquito control with very low expectations. Right behind my house is a drainage ditch and leading to a retention area one house away from us. I considered it a hopeless case but gave it a try anyway. How wrong I was. The results were amazing and ever since starting the service, spraying once a month March - October, we have regained use of our outdoor space and rarely experience mosquitos. Well worth the cost. My next door neighbor has even commented on how his mosquito issue has slackened since I started the service.

The commercial companies pretty much use Bifen I/T (or similar composition that has bifenthrin as the primary chemical) in the ATL area. I know this from a friend who owns such a company. It is very effective, but for the OP it may not be great for asthma (at least initially) and is very detrimental to the "good" flying insects like honey bees. I would also note, that you can buy Bifen I/T online in most states and it is MUCH cheaper to do it yourself.

 

[Amethyst]

I just spray myself with OFF whenever I go outside during mosquito season (which is half the year, in Florida). Have always been a mosquito magnet. I can sit next to three other people who aren't bothered, and get a dozen bites.

 

[HF63]

Thanks for all the replies and great ideas. I have some home work to do!

 

[natetheb]

Get a mosquito magnet, they work well!

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

I just spray myself with OFF whenever I go outside during mosquito season (which is half the year, in Florida). Have always been a mosquito magnet. I can sit next to three other people who aren't bothered, and get a dozen bites.

I'm similarly attacked in PA, and have to use bug spray whenever outside. I get welts when I'm bitten. I hate the oily/tacky film that bug spray leaves on the skin. The higher percentage deet sprays seem to have more of that.

 

[tmm99]

I use a cream called afterbite if I do get bitten. It works amazingly well if I apply it to the bite soon after I get bitten. No itchiness whatsoever.

 

[Koolau]

I just spray myself with OFF whenever I go outside during mosquito season (which is half the year, in Florida). Have always been a mosquito magnet. I can sit next to three other people who aren't bothered, and get a dozen bites.

I hate the smell of OFF and similar sprays, but they do work. Using the stuff without a bit of breeze to blow the excess away makes me cough. It might be bad for those with lung issues. YMMV

 

[Sunset]

OP - how about using those magnetic screens that go across the garage opening, as well as a couple of fans at the back of the garage blowing outwards.

I personally hate the poisonous (IMHO) spray used to kill off the bugs as I believe breathing that in is bad for my health. I'm talking about the fogging trucks our city sends around.

<edit> Also when checking for water pools, check your gutters, a partially plugged gutter can back up water to allow a great breeding spot.

 

[Bamaman]

We've been fortunate this summer on mosquitos. It's been cooler than normal and it rains often, but nighttime temps have been in the mid 60's. The skeeters have not been very pesty.

Now that it's mid-August, the temps are heating up to mid 90's at night. I guess our Summer temps will bleed into September.

Anytime I need to get rid of any bug or critter, I go to BUGSPRAY.COM which is a retail store in Atlanta selling all the good pesticides, animal traps and other critterridders not available to the general public.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Anytime I need to get rid of any bug or critter, I go to BUGSPRAY.COM which is a retail store in Atlanta selling all the good pesticides, animal traps and other critterridders not available to the general public.

"Do My Own" pest control is another website that is useful for sourcing "the good stuff" (in some people's opinions). They were very helpful in getting the right solution when an area wide outbreak of army worms resulted in no products being available for purchase locally. With warehouses across the country, it's possible to get a product the next day if necessary.

I do wish folks would be very cautious using these products, however. My DW was telling me about a friend of hers who had reported finding several dead hummingbirds after treating their yard with a potent chemical for mosquitos.

 

[HenryD]

I attract mosquitoes a lot, although after 25 years in the upper midwest I get less of a reaction than I used to. The best stuff I have found, for those that swarm around here anyway, is this stuff. No DEET, smells good, works as well as DEET for me. Repel® Plant-Based Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent2 (Pump Spray) | Repel

 

[Aerides]

I work out in my garage, and I'm a magnet for mosquitos. I spray myself first with off "family care" spray - it lands like a fine powder and doesn't smell too terrible.

I also have a commercial shop fan blowing at the back of the garage facing toward the front, along the pathway of where I am most of the time. With that combo, I rarely get bitten in the garage.

In general, as long as I avoid the urge to scratch a bite, it will disappear within an hour. If I touch it, I'm in for a week of hurt.

 

[Winemaker]

When DW was a child, the local municipality used to drive around the neighborhoods spraying for mosquitos. DW and her friends either rode their bikes or ran behind the trucks back then. She often acts herself out loud today, "What was I/we thinking?" or better yet, "Why didn't our parents stop us?" She had asthma as a child, and still carries a nebulizer, although she rarely uses it.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

When DW was a child, the local municipality used to drive around the neighborhoods spraying for mosquitos. DW and her friends either rode their bikes or ran behind the trucks back then. She often acts herself out loud today, "What was I/we thinking?" or better yet, "Why didn't our parents stop us?" She had asthma as a child, and still carries a nebulizer, although she rarely uses it.

I think this was pretty common "back in the day." I know I did it in the early 80s. I can still remember the smell.

Edit...Gez, it looks like in the 40's they would actually SPRAY the kids with DDT!

 

[braumeister]

In Vietnam, they sent C-123 spray planes over the bases with mosquito spray. About 100 feet altitude, and it felt like a very light rain as you walked about. I got covered with it several times during my tour. The same aircraft that were used for spraying Agent Orange in the jungle. It was far from pleasant, but it didn't seem to hurt us.

 

[Koolau]

Edit...Gez, it looks like in the 40's they would actually SPRAY the kids with DDT!

Get OFF my lawn!

 

[Sunset]

When DW was a child, the local municipality used to drive around the neighborhoods spraying for mosquitos. DW and her friends either rode their bikes or ran behind the trucks back then. She often acts herself out loud today, "What was I/we thinking?" or better yet, "Why didn't our parents stop us?" She had asthma as a child, and still carries a nebulizer, although she rarely uses it.

Our community STILL uses that method, but they do it at night so keep the windows closed.
It's probably paid for by A/C companies, because on hot nights you have the choice of poison bug spray or having A/C

 

[Koolau]

Our community STILL uses that method, but they do it at night so keep the windows closed.
It's probably paid for by A/C companies, because on hot nights you have the choice of poison bug spray or having A/C

Current pesticides are chosen for their trade off of lethality to mosquitos and relative benign effects on humans. There ARE hypersensitive humans (and resistant mosquitos). With this is mind, using pesticides is just one more risk vs benefit choice we make. YMMV

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

In Vietnam, they sent C-123 spray planes over the bases with mosquito spray. About 100 feet altitude, and it felt like a very light rain as you walked about. I got covered with it several times during my tour. The same aircraft that were used for spraying Agent Orange in the jungle. It was far from pleasant, but it didn't seem to hurt us.

Ah, Agent Orange. Next door to my first duty station was an AO disposal site (and an EPA Superfund site). For about 18 months, there was a constant billow of fumes that hung in the air as it was being disposed of. Even though there was a repugnant smell that came with it, we were all assured that "it was burning 99.9% clean." My next duty station was in the state that had about 30 DuPont plants around.