Bug zapper placement

[SaraFL]

That's what I thought too, the good bugs mainly fly around during the day and the bitey bugs are out from dusk to dawn.

I was looking for a mosquito magnet and the ones I found online are propane-powered. I don't think I would feel comfortable with that running unattended. I'm very flammable-phobic LOL. I guess I'll try the bug zapper and see what happens.

 

[feliciamckee]

Oh, and don't forget one of the best bugs of all...even though I don't consider it a bug...our lovely friend the earthworm! You won't see one of those getting zapped. I love worms, I raise meal worms for my chickens and red wigglers for my compost.

 

[anderson8505]

Uh... I just glanced and those Mosquito Magnets begin at $240 and go up to $800!!! Bug zappers are way cheaper. More info please on something affordable? Because I am a mosquito magnet myself and they eat me alive here in Florida and anywhere else I travel to.

 

[cottagechick]

Sort of on topic. Flies. They graze cattle on the property right behind my house...and we get the flies. We have several of those stinky things that drown them...but I hate the buzzing, stinking wriggling mess...they make me puke...(literally.) I don't suppose those bug zappers work on flies...? Any other less stinky ideas?
Julie

 

[feliciamckee]

Ooooh! Me too! I love most bugs, but I HATE flies most of all! I don't think a zapper will work on flies because they settle down at night. They are a day time pest!

Our perfcect solution and one that would be free would be for a colony of bats to move in!

I see them occasionally here and am not afraid of them and they are the best way to cut down on night time insects! My uncle made me some "bat houses" many years ago and I put them up in trees in my yard, but never got any bats to move in. Maybe I should have painted "WELCOME BATS" on the outside!

 

[cottagechick]

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hmm...that sounds awesome. I don't have any problem at all with bats...(kinda cool actually) and you don't even usually see them during the day...hmmm...

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

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Just go ahead with the bug zapper, like someone else said most of the "good" bugs are not out at night.
I want to know how to attract dragon flies! I saw a huge swarm of them in my front yard today and I know they eat millions of mosquitoes, but in the daytime I guess they were eating gnats? ...but then they all left

I am cool with bats too!

 

[Keltara]

There has been a lot of extensive research done on the effectiveness of bug zappers on mosquitoes. The results are overwhelming. Bug zappers are COMPLETELY ineffective on mosquitoes. They are attracted to CO2, not light of any kind. If you want to get rid of your mosquito problem, try Premethrin 10%. It is safe for:

Beef Cattle
Chickens
Dairy Cattle
Dogs
Goats
Horses
Sheep
Swine
Turkeys

It will also protect against mites, fleas, and ticks. It is very unsafe however for cats.

 

[SaraFL]

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Darn it. I have 5 of them running around in the yard.

 

[dretd]

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Um, when we had our zapper up and running, there was a big old pile of fried mosquitos below the zapper with a moth or two thrown in so I am having a hard time buying the completely ineffective statement. Downside is they are really noisy killing the mosquitoes all night long so don't put it near a bedroom window! We unplugged ours after the barn swallows moved in.

I use the best sweat-proof permethrin available for my horse and she still has mosquitoes, stable flies and deer flies (my bane) that will torment her, just not in as high of a number. The permethrin is much more likely to kill off all the 'good guys' if used as a perimeter spray instead of just on the animal. It wouldn't be my first choice for control because it is so broad spectrum.
I do like dumping all water collecting in anything laying around they can use to breed in and I have goldfish in one horse tank and guppies in another to feast on the mosquito larvae.
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As for stable flies there are predatory wasps you can buy to release that feed on the fly larvae to keep those numbers down thus avoiding those nasty stinky jars to attract the adult flies. You sprinkle them on manure so it may not work in your case unless the farmer will let you at his manure pile. You have to repenish them every month and start early in the summer to get a head of the problem.