Eco Smart Mosquito & Tick Spray

[buggymuffin]

I read the side effects, but (a). those are for humans, (they may be better or worse for geese) and (b) in what quantities? Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is in many toothpastes, so I am guessing the quantity is large. I was really hoping that someone had some real life experience with the product, good or bad. We have never had issues with our ducks. We have used during the summer since we got them, but they don't eat grass.

 

[buggymuffin]

I doubt the person on the end of the phoneline knows much about geese. I think you should consider another method of mosquito control, not just for your geese, but for your sake as well. Also I would be concerned about having that sprayed since you say you live on a brook. Phenethyl Propionate has been known to kill "aquatic organisms" like frogs and mollusks according to that same site I linked to above. (It also kills honeybees.) Many of these products are not meant to be sprayed around water sources. If it gets in the water you're not just spraying your yard, but wherever the brook leads as well. I think the term "Eco Smart" is very misleading.

What method of mosquito control would you recommend? Not going out while the mosquitoes are out is not an option for 2 reasons: 1) They are always out, especially if it is humid, and 2) we aren't worried about ourselves (I own copious quantities of bug spray) but mosquito borne illness in the birds. I can't take them inside to avoid them. Having lost half of my ducks once before to a mosquito borne disease, the is a constant concern.

I am not worried about the water supply, we are not using a large enough quantity to have any affect and we are not spraying the water directly. I mentioned the brook to point out that the mosquitoes have a close breeding ground that we have no control over (can't drain, etc.) . We also spray in the evening and are not spraying flowers, so there should not be any affect on bees (we even make sure the lawn is mowed first as well so no flowers from weeds). I use similar products like neem oil in my garden and are careful not to spray when plants are in flower to avoid harming bees.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Having lost half of my ducks once before to a mosquito borne disease, the is a constant concern.

Really? I must be honest, I have never heard of this happening before. I was under the impression mosquitos preferred mammalian blood to avian, since that's what I'd been told. Actually some people get ducks for mosquito control. Are you sure this is what happened? What disease was it?

I don't have any ideas at the moment. Hopefully someone else on this board has another idea.

 

[buggymuffin]

Really? I must be honest, I have never heard of this happening before. I was under the impression mosquitos preferred mammalian blood to avian, since that's what I'd been told. Actually some people get ducks for mosquito control. Are you sure this is what happened? What disease was it?

I don't have any ideas at the moment. Hopefully someone else on this board has another idea.

We had a necropsy done on the third duck (all three died over the course of about 4 days with the same systems). The primary cause of death was an unidentified hemoprotazoa, likely mosquito borne. Mosquitoes may prefer mammals, but they do bite birds as well. West Nile Virus is often found in bird populations.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We had a necropsy done on the third duck (all three died over the course of about 4 days with the same systems). The primary cause of death was an unidentified hemoprotazoa, likely mosquito borne. Mosquitoes may prefer mammals, but they do bite birds as well. West Nile Virus is often found in bird populations.

I looked it up on line and saw that Mosquitoes will feed on birds

 

[HeritageGoose13]

We had a necropsy done on the third duck (all three died over the course of about 4 days with the same systems). The primary cause of death was an unidentified hemoprotazoa, likely mosquito borne. Mosquitoes may prefer mammals, but they do bite birds as well. West Nile Virus is often found in bird populations.

It's good you had a necropsy done.

The only way of repelling mosquitos I can think of is plants, some plants are said to repel them due to strong odor. Alternatively, maybe you could try making your own spray, though this may be expensive. I am not sure how effective either would be.