Mosquitoes VS. Chickens

I keep dumping any standing water I can too. The problem in our yard is the large low wet area, almost wet lands, in the back field. We get geese, ducks, swans, and blue heron. They all stop over and some even choose to raise young. The frogs are so loud at night that you can't hear anything else. We also have bats and barn swallows that live in the barn. None of these things make the slighest dent in the mosquitos around here. It is funny to watch the chickens chase the mosquitos. But with all the spring rain on top of all the winter snow that melted here in Michigan I figured the mosquitos are gonna be really bad.
 
I had to screen the windows in our hen house. Mosquitos are supposed to be really bad here this year and they are already bad.
 
the chickens didn't do anything for me....

but I have been really trying to get my hands on some muscovies... I heard they are good at getting rid of mosquitoes.

I dread mosquitoe season.
 
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Well, I killed 7 skeeters in the house before going to bed last night! Doesn't look like this year is going to be any better than last. I'm ready to curl up into a fetal position just thinking about it. I hate bugs, but I'm slowly getting used to most of them...except the skeeters! I get so freaked out when I wake up in the middle of the night to one whining in my ear! We bought this house late last spring and everything was fine until the weekend we moved in, then wham it was a malaria jungle out there. I remember sobbing to DH our first night here that we had bought my phobia house. We've thought about getting ducks and guineas, but I don't see how they'd be able to range around the property without our dog getting them. He'll kill any little wild critter he can manage to catch, so I'm thinking he'd never be compatible with free ranging birds.
 
Mosquitoes are already biting hard here in Mid MO. I have a large pond which is a haven for them to breed on but fortunately it about 200 yards from the house, however, being surrounded by ponds, a lake and a creek (which is now very sluggish) I'm going to have to slather us all in repellent to keep the viscous little bastards at bay any time we go out.

Chris.
 
I just used cheap rolls of screen door mesh to cover the windows. Doesn't really do much good though unless the coop is closed. The bugs just fly in the open door ways. I was thinking of hanging a bug zapper in the coop. Won't really help a whole lot with mosquitos though. You can get mosquito attractors that capture or kill them but they are slightly expensive and often require refillable gas cannisters. Mosquitos are attracted to co2 not light or anything.
 
You can see the sworms outside my backyard, they are huge. You know how you see sworms of bees, well these guys are worse. I forgot my plants outside last evening and behold- the sworms was waiting for me anxiously saying, "come on, come try and get your plants." Well I ran out with a jacket on but they still managed to bite my face in a few spots and on my head. Ive never seen sworms like these, its because of the duck pond behind my house.
 

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