mosquitoes

[GlacierNan]

Fans blowing really do work at keeping them away!

 

[d.k]

*Whoa!! 5O kinds?!?! And I thought Florida was bad!!! We seem to have at least 4. I call them "Small and Squishy", "Big and Crunchy", "Blind and Befuddled" and "Striped and Stingy". The striped ones carry WMV sometimes.

 

[morelcabin]

Wow I just walked out to the hen house to close it up for the night and it was FULL, and I mean FULL of mosquitos in there. Every inch of every surface has a mosquito on it. I have never seen anything like it. Well those birds are going to be either very itchy by morning or very full! I'm not sure which:>)

 

[d.k]

*Ewwww, I'd have to find some way to evict them. . . . Don't like the idea of itchy, anemic chickens.

 

[spook]

This sounds really foolish, but it works for me...bounce fabric softener that you put into the dryer...well tie it to the back of your shirt. It was funny one night, the misquetos were around but never landed on us around a camp picnic table beside a lake, people laughed because we set them on top of our heads. Never would have believed it.
Also, when we go fishing, work outside etc, I sprinkle garlic powder sprinkled down my shirt, pants and tops of socks. They do not find you appealing.
One of the many products on the market is a garlic spray. The only thing is, hope you guys eat garlic like we do and it will only smell like an Italian family lives there!
Good luck to you and keep us posted!

 

[d.k]

* Ummm- Garlic!! I've got no Italian in me - French, German & Irish supposedly -- but, I LOVE garlic!!! Maybe, the French part????

 

[kees]

I've tried B-6 but it didn't help me. I also bought for a couple of hundred dollars what I called a "sacrificial human" that ran on propane and emitted carbon dioxide to get the mosquitoes. Most of what it caught weren't mosquitoes. Looked into the mosquito dunks but when I read them, the back said that it wasn't safe to use around drinking water. That ended that. I get bitten inside my house and even outside when I use products with DEET. I bought a Dynatrap and will look into a mosquito attractant for it. I was so desperate that I even bought a mosquito outfit, all white which covered from head to toe, head and all until my neighbors would have laughed me out of town. I couldn't see and if I sweat, if was hard for me.

 

[chickenannie]

Seriously, the best long-term solution is bat-houses! I am amazed at the lengths people are going to, to get rid of mosquitoes, when bats will do it all for you, and much better and safer. You'll never even know the bats are there.

 

[MoonbeamQueen]

I agree with the bat house idea as a future solution. For the immediate future, citronella candles or torches are best. And leave out a spray bottle of 'OFF' repellent for the guests who are particularly bothered by them. Also agree to get rid of any standing water or treat it. I had a bug zapper for awhile but I saw that it was also zapping lots of beneficial insects. Good luck and have a fun party!

 

[blurose]

I have heard, and it really does work, that if you give a bug zapper to your nearest neighbor, that is if they are just across the fence from your back yard, YOU won't have a bug problem because the zapper actually attracks the bugs to your neighbor's yard. Dirty trick, but it works.

If no neighbors close enough, set up the bug zapper at the far corner of your "garden" but still within eyesight. That should encourage the bugs to frequent the other part of the garden not where you and your guests are. Citronella oil in tiki torches helps too as well as citronella candle stakes around the area.