Mosquitos

[BigBen]

My coop is on the back side of my property right against wetlands.
The mosquitos are unbelievable.
Tonight I went down to the coop to give a treat and collect eggs and there were so many mosquitos you could here the hummm.
Will they bite my girls all night and drive then crazy? I'm thinking that I should turn off there automatic light now that the days are longer. That might help a bit.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to eleviate the problem?

 

[noodleroo]

I'm in coastal south Texas so I can relate. I'll be glad to hear some of the suggestions on this topic myself. I don't like poison so I've started using a garlic and hot pepper spray on my garden and I've noticed that the mosquitos aren't nearly as bad when I use it. I don't know about spraying it around animals though; it might be OK if I don't get it on them-just the area around the coop? What do yall think?

 

[fiberart57]

Last year someone was talking about a vanilla smelling lotion, I think it was from Avon or one of those type of sales, that kept mosquitos away. I wonder if you could dilute some vanilla and dab it on the girls' combs and wattles.

Or try lavender or pennyroyal.

Mary

 

[Junkmanme]

I don't KNOW myself...but I've heard/read that Muskovy Ducks are GREAT for eating mosquitoes.

Personally...I eat raw garlic and also crush the cloves and smear on my arms, neck, face, etc (exposed areas)....seems to work well for me...and keeps the neighbors away also!

 

[BigBen]

I went down and put in a fan. Then I turned on the light in the adjoining room and tirned off there lights.
I opened a window that will let the bugs go to the light and then I closed the windows on the coop.
Tomorrow I will buy sone screen meterial and put it over the wire wesh on there windows.
Every little bit helps.

 

[noodleroo]

I wouldn't experiment with the essential oils; they can be deadly on some animals! Don't ever guess. I make my own herbal products and EOs are very potent. Learn about them, reasearch more and never, never, never put them directly on your animals skin.

 

[Akane]

We have horrible mosquitos here and my chickens haven't seemed to notice. They've gone through 2 summers now with none showing any sign of stress.

They make sprays that already have essential oils mixed up in the right amounts. They are sold for dogs in the petstores and occasionally there is a brand or 2 for humans in camping stores but usually higher cost for less. I would bet those are safe for chickens so long as they aren't over applied. Some water based horse sprays like bronco might work too if you really need something but I couldn't come up with anything on the safety of bug sprays with chickens so this is all guess work. I would be willing to apply those to my chickens if I thought the mosquitos were really making their life miserable but so far despite wondering how anything can survive out there in the evenings it hasn't actually been an issue.

 

[mdbokc]

From Avon, that product is "Skin-So-Soft." It has a powerful odor, very.

On a person, it only takes a few drops. Hesitate to put it on an animal. Might put it around the window opening or doorway. I have never used it on chickens.

 

[bantybev]

This post has a suggestion for gnats that might help:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=337282

 

[patnjess]

there is a guy here that sells bat boxes they are so cool $30, hold 150 bats, and they eat 2000 mosquitos each a night! We just bought we live on the water. No chemicals just good ol bats!