What to do about Mosquitos and Gnats?

[Going Bhonkers]

I was just wondering about this, we havent entered the rainy season in Fl yet, but with the rain come mosquitoes & gnats. This is my first time raising geese -

#1. Is there some kind of repellent that I can spray on them (like I usually do for my dog) or do their feathers offer them enough protection?

#2. What about gnats bothering their eyes? I've been pestered by gnats occasionally, is there anything I can do for my geese?

#3. Concerning their coops/ pens: right now, since they're 2 weeks old, they sleep in my lanai, which is screened. Eventually, they're going to go to an outside coop that we built which has a roof and the sides are chain-link fence with chicken wire. Should I put screen material around it?

What have some of you pros done in the past?

Thanks for any feedback, and forgive me if I'm thinking too much about something minor.

 

[Going Bhonkers]

Buzzzz?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

We have screening behind all welded wire and hardware cloth openings. We place dunks in the water in the pasture. Then there are the ducks and they keep ahead of the ants and skeeters very well. Mosquito magnets also work very very well here in FL if you are willing to nest in one there is not a spray to puton them since they bath often and preen you would introducing chemicals into their systems.

 

[Going Bhonkers]

Thanks for the reply! I'm also worried about their poor little legs when they'll be outside... but definitely going with screening their house.

Side note: I read somewhere that dryer sheets repel mosquitoes too? Does anyone have any experience with this - did it work / not work?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

No idea on the drier sheets. I know many were using the vanilla scented car air freshness last year with varied degrees of success. A gooses legs are so little or tender really. Make sure the opening have hardware cloth over them along with the screen. Predators will rip right through screen to get to the birds.