Mosquito Control

I have a propane trap (aka Mosquito Magnet). At first they seem to do nothing, but after dumping the nearly full trap every other day for a month you'll suddenly notice there are very few mosquitos around. On that side of the house anyway. My back yard will be relatively mosquito free, but the front yard is still full of them. The 20# tank lasts me about 20 days.

Lots of things that work but the very best thing we've found is the ThermaCell.

Many years ago when we had a terrible year for mosquitoes someone pointed out the ThermaCell and I at first thought they were just a gimmic. Not so! As stated, we had a terrible year for mosquitos and our county even sprays for them annually and most years do a decent job but not when we have constant rains. So, my wife works in the garden and, of course, mosquito season also falls in the same time frame as some of the bad mosquitos. Because you have to be down close to the ground the skeeters will almost pick you up to eat because there are so many of them. So, she just takes a ThermaCell and moves it along the row as she picks. She wears shorts and short sleeved blouses. No skeeter bites!

That year I was really late in getting the wood split and stacked. I beat the skeeters while splitting but we had a big hatch before I got the wood stacked. The weather turned really hot and extremely sticky and here I was trying to stack wood. So I got the ThermaCell and just laid it down by where I was working. For on top I wore a light t-shirt. I sweat a lot for sure but after getting out the ThermaCell I do not recall slapping one time.

They make a sort of lantern that is for use like on a patio and we have not tried these but we have 2 of the small portable units which you can even wear on your belt if you like. Last year I had a journalist who wanted to line up some hunting land and wanted to do some experimenting. We had a patch of woods a few miles from us and I met him there one day. I took 2 of the Thermacells because this was in June with plenty of skeeters and we were going to be in the woods. He declined and sprayed all sorts of stuff with DEET and took extra with him. He re-applied at least twice during our walk and kept slapping all the time. I do not recall getting bit even one time.

Yes, I do like these things and they are not expensive. I believe we paid between $20 and $25 for ours.

They use a small butane cartridge and you get 3 pads with each pad lasting about 3 or 4 hours before needing to be changed. I can't quote right now how much the refills cost but it is not much. I use them when working outdoors; I take one with me on bike rides and also when I am hunting in the fall. I'd really hate to be without one! Check them out and no, I am not trying to sell anything; just passing along our experience with them.

We finally got a year round colony of bats established. I like them for general purposes. It is an absolute kick when they launch right at dark. If you can get some sort of lighter background, you can watch them drop out of the house and take off. One drops every few seconds. They raise a squeaking racket during this process. Probably deciding who is next and doing 3-2-1-drop.

The pile of poop under the house is about one foot thick per year. So they are eating, but we still have a few mosquitoes. Not very many like other places around, but you still can get bit. I do sleep outside on the un-screened porch when the weather is perfect. Seldom get bit. By the mosquitoes that is. Bat bites don't itch.

Martens are good for eating mosquitoes too.

Don't underestimate prevention either like preventing standing water from collecting.

Some people bugs like more I think. I know I have been out in the woods and not seen a mosquito but other folks are getting ate up.

When they get bad, I shoot myself with some bug dope and it works fine for me.

http://www.off.com/en-US/Products/Pages/deep-woods-sportsmen.aspx

The mosquito magnet works well, but it's around $400-800 depending on the model and you have to fill the tank every 20-30 days (another $25) and also there are little scent things that go in it too that you have to replace.


JimboM I would scream like a 12 year old girl if I ever saw a bat flying around. I'd rather have mosquitoes so thick you can hardly breath than bats!

[/quote]Jimbo- How long did it take to get that bat colony up and running?[/quote]

Maybe ten years or so for year round. I finally put up a winter type roost. The summer roost is cubical with the bottom entirely open for access to the hanging surfaces. The winter roost is wedge shaped. Only one bat wide opening across the bottom with some exterior insulation. I also placed them in a better location where they get no sun in the summer, full sun in the winter, and no north or west winds.

In the winter, you can look up into the winter box and see four little snouts. The rest must be higher in the roost. Warm weather, the summer box is full of the critters. They are noisy if I look too close. Probably squeaking to each other, "Just a little closer and then puke on my signal". I am not a bat guy. If you got some good advice, you might be able to get things figured our a lot faster.

NATE379 said:

JimboM I would scream like a 12 year old girl if I ever saw a bat flying around. I'd rather have mosquitoes so thick you can hardly breath than bats!

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Back in the day, I had a water system, sewerage system, and sewer plant to finish in a remote location. There was a local soup which I had once. See pictures 3 - 6. Not my photos as I was there 35 years ago.

http://www.katiearnoldi.com/272/

Shall I put you down for an order? Or do you need more time to drink?

Exmasonite said:

1. Smoker- might keep you in the house o you don't fed the skeets

2. Bug zappers. kill everything but a mosquito that flies into it accidently Skeets just are not attracted to that light
3. Propane trap... cost/upkeep could be an issue. Anybody able to tell how long an 20lb tank lasts? - a month
I have two from the same company- the one that worked won't start now and the one that never caught a mosquito has a dead battery

4. Lotsa citronella candles... doesn't seem very feasible except for isolated parties/events. kinda like smoke - you have to sit in the smoke to avoid the skeets - and the hungrier they are the more citronella they'll try to endure.

5. Most interesting option: One of the lawn guys mentioned placing bat houses around to encourage a "green/Darwinian" option for insect control. I'm a little more amenable to the presence of bats than the old lady is. Guy makes the point that the bats have to roost somewhere... may as well give them a convenient option before they start poking around my attic, right? Then again, i may just be attracting more bats to my "belfry".

Any opinions? Next step... figuring out the maximum safe dose of Deet, hehe.

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bats fly about 6 feet off the ground and up if you're a basketball player you're head will be in a skeet free zone.[/i]




Lots and lots of Deet - and there's a Deet alternative that works pretty good- can't think of the name of it offhand.

I don't know if it is just and east coast thing. But the bats here are having a real hard time w/ white nose fungus. They are actually in danger of all dying off. I was pretty excited to see a few flying around tonight eating up all those nasty bugs. I plan on building as many bat boxes as I think necessary to make them happy and encourage a colony to take up full time residency.

Flavo said:

I don't know if it is just and east coast thing. But the bats here are having a real hard time w/ white nose fungus. They are actually in danger of all dying off. I was pretty excited to see a few flying around tonight eating up all those nasty bugs. I plan on building as many bat boxes as I think necessary to make them happy and encourage a colony to take up full time residency.

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I have been telling my bats to stay away from those nasty bats that hang out in those caves. Staying up all night. Who knows what goes on. White dust on their nose when they come back from the grotto. Makes you shudder to think.

I tell our boys the same thing.

JimboM said:

Flavo said:

I don't know if it is just and east coast thing. But the bats here are having a real hard time w/ white nose fungus. They are actually in danger of all dying off. I was pretty excited to see a few flying around tonight eating up all those nasty bugs. I plan on building as many bat boxes as I think necessary to make them happy and encourage a colony to take up full time residency.

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I have been telling my bats to stay away from those nasty bats that hang out in those caves. Staying up all night. Who knows what goes on. White dust on their nose when they come back from the grotto. Makes you shudder to think.

I tell our boys the same thing.

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If they're anything like my sons you'll have better luck with the bats.

My understanding is that bats only eat mosquitoes in an opportunistic way, as they are too small to bother with in general. Last study I read- they do not control the population- mosquitoes breed in such a way that they will just compensate for losses due to this sort of predation.

I love bats, and watch them in the summer all the time, but I do not think they are an effective control strategy. (Though it is nice to know they're getting some of them, just for the revenge factor).

I empty all standing water, and have rain buckets in which I use dunks- mosquitoes lay eggs in the water and the larvae are killed by a natural disease (cousin of anthrax). Some use these in standing natural water sources, though I can't vouch for how green that approach is. With your wetland area, I dunno what to tell ya.

I use the Ortho garden hose once ever 6 six weeks. That with the winds I get really have no issues all summer.

Do the ThermaCells (or anything, for that matter) work on black flies?

I've had pretty good results from taking B-vitamin complex pills when I know I'm gonna be outside for a while. Most blood suckers can sense the likelihood of your blood coagulating and avoid people with high iron, or B levels, and seek out the "thin blooded" types. I also use deet on the ankles and neck. Had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever a few years back...now I take extra care to protect from blood suckers.

I'll try the lemon DW liquid. If it doesn't work, at least I can use it to do the dishes. :lol:
Couple years ago, you almost couldn't go outside for fear of being carried away by the things. Piranha skeeters is what they were.
No way in hades I'm gonna' even attempt to control stagnant water around here, except in the yard. Woods full of puddles, water in dried up leaves, marshy area on one side of the property............yeah, not happenin'.
I keep the weeds under control around the house, mow the lawn, don't leave things that will collect water, etc., but the little buggerz (GAMMAism, hehe)
find other places to do the skeeter horizontal mambo.