With all the talk of a "buggy" summer ahead...what do u guys use to keep the skeeters out of ur yard?
Skeeters (Nimby)
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stee6043
Minister of Fire
I've long thought about the day I was swimming in extra money so I could buy one of the "injection systems" they sell for in-ground sprinkler systems. You can buy these devices that will inject a very small amount of organic "repellant" for the last few minuts of each zone to coat your entire yard. The cost is a bit out there compared to cans off Off, however. Hence, I don't own one but wish I did.
I've had mixed results with a Mosquito Magnet Defender. Perhaps it depends on the time of year, sometimes the regular attractant octenol works, sometimes the one with lactic acid works better. In mine, spiders set up camp in the flowpath, so judging by the quantity in the net, you'd think that nothing had been trapped, however taking the thing apart to clean reveals huge clogs of dead mozzies. I've mine rigged to bypass the flame sensor so that it will run without propane if I want, and at the end of last year I ran it for a few weeks with no propane and regular attractant. When I went to store it for the winter, the trap was completely full of mosquitoes, like the pictures on their website. In 8 years I'd never seen such an impressive catch. Between the mild winter, and the die-off in bats, I'm scared to see what this year will bring.
One nice thing compared with those UV zappers, is that it is very specific, almost nothing else gets caught.
TE
One nice thing compared with those UV zappers, is that it is very specific, almost nothing else gets caught.
TE
PapaDave
Minister of Fire
With over 10 acres of woods surrounding the yard, and a marshy area to the north and east, no amount of much of anything shy of a nuclear meltdown will keep the skeeters out of the yard for long. Waste of money and effort. YMMV
I just use stuff on me and let 'em come. They're going to anyway.
You could put up birdhouses for birds that like to eat skeeters, or put up some bat houses. I may put up some bathouses and not tell my wife.
She's concerned about disease, but we have plenty of mice and moles and voles for that. :ahhh:
People have reported good results from the use of Permethrin products.
Have fun trying to control nature.
I just use stuff on me and let 'em come. They're going to anyway.
You could put up birdhouses for birds that like to eat skeeters, or put up some bat houses. I may put up some bathouses and not tell my wife.
She's concerned about disease, but we have plenty of mice and moles and voles for that. :ahhh:
People have reported good results from the use of Permethrin products.
Have fun trying to control nature.
Papa...not trying to control nature, just trying to have guests in tha backyard for more than 10 minutes.
PapaDave
Minister of Fire
Tell 'em to bring their hazmat suits! :lol: 10 minutes? Jeesh, around here, you'd be lucky in bad years to last one.
Seriously though, permethrin or anything with deet should work well, although there are concerns about the use of deet.
http://mosquitocentral.com/
http://www.mosquito-zapper.com/mosquito_deleto_works.htm
http://home.howstuffworks.com/mosquito-magnet2.htm
HTH
Seriously though, permethrin or anything with deet should work well, although there are concerns about the use of deet.
http://mosquitocentral.com/
http://www.mosquito-zapper.com/mosquito_deleto_works.htm
http://home.howstuffworks.com/mosquito-magnet2.htm
HTH
btuser
Minister of Fire
I've got standing water within 100' of my house on all 4 sides. Its there 70% of the year, and doesn't dry out till mid July. I grew up in a buggy place, so I'm used to it. My wife not so much but getting better. Its bad here. Not the place to build a house if land wasn't so expensive.
Most skeeters live and die within 100' radius. No sense torching the forest or dousing the lawn blue if the tire behind your shed is full of water. I've tried other things but there's a period in May/early June that's prett bad before the dragonflies come out. They seem to be the equalizer. I tossed the dragonfly larva discs into some standing pools about 4 years ago and every year there's a torrent by Summertime. Whatever, can't tell if they'd be there regardless. We've got bats too, but I don't any stock in their doing anything to reduce the mosquito popultion. I know they're supposed to eat them but it doesn't make sense to me. Bats are high off the ground. Mosquitos are not. A bat may be able to eat a zillion mosquitos, but any bat worth his wings would fly through a cloud of mosquitos to catch a single, fat tasty moth.
Gutters that collects standing water will work well as perenial breeding dens, or a plastic bottle cap. Citranella candles left to collect rain will work too. We use the yard repellant (Off in a can) and it works amazingly well pre-dusk but after that forgetaboutit. My dreams of an outdoor movie projector with everybody sprawled on the lawn are not going to happen.
1. Clothing
2. Spray clothing
3. Spray exposed skin
4. Use a fan
5. Spray the perimeter of the lawn before a party
6. Go inside.
We adapt. At least mosquitos for the most part play by the rules. Black flies bomb you to death, bouncing off your face to the point you're beating yourself with your own hands.
Most skeeters live and die within 100' radius. No sense torching the forest or dousing the lawn blue if the tire behind your shed is full of water. I've tried other things but there's a period in May/early June that's prett bad before the dragonflies come out. They seem to be the equalizer. I tossed the dragonfly larva discs into some standing pools about 4 years ago and every year there's a torrent by Summertime. Whatever, can't tell if they'd be there regardless. We've got bats too, but I don't any stock in their doing anything to reduce the mosquito popultion. I know they're supposed to eat them but it doesn't make sense to me. Bats are high off the ground. Mosquitos are not. A bat may be able to eat a zillion mosquitos, but any bat worth his wings would fly through a cloud of mosquitos to catch a single, fat tasty moth.
Gutters that collects standing water will work well as perenial breeding dens, or a plastic bottle cap. Citranella candles left to collect rain will work too. We use the yard repellant (Off in a can) and it works amazingly well pre-dusk but after that forgetaboutit. My dreams of an outdoor movie projector with everybody sprawled on the lawn are not going to happen.
1. Clothing
2. Spray clothing
3. Spray exposed skin
4. Use a fan
5. Spray the perimeter of the lawn before a party
6. Go inside.
We adapt. At least mosquitos for the most part play by the rules. Black flies bomb you to death, bouncing off your face to the point you're beating yourself with your own hands.
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Several years ago I was introduced to the ThermaCell units. Best thing since sliced bread in my book
!! We had talked about making a sign at the driveway, "Mosquito breeding area. Enter at your own risk." Then someone told me about these things and, yes, I scoffed at first. When I tried one I was truly amazed.
One spring we had a really bad infestation of those little buggers and I was late getting things done. One hot and muggy May day found me out stacking wood. Covered from head to toe I was still slapping. I had recently bought the ThermaCell so decided to try it. Wow! I finished the work without a shirt on and never got bit one time.
I think they say it sort of makes a 10 or 15' circle around you where the skeeters won't come. They also make a larger unit for use on a patio but we have not tired that yet because the little portable units do so well. We've also used them when by a river or lake with great success.
ThermaCell
!! We had talked about making a sign at the driveway, "Mosquito breeding area. Enter at your own risk." Then someone told me about these things and, yes, I scoffed at first. When I tried one I was truly amazed. One spring we had a really bad infestation of those little buggers and I was late getting things done. One hot and muggy May day found me out stacking wood. Covered from head to toe I was still slapping. I had recently bought the ThermaCell so decided to try it. Wow! I finished the work without a shirt on and never got bit one time.
I think they say it sort of makes a 10 or 15' circle around you where the skeeters won't come. They also make a larger unit for use on a patio but we have not tired that yet because the little portable units do so well. We've also used them when by a river or lake with great success.
ThermaCell
Flatbedford
Minister of Fire
they love Mrs. Flatbedford. I don't blame them, she is delicious! If I keep her around, they usually leave me alone.
Couple squirts of deeps woods off takes care of most of them for me, though generally they don't bother me too bad. The can of spray I have I bought almost 10 years ago.
Cowboy Billy
Minister of Fire
My brother got a mosquito magnet clone. It didn't work very well when we used it two years ago. BUT we were using it wrong! We would just run it when we were up for a weekend or week. Last year it worked excellent. The mosquitoes were horrible everywhere but around the cabin. What made the difference. We moved it in the woods just up wind from the cabin and let it run 24 hrs a day all summer. There were clouds of mosquitoes everywhere except around the cabin. The way it works is by killing the egg laying mosquitoes before they lay there eggs. So it keeps the total population down without killing a huge amount of them at one time. And even though it used a 20lb propane tank in three weeks I was happy to do that rather than spray poisons on me all the time.
Billy
Billy
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