Posted on 09/23/2005 5:12:02 PM PDT by RobFromGa
I just put a deck and spa in our backyard, and I am looking at various methods of controlling the mosquitos in the yard. A quick Google search on mosquito control yields many types of systems.
Do any Freepers have any experience with these types of systems?
Soliciting any input....
Yes, they do. I worked in Alaska and we bought two of them for a large area. They really cut down on bites. The evidence is in the bag. (mosquitoes are collected in a bag)
Bats work best. Just not Moonbats.
Round here we use shotguns.
Do you know what kind of system you had? Was it a propane CO2 generator with collector?
re: shotguns, that's what we used to use in MN.
the skeeter was the "State Bird"
It was.
You are correct!
I live in Austin, home of the largest Urban bat colony in the nation (world?). We have the Colorado river running through the middle of town, numerous creeks and streams here in the Hill Country. We have 1+ Million Mexican Free-Tail Bats, each eats 2x their body weight in 'skeeters' each and every night. That's a lot of 'skeeters'!
Assuming you don't have a bat colony nearby, the CO2 Insect Killer is the next best choice.
Up north they just dogfight the skeeters with A-10 Warthogs.
Thanks, that looks like the most promising technology I've seen so far.
Mosquito Magnet works. Placement is crucial. Has different attractants for different types of mosquitos. It needs electricity (some models may be freestanding) and propane. Propane and attractant need changing every three weeks. The directions mention this and that kind of difficulty that might arise and supply treatments in case they happen, but ours has worked without trouble for two years.
Sounds like you have a big back yard. For insect control in the future maybe you could consider a purple martin house or two or three. I don't know if we even have purple martins in Georgia but I hear they eat lots of bugs.
No problem.
Thank you for that information. Mosquitos are my worst nightmare.
If you have a planting area near the spa try planting some Marigolds. They look good and drive mosquitoes away. ( at least in my climate zone)
What helps is to eat olive oil and jalapenos. Mosquitoes do not seem to live olive oil and jalapenos. When I have a good amount of olive oil and jalapenos, the mosquitoes do not bother me that much.
What I like to do is to put olive oil in a skillet and sautee the jalapenos in it (sliced up) with some mushrooms and onions. I then wrap them in swiss cheese and eat them like sandwiches. After about four or five of these "sandwiches", I can sit out in the yard all night long and not be bothered by mosquitoes.
We have the mosquito magnet too. Our only problem with it is that it has not learned to change its own propane tank yet. But it does work. It is important to start it early in the season, but since you are in GA I suppose you would just run it year round.
We have the mosquito magnet too. Our only problem with it is that it has not learned to change its own propane tank yet. But it does work. It is important to start it early in the season, but since you are in GA I suppose you would just run it year round.
Too much gun fire in my youth, so I can't hear them. I could stand the bites but really hated them singing about it.
DDT. It is pretty easy to make (chlorobenzene, chloral, sulfuric acid). Chloral is on FDA list, though.
1. Mosquitoes are still biting you but you've lost feeling in your body.
2. Bodily off-gassing is providing the same function as CO2.
I would imagine your wife insists you sit out in the yard all night after you've eaten 4 or 5 of these bombs.
Bug zappers are great fun. Don't remember whether they do anything substantial to the mosquito population though.
I remain sincerely yours, and upwind, KB
LOL!
I think you are driving all the mosquitoes south with that regimen. Sounds tasty though.
I've heard from some that the regular "zappers" don't work. If anyone has experience with them, I'd be interested.
We installed a large bug zapper toward the back of the yard. We use those Off lanterns on the deck by the spa. We have seen a marked decrease in the number of mosquitos this year. I think the zapper helped a lot. Plus it's fun to listen to the big bugs sizzle and to watch them spark.
Not as well as DDT.
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