Mosquitos! Besides preventing them by getting rid of standing water...

[Melissa G]

Does anyone know of good ways to kill mosqitos or keep them away? Citronella candles and nag champa don't always work, esp floating out in the pool. There was a bug zapper with a light in it, but I have heard they don't work. Any more ideas that do work?
I have beautiful flowers blooming every where in my backyard, but the bugs are getting in the way of my enjoyment.
Thanks,
Melissa

[ginnyinWI]

1. see this post from the Health group:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=222x60151

Catnip works better than DEET!

[Melissa G]

4. Thanks, I read that thread when it came out

Do you have a cat? Have you tried this catnip approach yet?

[ginnyinWI]

5. I do have a cat--

in fact we have three at the moment. I picked some catnip and made some "tea" and put it in a spray bottle. Our mosquitos haven't shown up yet, but I'll try it when they do.

[Melissa G]

6. I'll be curious as to your results. Thanks! n/t

[ginnyinWI]

28. The catnip works!

So far, for the amount of mosquitos around here, it works. I spray it on my neck and arms when going out into the veg garden to work, and the skeeters have not bothered me. Who knew? I'm on my second batch--the first one got left in a hot garage for ten days and got kind of brown--and it's still working.

I need to figure out something to put in it as a preservative, but don't want to spoil the effectiveness. Salt maybe?

[FloriTexan]

2. Avon Skin-so-soft...

is supposed to work too. I'm experimenting with it now. Also, if you have standing water nearby you can by a six-pack of these little round donut looking things at Home Depo ($10), that are animal friendly but kill mosquito larve.

[Melissa G]

3. Yeah, I heard about the donuts. I'm wondering how they will do with my water plants.

I used to have mosquito fish.
Skin so soft works okay and is better than the alternatives. No mosquitoes at all is better!

[dgibby]

7. They'll do ok. I use them with all my water plants.

Here are some sites that might give you some ideas.

http://search.aol.com/aol/search?query=mosquito+control%2Fnatural+methods&s_it=keyword_rollover&c.userid=4132198435494441665&c.userid=49b55f37-001fc-03886-6b89bccd

[Melissa G]

12. Thanks! I'll pick up some donuts for the water plant bowls!

[hippywife]

8. I always like this stuff

http://www.biteblocker.com/intro.html

but can't find it anymore around here. Now I use a natural product from our coop.

If you want to kill them outright, there's always the option of putting a bat house in your yard.

[Melissa G]

10. I'll try the bite blocker and I had not thought about a bat house.

I had thought about a martin house though!

[tsuki]

26. I use a mesquito trap with a propane gas trap. Works great. nt

[hippywife]

9. Here's another interesting option

I just came across: http://www.mosquitobarrier.com/

[elleng]

11. GARLIC!!!

Will try something soon!!!
TOO LATE, tho, as one of the critters got me yesterday. }(

[beac]

31. I've used both Mosquito Barrier and their other product, Garlic Barrier, with GREAT results

this year.

I am mainly using it to control garden pests, but have had the nice side effect of no mosquitos around the yard either. And they usually eat me alive AND we have not one, but TWO ponds within 100 feet of the house.

FYI, Mosquito Barrier is five times stronger than Garlic Barrier, but only about twice the price, so I switched to Mosquito Barrier after a good experience w/GB to save money.

I emailed the company on a weekend to make sure of the proper dilution ratio for MB and they actually wrote me back in less than 12 hours, ON A SUNDAY, no less! So, not only to they make a great product, but they have really great customer service.

Can't say enough good things about Mosquito/Garlic Barrier! :)

[Melissa G]

13. That does sound interesting! I hope someone who has used it chimes

in on this thread about how effective it is.

[beac]

32. late to the party on this, but see my "chime" in the post right above yours in the thread. n/t

[elleng]

24. I'm trying it anyhow! Garlic Oil tablets!!!

'It has never been scientifically shown that eating garlic will repel mosquitoes.'

[Mind_your_head]

14. Send a PM to Richard Steele. He's got 14 lbs. of garlic that he doesn't know what to do with!

See here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x65429

[HelenWheels]

15. Bug zappers kill beneficial bugs

mosquitoes are attracted by the our breath and body warmth not light.

We're have a mosquito and tick explosion this year. The Frontline plus we put on the dogs doesn't seem to be working.

[hippywife]

16. The best tick repellant for the dogs we've

used is the Preventic collar. It doesn't keep them from crawling around on them but it does keep them from attaching.

http://www.preventic.com/

[HelenWheels]

19. Thanks for the info.

[troubleinwinter]

17. This likely does not apply to your situation...

but we had a horse watering trough with a float to automatically top off the tank. Still, we'd get mosquito larva. We also had a small garden pond.

At first, I'd drive clear across the county to get mosquito fish from the vector control dept. They worked very well, but they didn't survive the winter & I tired of driving so far.

So I just went to the local pet store and bought some small, ordinary, cheap goldfish, about 50 cents each. I put just 3 or 4 small ones in each. They worked every bit as well, and even survived mild winters. They took care of other sorts of miscellaneous odd bug type thingies.

I worried that the horses might accidentally drink the goldfish, but both fish and horses were way too smart for that.

[HelenWheels]

20. What a great idea! nt

[uppityperson]

33. I buy 25 cent fish for my tiny pond when I see mosquito larva showing up

After I put them in, no larva. A few yrs back raccoons discovered them and would blenderize my pond plants, but they haven't been around for a while. I usually have a couple that survive the winter here, and had 1 grow to 10 inches long in another raccoon proof pot/pond.

[flying_wahini]

18. I live near Houston and have horrible mosquitos

and we have already had mosquitoes for a couple of months and fleas in the yard

for a couple of weeks. Hurricane IKE and a mild winter has been great for bugs, not so great for us.

Anyway I broke down and got my poor little dog some real medicine for her

because she is 14 years old and was just infested (1st time ever in the 8 years I have been here)

For her I got the oral tablet once a month - works in 3 hours - 1 tablet 15 dollars and worth every penny.

As far as citronella oil - I like it just OK - doesn't work well enough -
It's greasy and same with the Skin So Soft. anything greasy just makes the heat seem so much worse
and I am constantly getting that stuff in my eyes - unpleasant.

I am in the yard at least 5-6 hours every day and usually the one person who will get bit
in a crowd. Deet is the best, hands down, but I worry about the side effects of daily usage
esp since I cover myself very liberally in it. If you have to use it - I recommend Cutter's
Deep Woods. Hey sometimes, you just have to use it.


The yard is another matter. Down here we like to entertain on our patio/deck and we have these
"Tiger" mosquitoes. When they bit you it HURTS - and I'm not kiddin' and they carry West Nile, of course.

.. here are several products that I like;

"Yard safe" (cedar oil) is by far the very best organic product I have found...

label says last 3 weeks (ha) but really down here I spray every week to 10days and

when the mosquitoes show up, I respray. When I spray, I spray my deck, the patio concrete

the lawn and the bushes where I get bit the most. I can find it at my local garden center -

a little goes a long way, don't really have to soak everything down with it. a bottle gives me

2 separate sprays. (costs about $14) The citronella oil just isn't strong enough IMO - only good for a couple of days.

here are a couple of articles that may help you, too.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4947966_repel-mosquitoes-prevent-mosquito-bites.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_2164041_use-cedar-oil-as-insect.html

I really want to buy the concentrate but it is very expensive.... maybe if I win the lottery...

http://www.bizrate.com/pestcontrol/products__keyword--cedar+oil+pest+control.html



and check this link out about the garlic http://www.mosquitobarrier.com/

[Melissa G]

22. About that Cutter's product....

I'm pushing 50 now, but back when I was in my teens, I used to backpack a lot. I once backpacked the Lone Star hiking trail up around Conroe. One night, I slathered Cutters all over me, esp my face, zipped up my sleeping bag and then went to sleep. When I got back to civilization and looked in a mirror my face and neck were one solid, inflamed welt from the hundreds of bites I must have received in my sleep.

I went back to where I had bought the Cutters and my camping gear and they said it turns out that for some folks (at least back then), Cutters actually attracts mosquitoes. Apparently, I was one of those not so lucky folks!

Thanks for the rest of the info!

[catgirl]

21. Put up a bat house

A bat can eat 400 mosquitos an hour!

[sazemisery]

23. Our bat house always has dirt daubers in it and no bats. n/t

[madeline_con]

25. We leave some standing water. The frogs lay eggs in it, then the

tadpoles eat the mosquito larvea, and we have tadpoles for our turtle and fishes.

[Arkansas Granny]

27. Here's a tip that I received in an email. I haven't tried it yet, so I can't vouch for it,

but I am definitely going to get some Listerine.

Mosquito Spray...Worth a try
I was at a deck party awhile back, and the bugs were having a ball biting everyone. A man at the party sprayed the lawn and deck floor with Listerine, and the little demons disappeared.. The next year I filled a 4-ounce spray bottle and used it around my seat whenever I saw mosquitoes. And voila! That worked as well.. It worked at a picnic where we sprayed the area around the food table, the children's swing area, and the standing water nearby. During the summer, I don't leave home without it.....Pass it on.

I've also tried the dryer sheet method to repel them and have had mixed results. If I take a new sheet and wipe it on my face and other exposed skin I can sit on my porch in the evening and not be bothered by mosquitoes. However, if I'm working out in the yard and get hot and sweaty, it doesn't seem to be effective and I trun to my regular repellant. Where I live, the mosquitoes are really bad so even if the dryer sheets work just part of the time, they are a lot more pleasant than having to spray with something stinky everytime I was to spend time outdoors.

[Botany]

29. this works

[jhain]

30. these *do* work

I live in a swamp- beautiful......but swampy. These sorts of mosquito traps works amazingly well- and this is BY FAR- the best price I have ever seen for one. Mine just arrived yesterday- to replace one that cost 5x as much and had bitten the dust. It is already catching the !#%&&* things. Ideally, you want to have it in place as soon as the weather turns- April -ish here in NJ-but, it will make a huge difference whenever you get one and then set it up early next year.
Oh, garlic powder- get a giant thing of it at some wholesale place/restaurant supply...sprinkle it where ever you want to be without bugs. Works well for 24-48 hours. Smells like you are a good cook , too. ;-):

http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/nosquito-mosquito-trap.aspx?a=540641