mosquito control

[slackdaddy1]

Living in MD, the mosquitoes can get bad. I can not even think about opening the garage doors on a nice day/evening.

When hunting, I used a "Thermacell" It is a small device that has a 1" x 2" plate heated by a butane cartage, a small chemical wafer is placed in the plate and it works well to repell the mosquitos
This set up is very portable and VERY expensive to run.

I am looking for the same concept for my garage, but larger and 110v plug in.
it is only a 22' x 32' shop,, looking for something like one of those plug in air fresheners, but has repellent, not "smell good"
Any ideas??

 

[BigGarage]

Cannot help with what you want but you may also try mounting some bat houses on your property. Bats eat hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes every night.

Dennis

 

[Copymutt]

X2 on the bat houses. Worked for me. Just don’t eat one. Make sure you have no 1/2 inch openings anywhere around your eaves or they’ll move in quicker than an illegal immigrant.

 

[My Old Tools]

Deep Woods Off.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

You can try citronella plants on both sides of the door.

 

[4xdog]

Regarding bat houses... Guys, how did you decide where to put them? I had one on a house years ago that I thought met all the criteria, and there were definitely bats in the area, but none ever moved in. A friend had the same experience. It seems not to be an easy thing to do.

 

[58Yeoman]

Years ago, I had a bat or two flying around, so I put a bat house on my tv tower. Not a bat since. Same thing with the purple martin birdhouse; not a single on in 3 or 4 years. I'll try once more on the martins.

 

[66Caprice]

Talk to the local bat people who deal with bats. Like the zoo or a rescue place. Some bats are very picky as to where the bat house is placed. At least they could give you some advise as to what you might need to get some to live around your home.

 

[4xdog]

Living in MD, the mosquitoes can get bad. I can not even think about opening the garage doors on a nice day/evening...?

Same in the Saint Louis area. And I must smell particularly tasty to them, too, 'cause they can be terrible here.

I've had some success hunting down and draining any standing water. Skeeters don't need much water in which to breed, and they don't travel far in their lives -- usually a few hundred feet. I clean my garage gutters several times a season, and hunt any potential for pooled water I can find. It helps, but I suspect a few neighbors catty-corner over fences are contributing to the problem, and I can't get to that stuff.

You're on the prowl to reduce habitat as part of your control plan, I'm sure, slackdaddy1?

 

[LeonardY]

It's a really interesting concept but it hasn't gone anywhere in 6 years.

I have you tried a bug zapper? Don't put near the house. I was told if you want a bug free yard give one to your neighbor.

 

[BigGarage]

Regarding bat houses... Guys, how did you decide where to put them? I had one on a house years ago that I thought met all the criteria, and there were definitely bats in the area, but none ever moved in. A friend had the same experience. It seems not to be an easy thing to do.

Much info online. https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...BB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab#spf=1587765218541

Dennis

 

[CJDave]

I used to hang a zapper from the garage door torsion bar each evening that I was in the garage. I did this for years as my neighbor and I were drinking beer and watching TV in the garage. The bugs, including mosquitoes, never made it any further than the zapper. Hang it early in the season and run it all night if possible every night. The more you kill early on the fewer there are to breed. Interrupting their breeding cycle is a big help. CJDave.

 

[4xdog]

Much info online. https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...BB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab#spf=1587765218541

Dennis

Yes, thanks Dennis -- I've read much of that over the years before I put my bat house out at the free garage sale by the curb.

There's a lot of subtlety to where bats choose to nest. I would be interested to hear from those who have succeeded in attracting bats to a house to see how they did it.

 

[BMWBOB]

You don't mention if you have water around, but mosquitos can actually reproduce in the puddle of a cow's footprint. Tires laying around outside are notorious for mosquito production, as are koi ponds if they are not maintained properly, or don't have enough koi...

In rural areas just about every farm store has insecticides that will knock them down for an outside event (I like Tempo or generic) - just spray the turf and any adjacent brush/bushes. You'll be amazed how well that works to keep them out of your house, too.

If you have livestock ponds there is a product called Altosid (very safe) you can treat the water with that will prevent them from turning into adults, but the larvae will still feed the bass!

 

[Kaizen]

Didn’t think skeeters were overly attracted to bug zappers. I make a standing water check once a week. Left a pvc endcap in a table one week. Had larvae the next.
Gutters that are not pitched right as well.
If they are bad I just use bug repellent. I keep the doors closed so any that do get in die the next day in the heat.


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[andyvh1959]

Up here in Wisconsin we got mosquito birds, damn things get me so much I look like Joe Cocker at Woodstock stumbling around the back yard. People tell me, don't wear cologne, nope no different. Wear such and such color, nope no different. Use Avon Skin so Soft, nope no different. Use those battery powered sonic repellers on your belt, nope no different. Nothing works on me but lots of Deet. Smelly and oily. Those little ******* (only the females sting) can find a spot the size of a quarter on which I missed the Deet, and sting me. I have seen mosquitos sting me through my damn jeans. I can be in a group of people not complaining of mosquitos while I'm swinging and swatting constantly.

I've read mosquitos hunt by CO2 detection and heat. The bug catches the CO2 fumes you expel, then follow the heat trace from the CO2, By then the bug has only to find where to land (often right between the middle of my shoulder blades. So I must give off a lot of CO2, and I know I give off a lot of heat, so I am an easy find for them. There are mosquito trap devices that run on propane, and the burner gives off CO2 and heat to attract the females into the trap where they die. Its important to trap and kills the females as it reduces the herd. My brother has one that I might buy off him.

Another thing I'm planning is airflow in the garage. At the back I'm mounting an old squirrel cage blower from a furnace high on the wall. I'll power it with an electric motor just fast enough to cause a steady breeze blowing out the garage. I figure a breeze blowing out will diminish the little buggers getting close enough to catch my CO2/heat trace to me.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Purple Martin houses. I like bats, but most birds don't move into all the crevices in your eaves.

I want to put them up in the back yard, but Mrs. LS6 isn't digging' it.

Tommy

 

[nadogail]

We use some plug in small zappers with blue LED's that we found on Amazon. The mosquito problem has become nonexistent.

 

[fwillison]

DEET works incredibly well. I tend to delay putting it on until I get bit a few times. I used to use the really strong stuff, but don't love the oiliness and odor of those products. I have found that the milder stuff like "Off for kids" works just as well, though you probably have to reapply more often. It still works for a good couple of hours.
Using this milder DEET formulation has been a good answer.
BTW, there are no real harmful health effects from DEET. There are plenty of people that fear all sorts of things that are perfectly safe though.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Same thing with the purple martin birdhouse; not a single on in 3 or 4 years. I'll try once more on the martins.

If another species moves into the house before the martins, they will not move in. Lower and clean the house over the winter. Not sure how you time when to put it back up. (It took my day a couple of years to figure it out.)

Downside of purple martins is that they will "dive bomb" you (and scare the daylights out of you) when they have young. No contact, but I would wear a hat !

 

[theoldwizard1]

We use some plug in small zappers with blue LED's that we found on Amazon. The mosquito problem has become nonexistent.

Bug zappers should be placed far away from where people will gather.

 

[theoldwizard1]

If you are planning an outdoor activity and wan to limit the bugs, the hose end pre-mix insect controls work pretty good, until the first rainfall. Make sure to do all of the flower beds, shrubbery and grass in the morning of the event.

 

[CAMMShaft]

We use some plug in small zappers with blue LED's that we found on Amazon. The mosquito problem has become nonexistent.

Do you have a link for these?

CAMM

 

[W_KY]

I spray my yard with talstar pro a few times each summer. I seem to get the longest control after the first application. You can buy it at places like Southern States AG cooperatives but it’s significantly cheaper on doityourself pest control. Ive worked around AG chemicals most of my life and it’s the same stuff they spray in your house for insect control so I feel pretty safe using it. https://www.domyown.com/talstar-pro...KGHcjfUOHq_4JmbrIPYuxoCmuUQAvD_BwE&sub_id=656

 

[toyotadriver]

Bifenthrin is the answer.

Wait till the hottest part of the day. Spray the underside of all the leafy bushes where you have mosquito issues. The mosquitoes will hang out on the underside of the leaves during the hot part of the day. When you spray the bifenthrin on the underside of the leaves, it'll kill the mosquitoes. It's impressive how fast you can knock down the mosquito population with bifenthrin.

 

[Want2race]

Bifenthrin is the answer.

Wait till the hottest part of the day. Spray the underside of all the leafy bushes where you have mosquito issues. The mosquitoes will hang out on the underside of the leaves during the hot part of the day. When you spray the bifenthrin on the underside of the leaves, it'll kill the mosquitoes. It's impressive how fast you can knock down the mosquito population with bifenthrin.

Agree. I bought a nozzle that I made work with my backpack blower.

Spraying every 2-3 weeks ensures no one gets bitten. Unless it rains like Noah’s ark...then I respray

 

[like2wheel]

I spray my yard with talstar pro a few times each summer. I seem to get the longest control after the first application. You can buy it at places like Southern States AG cooperatives but it’s significantly cheaper on doityourself pest control. Ive worked around AG chemicals most of my life and it’s the same stuff they spray in your house for insect control so I feel pretty safe using it. https://www.domyown.com/talstar-pro...KGHcjfUOHq_4JmbrIPYuxoCmuUQAvD_BwE&sub_id=656

Bifenthrin is the answer.

Wait till the hottest part of the day. Spray the underside of all the leafy bushes where you have mosquito issues. The mosquitoes will hang out on the underside of the leaves during the hot part of the day. When you spray the bifenthrin on the underside of the leaves, it'll kill the mosquitoes. It's impressive how fast you can knock down the mosquito population with bifenthrin.

Agree with this.
Last summer was horrific. Neighbor turned me on to this & it was amazing. It did happen to stop raining around that time, so I'm sure that helped too.

 

[Showkey]

Bifenthrin is the answer.

Wait till the hottest part of the day. Spray the underside of all the leafy bushes where you have mosquito issues. The mosquitoes will hang out on the underside of the leaves during the hot part of the day. When you spray the bifenthrin on the underside of the leaves, it'll kill the mosquitoes. It's impressive how fast you can knock down the mosquito population with bifenthrin.

Agree....that with another chemical are what the “mosquito squad” spray service use. Along with treatment of any stagnant water to control the hatch.

Under the safety is sassies:
Do yourself ( family and neighbors) a favor........if your going to DIY spray use an approved respirator, read the labels and wash your clothes immediately. Don’t over treat or over dose.

 

[txvwnut]

I bought a Dynatrap it uses a UV light to attract the insects and fan to blow them into a containment area where it dehydrates them. The only thing is you really need to hang it away from area that doesn’t have competing light. I have one on the back of the house and one by the shop. The house one runs 24-7 during the insect months and the shop one I’ll turn on just when I’m getting bothered.