"Planning Area" Mosquito Control

[lawfarm]

Finally starting on the plans for a 'outdoor planning area' to be appended to our shop in Northern Illinois. (Read: a patio to hide on after work). I'm wondering what everyone does for effective mosquito control. Here in Illinois, the Mosquitos are not individually large enough to carry you away (as I've heard they are in Canada), but after dark, they come in swarms which collectively have been known to pick up fully grown men and drag them off. So what works for effective outdoor mosquito control? Assume that I want really good control for an area of approximately 500 sq. ft., adjacent to the shop on the north side, not under a roof, and no walls of any sort.

Candles? Torches? Mosquito deleto?

 

[russlaferrera]

It's your call. All of your repellents work to SOME degree. I can offer one solution. A screened in enclosure.

Wind will cause all repellents to disperse quickly. Personnel applied repellents vary with every persons make up. ever notice why some people get bit, others do not?

You might have better info from your local Health Dept. All skeeters are not the same. Here in VA we have a new breed "Tiger " They sound like fighter planes from 50 yards out, are small but when they bite it feels like a black fly (Canada)

 

[Tech Guy]

Friend of mine uses one of those propane fired mosquito traps. Covers quite a large and works great. The bag fills up quick with dead ones. It emits a small amount of co2 to attract them into the bag.

 

[Steve-oh]

Friend of mine uses one of those propane fired mosquito traps. Covers quite a large and works great. The bag fills up quick with dead ones. It emits a small amount of co2 to attract them into the bag.

I've heard those work great, but are a little on the spendy side.

 

[Kevin54]

Whatever you get DO NOT get one of the UV bug lights to kill mosquitoes. The bag zapper that has the black light. They do not work on mosquitoes. If you have a lot of evergreens around, mosquitoes will hang around in them. I've used foggers with success. Citronella candles only work right above the candle. Above all, keep areas from having standing water. Some years will be worse than others for mosquitoes. The last few years have not been too bad around our area. But the years that we have a wet spring, and a wet, hot humid summer, will bring them out to where you cannot be outside. So if I have to be out doing work, I have found dousing down with Cutters to be the best. If just out socializing after dark, I have found that a fresh shower using Zest keeps them at bay.

 

[thdewey]

Here is the real truth about zone type repellents/traps. They don't work! Traps actually attract mosquitoes to your property and kill bugs that eat mosquitoes. There is a cheap, reliable, safe and comfortable electrical device that does work. A FAN. That's right, a box fan or one on a stand is the best way to ward off mosquitoes. Mosquitoes cannot fly into the wind generated by a fan. Now this is even better for the 'planning area' or as I read: beer drinking area. As you are probably stationary, the fan will be more effective. Try this; you will see I'm right.
also, get rid of any standing water. Even a small cup of it can generate many bugs.

 

[Torque1st]

A strong fan will keep the air stirred up so that they can not maneuver well enough to find you and land. I use a 36" attic fan mounted on a stand sideways.

 

[307WYLD]

in addition to the box fan...a couple mounted or hung high pointed down toward the center of the deck...convince the wife to plant marigolds and citronella around the perimeter of the deck...lets her "pretty" up the place and they work as natural deterrents, without having to burn anything....

 

[z28toz06]

We use fans too. A couple of oscillating fans blowing across the patio and a box fan or low oscillator for the legs. we supplement with citronella candles.

 

[mesquiteforge]

The Mosquito Magnet does work and here is the skinny on how: http://www.mosquitomagnet.com/how_it_works/

My in-laws live in Houston and have a large back yard that they like to enjoy. Two years ago my mother in law sent me to Sears to get one of the Mosquito Magnets-the Liberty that covers 1 acre. I told her that she was crazy and it would never work. Well, I went and got it, set the thing up and have enjoyed a mosquito free backyard for two years. This device does not attract mosquitoes from beyond the area it just captures them as they enter the 1 acre circle. They have a backyard that is about 1/4 acre and a large right of way behind their home that is about 50 acres. I have emptied the bag on the Magnet several times and it is usually full with hundreds of mosquitoes.

I have tried the fan thing at my own home, but who wants to sit in a gail force wind-that is nearly as annoying as the mosquitoes!! The mosquitoes we have in South Texas could carry off a small dog-so they are not phased by wind too much. I have not had luck with fans, but cannot afford my own Mosquito Magnet, so I just spray on some "Off" repellant.

My two cents-for what it's worth..

 

[Bull]

You could always try to go cutting-edge, with one of these:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/16/mosquito.laser.weapon/index.html

 

[Ross]

I have had good luck with the ThermaCell Mosquito Repellent devices. They run on a butane cartridge and have a repellent pad that goes in them. They claim to repel them from a 15x15 area... I have never really measured, but they do work pretty well.

 

[RobSmith]

I read an article about mozzies (yes I'm an Australian) being so thick in Kentucky that they have killed horses. The poor buggers breathed in so many mossies that they suffocated. The carbon dioxide is definitely the attractant. So go for any unit that uses Co2 as a bait. That will bring them in for sure.

 

[-olllllllo-]

hey all, i got some of my own facts.

personal that is, lol.

mosquitos love me. i hate mosquitos. i am the person YOU WANT to stand next to at any outdoor event or gathering. i promise, you will not get any bites, even wearing no repellant and wearing all black clothing too. i've been known to collect 50 or more at a time while out for even as low as 1 minute.

yes, the great canadian skeeters can easily carry off a human. but alas, i'm a fat bastid, so that's probably why they keep sending in more troopers. does make you feel lighter on your feet though, so i'm starting to get concerned that they might succeed one day!!

now, on repellants.

wind? forget it!! if they are attracted to your body chemistry, there is no such strong enough wind to keep em away. i have tried wind, natural 50 - 60 mph doesn't fizz em for me. fans, hell i could blow harder.

rain? baahhhh!! most people who go out in the rain in skeeter season will not get bit during the rain. i do. yes, it *****. what's worse is that it washes off the repellant faster.

and, repellants? some good, some horrible waste of money, none great. simply put, if you are like me at all, the best is the absolute highest percentage of deet.

my wife hates shopping for this stuff with me, she feels useless. these lil' buggers really piss me off, to the point that i look like a little kid having a temper tantrum!!! so, imagine shopping for the stuff, not finding anything strong enough, the day before or the day of a great fishing trip for example. it's downright maddening, even in the store, knowing i'm about to get chewed on for hours upon hours, or days upon days for a camping trip. both activities which i love immensely.

also, add to that, all the tiny lil' black flies that people say "oh c'mon they don't bite"!! YEAH RIGHT!!! maybe on you they do not, but on me, i think the skeeters have just called in the swarm of reinforcements!!! all biting at that!! and no repellant works on them at all.

look at me outdoors in the summer, and you will literally see a cloud of assorted bugs all around me. it is quite hilarious for most to see. still ***** for me though.

so, if anyone has a solid, real , working device, let me know. i think this year i am going to try the mosquito magnet for the yard. if that works, great!! cuz i love bein in the gargage workin on me jeeps!!

p.s. money is no object if the skeeters love you as much as they do me.

happy summer everyone!!!

 

[Bojans]

Another vote for the mosquito magnet. Works wonders

 

[Keep]

Friend of mine uses one of those propane fired mosquito traps. Covers quite a large and works great. The bag fills up quick with dead ones. It emits a small amount of co2 to attract them into the bag.

I have to 2nd/3rd this thing. They are great up here in the land of the bird mosquito. They have come way down in price over the last couple years. Shold be able to pick a smaller one (1/2 acre) for around $300 or so(thats Canadian dollars).

 

[rcleaver]

I put nematodes on my lawn to suppress the larvae of japanese beetles. After that, I noticed fewer mosquitoes, but it didn't get rid of all of them. But now, my granddaughter, a mosquito magnet, is OK playing on the deck with some deet sprayed on her.

 

[nonhog]

I like the magnet, 3rd year in a wooded lot with a storm water retention pond next door. Skeeters have yet to be overbearing. There around of course but they dont run me off. I am putting up bat houses and hoping they will bring in bats. Dont know how much differance it might make but it cant hurt. Be fun to watch them at dusk !

 

[Geeforce]

Has anyone here tried these repelling products?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000DN7OQW/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A3S3YF6WN9MSC5&v=glance

 

[-olllllllo-]

hehehe i eat tons of garlic, lots of lemon and chew gum. hmmmmm those scents don't help in my experience, lol.

 

[lawfarm]

Doing a bit of research on the Magnet, they have TERRIBLE reviews on Amazon...and speculation is that the company behind them went bust. Any other thoughts on them? What about skeetervac?

 

[OldCarGuy]

Living in the middle of acres of wooded land with lots of small ponds. There’s a lot of breading grounds for small winged critters. I’m for ever searching for natural solutions to problems. Mother Nature's number one secret weapon against mosquitoes,,, Bats!

Low original investment, next to no maintenance and no operating expenses. Depending on the size of your property, make a bat house or two, fasten them 20 feet off the ground. In a year or two, you’ll attract a small family of 100 bats. That feast on any tasty flying morsels. Including mosquito's. A single bat will consume thousands of flying insects a night. Can you imagine what a small army of bats will do. Works for me...

http://consciouschoice.com/2000/cc1307/bats1307.html


.

 

[FunfDreisig]

I own two Mosquito Magnets. Their effectiveness is high dependent on mosquito species (plural) AND the immediate environment in which they are deployed. Be absolutely sure your application meets BOTH conditions prior to purchase.

Background: We don't use pesticides, foggers etc. and rarely use personal sprays. So Mosquito Magnets looked like a great fit. We used two mosquito magnets on a 1.5 acre heavily wooded area in Houston for over two years. They regularly collected bags of mosquitoes, yet we ended up installing and using screened areas to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes they simply did not catch - Asian Tigers. The Asian Tigers are day flyers and extremely aggressive. Their intorduction completely changed the way we used this wonderful property. The only thing that worked on them were fans -- but they are smart enough to fly up in YOUR wind shadow. So it takes more than one fan.

FWIW we no longer live in Houston. We still have the two Mosquito Magnets and have not been tempted to take them out of storage We now use a very natural mosquito deterrent - birds. We feed dozens - hundreds of birds daily. They in turn glean the area around our cabin of insect pests - including mosquitoes. BTW don't underestimate the insect consumption of a tiny Humming Bird. They need protein, just like the rest of us. Provide them with a steady source of sugar water and they'll hang around picking off tiny insects in the area of that feeder by the thousands. And they don't mind being up close and personal with humans. The regularly feed only a few feet away from us when we are sitting out on the deck. Besides there's nothing quite like watching the aerial combat of literally dozens of hummers working out the new 'pecking order' once the hormones kick in mid-summer -- hmm, that big red bird (Cardinal) needs to be escorted out of my sight, so what he's 10 times my size, that wimp can't even fly backwards

Funf Dreisig

 

[Torque1st]

My fan is effective even against those aggressive Asian tiger mosquitoes. I hate the little beggars. They showed up around KC about 10 years ago. Before that we only had the big brown things. The tigers just won't brush away. They won't take no for an answer. The fan was the only thing that made working outside possible.

 

[farmer gary]

I live next to a 36,000 acre marsh. In a wet year the only really effective solution is a screened enclosure or porch. If you wait until the the dusk feeding time is over. they actually go away and it is pleasant out.

 

[FunfDreisig]

...Before that we only had the big brown things. The tigers just won't brush away. They won't take no for an answer. The fan was the only thing that made working outside possible.

Prior to the introduction of the Asian Tigers to Houston, the native Texas mosquitoes were just a minor nuisance -- slow, dumb and easily dealt with by a quit swat. Luckily the Asian Tiger's haven't really invaded the Texas Hill Country (yet). So natural predators -- birds & bats -- and the occasional swatting human, work well for now. Hopefully I won't need to bring out the big fan anytime soon

Funf Dreisig

 

[JMURiz]

My fan is effective even against those aggressive Asian tiger mosquitoes. I hate the little beggars. They showed up around KC about 10 years ago. Before that we only had the big brown things. The tigers just won't brush away. They won't take no for an answer. The fan was the only thing that made working outside possible.

Hate those suckers, have them around here too, they seem to like eating the DEET as an appetizer before biting into you.
I'll have to give the box-fan idea a try at my next GTG.

 

[lawfarm]

Anyone know if Asian Tigers are in Illinois yet? (Northern Illinois?)

 

[FunfDreisig]

Anyone know if Asian Tigers are in Illinois yet? (Northern Illinois?)

You can tell for yourself. Asian Tigers get their name from the white stripes on their legs (and of course their ferocious nature). The stripes are very visible while they are biting you

Funf Dreisig

 

[Torque1st]

The old browns would stay away for 20 seconds or so before they managed to land again after you waved them off. The Asians land back on a person before your hand is 6" past where they were. Nasty fast little buggers. According to the local authorities they are short distance flyers which means they can be partially controlled by making sure there is no standing water within 100-150 yards of your location. This may require neighbors making sure that all the neighbors are keeping watch for standing water. It may require a squirt of oil down storm drains also.

 

[brad d]

mosquito magnet style traps is what people in my area use.. but you have to start early and keep them going for the best results.

 

[buening]

I'm in central Illinois and I've seen those Asian Tigers! I never knew that they were a different breed, but the stripes were VERY obvious. I live by a lake, so avoiding standing water is impossible

 

[HighVoltage]

Love the bats. These little guys decimate the bug population around here..cant's imagine how bad it would be without them.
http://www.truveo.com/Million-bats-of-Round-Rock-Texas/id/2545517229

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10852