I live in the suburbs/exburbs of Atlanta. Hot. humid. mosquito laden.

How to fight mosquitos naturally? Don't want to hijack another thread so started a fresh one.

I don't want to spray chemicals if I can avoid it, too much collateral damage - kids, grandkids, brain cells, other living creatures, etc.

The problem is I cant police my neighbors pools of water and other places where mosquitos congregate. So even if doing a good job on my place, the little bastids fly over from next door.

Thinking about bat houses, but maybe bird houses, etc. Bug zapping lights I guess.

Your thoughts?

A natural layer of grease keeps em off.

Mosquito plants work in a small area

Bat houses.

They’ll eat way more than birds.

Make sure your gutters are not stopped up, holding water.

It’s really a neighborhood effort. To make sure people are not hoarding tires and junk or a pool that no one opened up for the season.

Swallows during the day, bats at night.

A Thermacell. When we sit out under the shade tree I bring mine out and fire it up and no mosquitoes. I've never in my life ever seen anything as effective. My wife keeps one in both our cars. If you get one I promise you'll never regret it.


https://www.amazon.com/Thermacell-Portable-Mosquito-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B086X55RWL

Buy it with the jumbo pack of pads and canisters and your set for the summer

Tiki torches

Then the neighbors will think you’re debble worshippers

I think I know her,lol
____________________________

Marigolds

Homerun!!!!

That's bacon grease, right? Just apply liberally and often.

L.W.

my first house sat right on a nice little canal. 'cept canals move slow so guess what? i never found anything that would keep the skeeters at bay like Cutters. did the bug lights, bat houses, scented candles, geranium, you name it. nuttin works but body spray.

These here might come over and try to
join in. Lotta border jumpers and
santa ria and headless chickens and such

American beauty berry leaves mushed
up and rubbed on works fine and
won't poison you
Or wax myrtle

Blu Cs,

I'm with you on this one.
I've taught wildlife education and I'm also against harmful chemicals.

I taught a class on environmental factors of bats and human interaction. The Lord provided a live bat several days prior to my lectures..... miraculously.

You mentioned some good ways to get rid of the mosquitoes.

Some will say bug zappers don't kill enough, or that swallows don't swallow enough, that bats only eat so many per minute.....

I say that it's the layered effect that will put a dent in your population. Use every way that works and nothing will be 100%, but every bit helps.

Similar to what I mentioned just now at your other post on the dead birds thread is...
Put up as many bat boxes as you have space. Design them for the desired outcome...proper paint color, placement location, and so on.
Hopefully they will attract a local small variety of skeeter eaters. This should help quite a lot.

Purple Martins and Swallow houses can be bought or designed for daylight mosquitoes. Unfortunately they also eat dragon flies, but unless you have a swamp or pond nearby, theres not likely many dragon flies to begin with.

A street light or strategic light will attract what bats like to eat. But you won't want that overhead light on your porch if you sit outside in the evening.
Use certain essential oils for a natural less risky repelant. Avoid DEET and avoid pymethrins. If I remember correctly they are nerve toxins.
Eat garlic with daily meals. Fresh garlic crushed and lightly cook, grate on vegetable and use on meat dishes.

I could write a couple book chapters on this.
PM me for more details.

Hope that helps you.
☕ 🙂 👍. 🦇🦟🦇🦇🦇🦟🦟🐦

Quit playing games with the skeeters. Spray a mixture of diesel fuel, Lambda-cyhalothrin and PBO8 every few weeks and you'll have very few skeeters.

I've heard, but never tried, that a single clove of garlic eaten a day will keep most insects OFF of one's person. I think I'll pick up a thermacell and compare the two for fun while drinkin' on the patio this summer.

Spartan mosquito traps work great. Got a pond about 100yds off my back deck, haven't been bit this year.

I knew a guy that lived north of Havre, MT that would religiously set up one of those propane traps.

I could not believe how effective it was. If you were on the porch or back deck nothing would touch you. He said the key was having it up and running weeks before you expect the first hatch.

If you've never been along the Hi-Line in prime mosquito season, it is about the worst you can find in the lower 48.

A full bug tamer suit, Thermacell, and drinking lime aid will work. Down here in SFL we have a continual war with those bassturds all year round. The multi-layered approach works best down here.

I'm using traps too for the same reason.
Most people never clean leaves out of their gutters. Skeeters like shelters like porches... where people open the door and let them in, or sit in the evening. I have a natural pesticide in both traps where they lay eggs. So far theres been only one bird death.

It happens, but Rarely do I get bitten. Healthy supplements and garlic.

Propane fogger. The creeping cloud of death.

Best stuff Ive ever used, completely natural & smells great too. I work in a mosquito infested environment.

https://mexitan.com/products/skedattle-anti-bug-spray-and-mosquito-repellent

I don’t have to apply but once per day.

Like the mosquito magnet?

You'll realky confuse them if you blast Debbie gibson and light tiki torches....

His and hers samurai swords

Bug zappers are not effective for mosquitoes. They are not attracted to UV light, if they make you feel good go for it but they are a waste of money.

One of my coworkers bought the black bucket Ovitrap and swears it works.

https://www.forestrydistributing.com/ovi-catch-ago-mosquito-trap-catchmaster


My other coworker made them out of black sock and said it seems to be working.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Mosquito-Killing-Ovitrap/#:~:text=Mosquitoes%20can't%20help%20but,get%20back%20through%20that%20screen.

Give whoever is outside with you a banana.Skeeters will bite them.

[quote=Whiptail]
One of my coworkers bought the black bucket Ovitrap and swears it works.

https://www.forestrydistributing.com/ovi-catch-ago-mosquito-trap-catchmaster


My other coworker made them out of black sock and said it seems to be working.



Looks like something I would put together.
My traps work on a different principal.
Have you seen one in person yet?

Been taking garlic pills and vitamin B complex pills, for the last few yrs. I can count on 1 hand the times I've been skeeter bit. That includes August and Sept. squirrel hunting.

Quit messing around and use Deep Woods Off. It won't kill you.

Skeeters seem to concrgate around the patio door. Put window screen on the back of a 24" box fan. It suck them against the screen. Kills lots of them 24/7/365.

No, they just put them out this year and with the quarantining I haven't been over to see them. I don't have many mosquitoes at my house so I haven't been motivated to try it out.

Mosquito magnet for the win at home. So nice to enjoy the deck, yard & garage patio w/out those lil fuggers.
Early & constant maintenance on it is key.

At the cabin I use the propane fogger.


Out in the woods, long sleeves, gloves & headnet.


I don’t like bug dope, but try & carry the cutters roll on in my summer pack. For exposed areas, wrists for example


Taking a dump in the woods. Long raincoat draped over a Bush sure helps keep lots away from the free buffet. If it’s hot out I just put the hood on, drape it over my shoulders & the bush of course, you don’t want to take a dump in a long raincoat w/out draping it over a bush. 🤦🏼‍♂️

I bought my wife a thermacell when she had cancer, I need to dig that out for grandkids & our use, had forgotten all about it


Lil buggers sure are irritating. Pizzes me off they survive -40*

Take vitamin B (any type of B). Get the one a day type and take two. It takes a week to ten days to build up and then they won't bite. I did this in Panama and it worked.

Lol




Bob

When I was working if Ft. Meyers, Fl. a few years ago I saw a lot of screened in porches, patios and swimming pools so I they guess they worked pretty good.

Mosquito Magnent works... especially with the Octenol additive. These are basically CO2 generators that attract mosquitoes into a trap. Study wind flow currents and place accordingly. Mosquitoes follow the CO2 plume back to the trap.

This works, tried a couple at the beach last year. Screen would get black, completely covered.

[quote=maddog]Been taking garlic pills and vitamin B complex pills, for the last few yrs. I can count on 1 hand the times I've been skeeter bit.

Or French kissed....

Didn't know about either garlic or B. Thanks.

+1

guess i smell bad they don't bother me much.

I was working with a young black guy years ago. They were tearing him a new ass, not bothering me. He said it was cause I was old and sour

Why give the blood suckers a break? Spray!

Purple martins are cool, and nice to have around, but despite the old marketing claims by the largest manufacturer of Purple Martin Houses at the time a mosquito has NEVER been found in a purple martins stomach, and they've looked at hundreds over the years. No surprise, purple martns are highly specialized swallows that feed mostly 500 feet and up and, as pointed out, their preferred prey is dragonflies, which DO eat mosquitoes, but prob'ly not in your yard.

The Ovi-Trap looks to be an oviposition (egg laying) trap, capturing the female when she goes to lay her eggs onto the water inside. One possible problem with this is that the reason mosquitoes bite you in the first place is they need a blood meal to produce those eggs. Still it would eliminate the mosquito before her NEXT blood meal.

We've looked at mosquitoes on school projects, and at some locations we have trapped more than 400 female mosquitoes in a single night. Female mosquitoes locate their hosts in part by the CO2 the host produces. The most effective mosquito traps all use CO2, either by dry ice like ours, or a CO2 cylinder.

Easiest for me is to have the wife nearby. They leave me alone and eat her ass up!

I'd rather swat mosquitoes than smell like a gook all the time.

Strange thing is we have had more rain than normal and I haven't seen a mosquito yet this year.

Dealt with this for years. Finally gave up an hosed the entirety of the house undr the eaves snd on thr bricks with permethrin late winter. And up under the bushes.

Best thing for skeeters i ever did. Can now enjoy spring and summr evenings on thr prch.

Cheap ond effective when you buy the concentrate. Just use ppe and keep away until it dries.