Greetings and question about mosquito control

Hello everyone,

I am a relatively new Carolina gardener - we moved to Charlotte from Portland, Oregon in June 2005. We have about 1/3 acre with some wooded area and large oak trees spaced throughout the property. Lots of flowering trees and mature shrubs as well. I'm slowly putting in more perennials and will put in a veggie garden this spring in one of the few sunny spots. I am looking forward to learning about regional gardening in the South from y'all!

I need to figure out some sort of mosquito control plan though. In the summer it's so bad that if you go out back at any time of the day, even wearing bug spray (I use the one with picaridin), you get eaten up. Makes gardening more than a little unpleasant, and it stinks to have this lovely yard and not ever want to go in it. I know it's probably because of the woods, and because we're not as diligent about removing fallen wet leaves as we should be - the task is still overwhelming us and we've already been through 2 falls.

So what can we do? Do any of you use any of the big mosquito zappers or anything like that? Do they work? I am interested in any product that doesn't involve fogging the air with a chemical. This summer we spread a ton of cedar mulch on the beds and I also sprinkled a product called Cedarcide; it seemed to help some but not quite enough.

Looking forward to any ideas and to getting to know you over the next growing season!

Unfortunately, about the only thing that really works and doesn't cost is fogging. If you are within city limits, you can usually call mosquito control at city hall and ask them to fog your area. They do it in the wee hours of the morning when you are sleeping.

Also, go to any search engine and type in mosquito control, there are a number of products and trappers available now.

X

Those mosquito "coils" you burn are what I use, you just have to burn one where you're hanging out. They keep the mosquitos away pretty well. Some of the more natural bug sprays work pretty good, too.

Welcome to the South--mosquitos are part of summer!

Count you blessings that you do not have sand gnats (no see'ums) too. Around here they are worse than the mosquitos. A lot of my neighbors have the Mosquito Magnets and they do like them (although perhaps they just have to justify the high cost). There is a new one on the market,also high dollar, that works differently and is supposed to be more effective. I can't remember at the moment how it is different.

If you have any water sources, like bird baths on your property, make sure you are using mosquito dunks; they contain harmless (to the birds) BT and they are effective at killing mosquito larvae. Also make sure there are no puddles or other wet places for the mosquits to breed. Flower pot saucers are a no no in the south too as they hold water.

Good luck, wear light colored clothing which insects hate, and enjoy your garden.

blackbird, a hearty WELCOME TO DG!

I haven't been to the Huntersville area in years, love it over there! (Last time I was there it was with the intentions of buying a goat, and bring it back home in the back seat of a Volkswagen!)

Good points made above, hope you can thin those skeeters out! I did a quick search and came across some organic anti-mosquito products. (They appear to be garlic-based and safe.) Maybe you could check these out at the following link:
http://www.extremelygreen.com/mosquitoguide.cfm

Citronella products (candles, sprays, etc) might be useful around your porch/deck or outdoor sitting area as well as the coils. I've even seen some sort of gizmo you wear on your belt that gives off some sort of hum or vibration that skeeters tend to shy away from; not sure is they work but maybe someone who's tried them can chime in.

Hope to see you around the site!

Shoe

If I could figure out how to get rid of no seeums i would be rich. LOL. Skin so soft works all right but I have yet to beable to keep them out of my back yard. Nothing stops them, nothing kills them when conditions are right. I give them props for being the most horrible flying bug.

Thanks for the replies. I will plan on using the coils and maybe check into that belt thing. I have a little toddler who doesn't know enough to swat the bugs away and winds up with bites all over his face. I assume that fogging is with a non-specific insectide that kills beneficials too? If so we'll probably give it a miss.

Thanks!

Blackbird...the following link may also give you some alternatives.
http://journeytoforever.org/edu_homer.html (Scroll down for the important links mentioned)

Things as simple as peppermint and lemon grass (see each individual link) repel skeeters. There is also a link to neem oil, which I use with great success in our veggie gardens. You might want to read up on that.

Can't stand the thought of your youngin' being eaten up by the mosquitos.

Best of All to you.

Shoe

hi! when we lived in the keys, we had a Mosquito Magnet for the skeeters and no-see-ums. it worked great for the skeeters but it's very expensive. had i seen this product first, i probably would have tried it. a man from the company was in the area and they had a thing on the evening tv news. that's how i found out about it. anyway, here's the link. i've saved it for a couple of years just in case we ever needed it again. http://www.mosquitofree.com.au/home.asp

Hi blackbird...
I'm just now seeing your post. I wanted to welcome you to the "neighborhood". I am off of Exit 33 in Mooresville. Good luck with your garden and your skeeter problem!
Pinger

Pinger, thanks for the welcome! I'm off exit 23 in Wynfield Creek.

Have you got room for Martin Gourds or how ever you spell gourds,they can help a lot.

Lavina

I just saw some at Lowe's and was thinking I should give them a try. Also some bat houses. We definitely have the space and I'm all for biological controls.