mosquitos in the gardens

does anyone have a remedy for mosquitos--i am getting eaten alive!! the sprays i have tried on my body are not working--am hoping someone has the answer!! thanks

According to the EPA, insect repellants containing DEET or Picardin are the most effective, and repellents containing oil of lemon eucalyptus are slightly less effective. The jury is out on the rest.

thanks--i might spray tonight--

Have you tried any of the "Skin-So-Soft" products that Avon makes? I'm told that mosquitos hate the scent. Plus, you'll be the best smelling and softest gardener on the block!

i had heard that too and forgot all about it--sure would be better than the ones i use now that smell terrible no matter what the front of the bottle says!! thanks

Catnip is 10x more powerful than DEET. I heard it on a Garden Talk Show. The host said it. Pretty sweet. I also heard that DEET deteriorates plastic glasses so if you do decide to use those nasty chemicals watch out.

My solution is just to sweat through them.

I wear long pants, and a long sleeve shirt over a teeshirt. I did this when I lived in Georgia as well. The only problem is you can't be outside after 10 am or you will die of heat exhaustion.

They use Skin So Soft in the jungles ......so I tried it and it works!.
The bath oil one. :)

A friend of mine told me that if you put a Bounce fabric softener sheet in your belt loop while you're doing yard work it will keep mosquitos away. She said it also works for yellow jackets. I don't know if it works or not.

those are great ideas--well except for the "sweat thru it" !! as for the catnip--how do you use it? isn't it like a loose herb? do you sprinkle it on the plants? i wonder if it has to be "bounce" fabric softener? maybe something special in theirs---since i sprayed it has been much much better but i know they will return and i will be ready!!!! with my bounce, my catnip, my deet, my skin so soft --and my short sleeves and shorts!! thanks all for the great ideas--

There is a Cutter brand repellant in a blue spray bottle. It has picaradin or something like that. Cutter Advanced, I think. This doesn't work as well as deet but doesn't have that awful smell and oily feel. It works pretty well for relatively short trips out -- reapply for longer ones (Deet lasts longer). I suggest you give it a try. Personally, I have never found the Skin-so-soft or the Bounce remadies to work.
jo

the man fixing my gutters mentioned cutter too--thanks for reminding me!

I think if you grow it in there it keeps them out and there is also a recipe to make Bug stuff for your skin to keep them away. I will try to get the link.

oh--thanks --here i was going to sprinkle it around!!!!

Oh, and everybody around here has citronella plants, too. My dad swears by them and has them all over his deck. They do work. He says that his "Spicy Globe" basil plants keep the skeeters away, too.

i have heard of citronella oil and candles but not the plants--i will have to look for them

Citronella is a type of annual geranium(here). We planted lots of them last year and still got bitten even when sitting near them. Sounded like a good idea at the time, and I do like the plants...

oh those nasty mosquitos!! we have to work to get the good bugs or plants to our garden and then work to get the bad ones out---

I feel your pain, as someone who mosquitos love. One thing that is good is that you are having someone work on your gutters. That is one of those places that they breed. Making sure your gutters are cleaned out and that there are no spots where water can pool addresses a big problem most people miss. The other is to walk around your neighborhood, or at least your block to see if you see any places that water might pool that you and your neighbors might address. Neighbor's gutters are always a problem as you are dependent on them to keep them maintained. Immediately adjacent neighbors might be amenable to you sprinkling some BT bits in their gutters if they aren't having them regularly maintained (my one neighbor has had part of his foundation sink a bit and his one gutter now flows away from the downspout which is just ideal breeding ground/water).

Other than what people have already mentioned, try wearing light colored clothes, as this is supposed to attract them less. There are also some clothes that you can buy that are treated with a substance (I think it is always permethrin, but I'm not 100% sure) that deters the little buggers. The Asian tiger mosquitos we have here at this time of year will bite right through my shirt even if I'm wearing bug spray on my exposed skin.

Whatever you do, avoid any bug zappers as they only make things worse because they kill insects that prey on mosquitos more than they do mosquitos. Anything you can do to entice dragonflies to your yard might be a longer term solution as they are probably the best mosquito predator out there. Ironically, while standing water can be a place for mosquitos to bread, having a water feature with some solid perching plants (rushes, reeds, grasses) and sunny rocks can attract dragonflies to your yard. You can use a fountain to keep the water moving to prevent mosquitos breeding, as their larva depend on placid water surfaces.

Good luck!

Dave

It isn't on his website anymore but I know he said that it was 10x stronger than DEET. Definitely get gutters fixed too, I wish my parents fixed mine (I'm only 15 not a 30 year old unemployed male living in basement).

build a barn for the barn swallows. they come back every year. i dont have a problem with mosquitoes. now im getting nests on the house and over the garage. they will fly in front of you and come out when the mower starts. I dont know how you encourage them, but here they keep multiplying and coming back every year.

Here in southern Alabama they bite through my clothes!!

I wish I could have birds in my yard but this fudging cat won't stay the heck out. Does anybody know a way to keep cats the heck out of my yard. He climbs over my fence and scratches up my wood shed.

i would like to attract dragon flies and birds--we have an inground pool with a spa that overflows into it like a little waterfall--the birds drink from the spa and some dragon flies do make their way to the pool spa area--i am getting more butterflies now too--i found a gutter completely blocked by old wet leaves and it was filled with ants!! so i am having a leaf guard put on that side of house where the big tree is--also will watch the gutters better--thank you all for your sympathy, advice, and vast knowledge--maybe it is true that misery loves company because it makes me feel a little better knowing you all are frustrated by mosquitos too!!!

http://www.mosquitobarrier.com/

Here's a link to a product that I read about on one of these threads. Whoever said they used it claimed it worked for 2 months very well....its a garlic spray.

I also read that if you put a tablespoon of olive oil in any standing water it prevents mosquitos from laying their eggs.

Take a 2 oz bottle of garlic powder. Put in a mg fertizer cannister. Add about a cup or two of water. Put lid on. Shake well. Attach to hose. Spray grass. Kills mosquitos! May chase away lizards for awhile....but no mosquitos.

We need to do our yard again. We have had alot of rain and the mosquitos are horrible. Good luck.

Oh whatever you do....don't mix Deet with sunburn lotion....esp on kids...can be dangerous. Heard it on the news!

Cutter smells pretty good for a mos. repellent. Put a bat house up to attract bats they'll eat your mosquitos.

Bats can carry rabies, and in Texas we have had problems with rabid bats biting people. Even had a death near Houston last year from rabies. A rabid bat flew into a boy's open bedroom window! It bit him and he died. They waited a month to take him to the Dr. It wasn't instantaniously. If you google Humble boy bat you can get the story. I will try to find a link.

The thing is that rabies symptoms don't show up for 1-3 mos, and by then it's too late.

I personally would stay away from bats.

This message was edited Aug 1, 2007 1:31 PM

They had no screens on the windows? Did they not take the kid to a doctor??? People don't die right away from rabies. You sure that's not an urban legend???
We don't have a rapid bat problem here. Maybe a rapid dog or raccoon now and again. But the bats sure have kept the bug population down.

won't the garlic repel the bats though? oops, im thinking of vampires, but i suppose mosquitos are little vampires. Maybe a stake or a pin through their heart.

I still vote for Cutter Advanced. I keep a spraybottle at each of our doors and give my arms and legs a quick spray whenever I plan to be out for more than 5 minutes. I also spray the back of my hand and lightly rub that against my face.

I have tried most of the alternatives and they're just not effective enough (or at all). And I don't like the oily feel of Deet. But this picaradin formulation works for me in hot steamy Georgia (complete with two ponds and numerous natural puddles).

Mosquitos are a fact of like and are part of nature whether or not we like it. As noted before, natural predators like amphibians and dragonflies are certainly helpful. I don't know about bats - would tend to think they're ok, but just not in my experience.

jo

Flowerjen,

No they didn't have a screen on the window. Yes they did take him to the Dr. However they waited a month to take him to the Dr. He was hospitalized, and still died. It was last year. It was on our local news station. It is not an urban legend.

Here is a link to fox news http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,195339,00.html

Bats can be very dangerous, as well as any other animal that can carry rabies.

Len123,
Not sure if garlic will repel bats or not, but we don't have any trouble with vampires in the area. There is a new TV show coming on tho Moonlight I think it's called.
I still think the garlic is more effective for mosquitos. Pins thru the heart of the mosquito takes longer. If I'm that close to them I just as well smack em dead! LOL.


This message was edited Aug 1, 2007 1:26 PM

They waited a WHOLE MONTH!!!!!!!!!!! What were they thinking, how horrible.

I know! The article said that he wasn't sure if he had gotten bit, and the symtoms don't show up for 1-3 mos.

I'm the worst for running kids to ER, as matter of fact I tell my grandchildren, please be safe, I am tooooo tired to go to ER!! But this was one time they should have taken him in immediately!

They have found bats in the eaves or underhangs of school buildings in the area as well.

People should not touch bats for that very reason. It can also apply to squirrels or other animals, even cats and dogs, and hampsters.

I'd not worry much about bats and rabies, other than the usual cautions against handling any wild animal. The first case of bat rabies was reported in the 1950s and there have been less than 20 cases reported since. When they do contract rabies, it is usually the "dumb" kind where they become lethargic and can't fly, rather than the "aggressive" mad dog form. All that said, bats aren't as good a mosquito predator as many claim, as they prefer bigger insect prey. A nice juicy moth is much more attractive than an itty bitty mosquito, which comprise a very small proportion of insect-eating bat diets based on examination of stomach contents. Dragonflies are much better mosquito predators if you are going to make an effort (not that you have to only try to attract one).

planolinda, I've recommended this site's products to several people already, and we all love it. Their personal repellent really works, and it's all natural. Check item #4004. Item # 4002 has a different name, but is the same product, more volume for multi use as an indoor household spray. Hope this helps. http://www.cedarcide.com/ProductGuide.asp

once again thank you for all the advice--i never would have dreamed there would be so many great ideas!!!