Mosquitoe Replleent funny story !!

I grew up in Iowa and the Bats were everywhere, We lived along a river and then had a large pond on our property,So there were thousands of them, I would ride my bike home at night and I had to go accross a bridge, I would bend over and lay my head on the handlebars so I could try to avoid them, They say they wont hit you but they come way to close!! I every house I knew they some how would get in.. I know they are very benifical but I still dont like them, They scare the heck out of me.. Megan O

I had an episode with bats trapping me in a river cove when I was 18, in upstate NY. I screamed bloody murder until my BF came & got me. lolololol Now I think they're kind of cute & enjoy them.

Last time we got one in the house, up in NY, I held up a bath towel in front of me and it flew into it & hooked its claws. I then dropped it carefully on the floor, folded it up inside it & took it outside to let it go - it worked beautifully.

The other night Phil and I sat on the deck enjoying the cooler temperature after a short rain storm. There were dozens of bats flying around and they were fascinating to watch. We have noticed that there seem to be fewer mosquitoes this year (still more than enough sand gnats though) and maybe we can thank the bats for the reduction in the skeeter numbers.

We have many bats. I thougt about putting bat boxes up but I see them all the time right at dusk going out to hunt so No need for the boxes I think.

Ardesia you ever drive over the 170 bridge at dusk? I can remember the name but the big one on the way to Southern Beaufort county. One night I drove that and thousands of bats were flying out from under the bridge. It was right out of national geographic.

How cool! Now I will have to find an excuse to drive over the Broad River Bridge at dusk and look for bats.

Once, when kayaking under the little causeway bridge to our neighborhood and the tide was pretty high and we actually had to duck under the steel beams. You could see something unusual under there, now I know what it was. Yikes, and it was close quarters too.

I've noticed and felt that skeeters aren't the problem here - it's those dang sand gnats!! At first I thought they were a new breed of skeeters but these are more fierce. They leave welts and itch for hours!!! They love the face.

All I have to say is you needed to be around me this spring at the baseball fields next to the swamp. No see'ums on a huge scale. It was incredible.

Didn't they just eat you up?? They love repellant

It literally drives me crazy to hear the knats buzzing around my ears when I am working in the yard...so the other day I went and got the headphone style earplugs I got for my 15 yr old when his big brother took him to a concert and slapped those babys on...worked pretty well - at least I didn't have to hear them buzzing in my ears....

I was pretty lucky this year in that the citronella plants I planted last year actually overwintered well (out of a dozen only one bit the dust) Lowes put them on sale last year for a 25 cents so I bought em up figuring even if they die it will be worth it...I have also round them very easy to root from tip cuttings...I love the scent when I mist them at nite around the back deck...I was probably lucky in that they were all in pretty much sheltered positions by the GH and around the back deck area...

You know what works half way decent in the back yard? Those coleman bug killers. The type with the propane tank. They actually do a decent job if you turn them on a head of going outside. Only problem is if you get to many people outside the bugs go after the people. The whole thing works by putting CO2 off which attracts the bugs into a trap. Works until the people are putting off more CO2 then the bug killer.

Core - OMG LMAO thinking of a commercial where the bugs are trying to decide "which way do I go...which way do I go" so basically your saying if your the silent type you'll get by fine...thats cool...give me a drink and I'll be quiet...LOL

i grow tansy & a bunch of tops pulled off and rubbed on your skin does a pretty good job of making the skeeters go away.
Foggy

Ok, updating my 7/27 post above with the results of my 'Cactus Juice' mosquito repellant. And the winner is......Cactus Juice!!!

www.cactusjuicetm.com

Yep, it is, by far, the best product I've tried, and I've tried many of the DEET products, Skin-so-soft, many natural products etc. It really works. Not 100%, but darn close. I ordered both the spray and lotion with sunscreen, and found the lotion worked much better than the spray (easier to get full coverage, maybe?). And both have a wonderful, natural lemon smell so if you put it on early in the day, its not annoying like Skin-So-Soft. Hope it works for everybody!

Now that I see the bottle I know somewhere around here sells that. remember it a check out counter. Hmmm. If I run into again I might give it a try. I too do not like the feeling skin so soft leaves behind.

If you look at their website, I believe they list, by state, their vendors, FYI.

Ok !! I'm going to try the cactus juice, you sold me on it.

Further update on Cactus Juice.....over the last few days, my opinion that the sunscreen/repellent lotion is more effective than the straight spray has been reinforced. Not sure why, but with the spray-on without the sunscreen, I have to apply it several times to get it to really work. The lotion with sunscreen worked great with only one application, and seems to repel even better. Buy both and see what you think....