I have cabin fever. Not because of weather or sickness but because of MOSQUITOS. We had a huge amount of rain in the last two weeks and they're terrible. I have the mosquito coils, Raid backyard fogger, jungle OFF and a flyswater that looks like it's been in a knife fight. The local health authority has tested and found west nile virus in every neighborhood with nine cases in one of the local hospitals. I haven't been going to the shop to work on the A because they will swarm me to the point their in my nose and mouth. Screw that. The only consolation is, I'm kinda inbetween being caught up and waiting on parts. Anybody have any home remedies for this..I feel like OFF is my new after shave.
Paul Harvey and others have been advertising something called the Mosquitto Magnet... From the ads I've heard and read, *****ers are attracted to CO2--what our body gives off. The Magnet releases CO2 and acts like a bait for them. Look around on-line. Natrually, they aren't cheap, but if I had that many confirmed cases of West Nile around me, I'd get one. Also, while it probably won't do much this year, I'd put up bat houses on my property. Those little ****ers eat a ton of mosquittos every night. I don't know how long it takes for them to move in once you get the houses up, though. Again, should be able to find info about Bat Houses on-line. -Brad
Now, this isn't a complete solution, but every bit helps. We have a number of bat houses that I've put up around the property, it seems that the guys living in them have kept the mosquitos managable. Check out this link. http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0757/
It was real bad in northern Ontario where I grew up, for mosquitos. There was no West Nile Virus at the time, but the damn mosquitos would eat you alive. My uncle (the one who never worked and taught me to drink whiskey and play the fiddle) always kept about half a dozen smudge pots going whenever he had to work outside the house or in the garage. An old steel pail with 2" of sand in the bottom, a scoop of live coals out of the kitchen stove, and 4 or 5 handfulls of green gr*** on top of the coals. Sometimes we couldn't breathe either, but it did keep the mosquitos away).
I've heard mixed reviews on the effectivness of the Mosguito Magnet type things. They do work though. I've been using Off Skintastic for a long time now, and it works well for me. Whichever bugspray you use, make sure it has DEET in it(unless your alergic to it). Bugsprays without it are pretty worthless Sometimes if the bugs get bad, I'll let the car idle in the garage with the choke on for awhile. yeah, it adds CO2 and isn't the healthiest, but the other fumes keep the bigs out great. Bats rock. a single bathouse can eat thousands of mosquitos a night.
You can make a bigtime backyard fogger by tapping into the exhaust on your mower/lawn tractor and dripping/injecting the fogging liquid into the hot exhaust.
You haven't seen mosquitos until you have moved to Minnesota! They are the size of small birds up here! LOL
I can't help but wonder......why would I want to put a "Mosquito Magnet" in my yard? Seems to me that would attract '*****ers from all around you, leaving the neighbor's yards clear. Wouldn't I want to put one in my neighbor's yard? Roger
a fan works good, mosquitos are too weak to fight fan wind, get a big hog barn fan (any fan works) & they cant get near it (front or rear) or their wings get ripped off. sometimes at night if i shut the doors & i have bugs flying around the garage, i shut off all the lights, turn on a regular box fan & lay the trouble light behind it, the bugs head for the light & get ****ed through the fan coming out in rough shape. ---- wind is what i fight them all with.
Bat house, bee fogger and fans are all good. Citronella candles are also helpful. Smoking a cigar will work. Remove all standing water. Mosquitos also don't like direct sunlight and usually spend the daylight hours on the underside of plant leaves. Remove as much foliage as you can.
Cutters makes a product called "bug free backyard" that can work. I find that you need to be pretty liberal with it. We got em real bad here in rural MI too. If you have a pond of any kind with standing water, be sure to toss in several 25cent goldfish. They love the eggs. I also noticed something wierd a few weeks back...the neighbor's truck was runnin, had a lil bit of condensation coming from the exhaust, and the *******s were swarming it.
i have a bug spray , its from off , dont know tha name but it comes in a small blue punk contaner . but it is 100% deet. it works like magic. i was in the middle of the everglades for a week camping , didnt get bit once. and also eat bananas , when you eat them for some reason , they stay away from you.
I also have a can of military issue bug spray. A**** the warnings were to apply ONLY to clothes, not directly to skin. Re-apply to clothing after every three washes. And if respiratory arrest occurs, move victim to open air and seek medical attention immediately. I'm affraid to use it. -Brad
Seriously if you go without a shower for a couple days they won't come around you nor will anyone else but it works
we used the smudge buckets with oak lump charcoal and fresh mesquite chips on it- and the neighbors asked why I was always barbecuing! smells good,keeps the critters away. also a good excuse to hold meat over fire and drink beers.
My wife just reminded me that we used to use Avon's Skin-So-Soft to keep the *****ers away. It worked, but I can't stand scented anything.
takegarlic tablets. once in your system good they will not bother you. they'll still be in your yard but they won't bother you as they hate the smell of garlic. i'm from south east alabama. i've seen clusters of them that could carry away a dog. oh the down side to the garlic tabs is it doesn't take long for you to work up a real funk so you may be showering more than usual or just stinking more than usual your choice. DEET is bad news. all you guys using it and getting it on your skin i hope you like skin cancer cause it's gonna give it to ya. old guy at a real swampy junk yard i used to frequent used the hell out of it for years and had more skin cancer than anyone i've ever seen...ken....
Fans are a good idea. make working in the heat nicer too. $9.99 Kmart box fans work great. But these things work good too http://www.mosquitorepellent.com/ We went camping and fishing down in Everglades City/Chokoloskee (GF's sister and brother in law have a lot down there) and everyone had the table top models, no bites, no *****ers buzzing, nothing... even had dinner outside. This was in the Everglades... Also, get rid of the tires that hold water, *****eres love them because they can stay right there in the shade while they lay more eggs. put "dunks" in the ponds and ditches and standing water around too. We have a ditch behind the house and they work.
I thought I had it bad, but I've got nothing like what you guys are saying! Good luck getting rid of those *******s! Pike
I think this is the synthetic chrysanthemum stuff similar to the bug powder that William S. Burrows was referencing in "Naked Lunch". "Bug powder, Bill?"
luckily the *****er haven't been too bad here yet, been too hot i think and dry. i had a large bug zapper out out last year, takes care of the bugs and cuts their numbers, the constant zap kept a neighbor awake, so i took it down b/c they asked nicely, i would only run it if i was outside til 9 pm or so. guess you can clear up to a acre with them. otherwise lately, i just been keeping the doors closed and i run my large blower from a old house furnace, blasts the hell out of the place. they can get big enough here to whack with a 2x4 sometimes
i ****en hate *****ers here's a trick i picked up after a few beers last weekend. when a *****er lands on you, wait a second, hold your breath for a couple seconds. their fang or whatever the **** it is they **** your blood out with will get stuck in your pores. it's a sure kill.
Take A Bounce Dryer Sheet And Loop It Thru A Beltloop. If You Are Wearing A Hat Put One Thru Th Adjuster In The Back Also.
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