Mosquito control

[jdbower]

I live in a swamp in NJ - needless to say mosquitoes are an issue these days. Other than aerial spraying of DDT (and it's getting tempting!), anyone have any better solutions?

Lowes has a bug zapper that seems to be designed for mosquitoes, a traditional bug zapper is non-targeted and would probably kill more moths or even beneficial insects than mosquitoes. The down side is getting power to the places that need it plus a fairly small coverage area.

I've been interested in some of the propane-based traps, especially the cordless model, but there are quite a few bad reviews (especially of the Mosquito Magnets) saying they only last a season and they're quite pricey for a few months of operation. Maybe a SkeeterVac is a bit better built? I've noticed a lot of cross pollination in the reviews, some hate one and recommend the other as flawless so it's hard to say if these are legitimate or just poor maintenance coupled with high sales volumes and the way the Internet amplifies issues.

Citronella based products are nice when we're out there for extended periods, but most of the time it would take us longer to light them than we'd be outside.

DEET sprays have a similar issue, we'd use them frequently during the day and they do nasty things to the plastics I'm always working with. Besides, repellents don't have the satisfaction of seeing the volume of corpses generated

Some cheaper but more passive traps include buckets of water with soap and WD-40 to use as toxins and to break the surface tension - the mosquitoes land in the buckets to lay eggs and drown. I don't see these as being too effective where I am since there is so much standing water the overall population wouldn't have much of an impact.

Soon I hope to attract some predators using a bat house, I wonder if I can attract dragonflies... Too bad the breeding grounds aren't large or stable enough to support fish.

I've got two areas I'd like to protect, probably 0.75-1 acre each. While I'm not too price conscious on the solution as long as it works well, spending $1400 for a season (two cordless Mosquito Magnets) may be a little excessive but if they'll last a good long time I would be willing to invest the money.

 

[zeuspaul]

Mosquito Bits WILL KILL mosquito larva in standing water. It is a bacteria...not a poison. It may not be practical or cost effective in your situation. At minimum I would use one of the propane units. I can't help with which one as it has been a few years since I researched them.

Perhaps a combination of breeding control (Bits) and one of the propane units. Maybe the county vector control would provide the bits free of charge??

Mosquito Bits (selected at random)
Mosquito Bits 30oz

Zeuspaul

 

[LMTC]

From a post I made last year:

"Re: the mosquitoes, just began using Mosquito Barrier 2-1/2 weeks ago. So far it is making a believer out of us. Sprayed app. an acre around the house. Normally we are under siege by now (pond 200' away, woods 250'), and the front and back porch are "mosquitoless" so far."

We applied this stuff (which has a powerful garlic odor on application, but the odor soon dissipates) twice, app. 8 weeks apart. Based on when we started seeing skeeters again I probably should have done it at 6 weeks. It had a profound positive impact, all be eliminating them in the area around the house where I sprayed.

 

[jdbower]

Thanks, I don't know how I missed the Mosquito Barrier in my previous search. Not only does it fit the bill of long term effectiveness but it's also an excuse to get a sprayer

I'll probably keep an eye out for propane units as well, many places around here are sold out but I think I saw one at Costco once and Lowes sells Blue Rhino stuff so they may have the SkeeterVac.

 

[N80]

I've heard that large quantities of diesel fuel dumped in the swamp works.

Of course, there's no way to justify such measures........with the price of diesel being what it is!

 

[jdbower]

Of course, there's no way to justify such measures........with the price of diesel being what it is!

It's real easy to justify when your neighbors have an external heating oil tank

 

[BTDT]

From a post I made last year:

"Re: the mosquitoes, just began using Mosquito Barrier 2-1/2 weeks ago. So far it is making a believer out of us. Sprayed app. an acre around the house. Normally we are under siege by now (pond 200' away, woods 250'), and the front and back porch are "mosquitoless" so far."

We applied this stuff (which has a powerful garlic odor on application, but the odor soon dissipates) twice, app. 8 weeks apart. Based on when we started seeing skeeters again I probably should have done it at 6 weeks. It had a profound positive impact, all be eliminating them in the area around the house where I sprayed.

Did you have to order it from them or can/did you buy it local?

 

[LMTC]

I ordered online. I found it on Amazon for less $$ than the company site. I think I spent app. $20/qt buying a lot of 6 qts. That means $40-$60 a season for really good (not complete, but really good) mosquito relief. We also saw zero ticks after using the stuff....usually find a few.

 

[czechsonofagun]

This is somewhat related. Overseas the traditional tree for the pub garden - yes, we have pubs with outdoor tables for centuries - is horse chestnut (buck eye if you are from Ohio)

There are two reasons except the obvious nice shade. The chestnut emits some kind of a smell birds and bugs dont like - and you can sit in nice shade with your beer safe from mosquitos and bird's dropping bombs on you.

My favored pub:

 

[rox]

czech,
Are those pics from Czechloslavia? I had to go to Google to ge the right spelling of Czechloslavia, sorry my copu paste made this post be in bold. Ayway that sure does look like a nice pub and i had no idea about the tree keeping mosquitos away, that is pretty interesting.