Mosquitoes, good method to get rid of them?

[ning]

Bats.
Lots of bats.

The deck that rings the second floor of our house has a cosmetic 2x12 which is about an inch or so past most of the other wood on the house, makes an ideal nesting area for bats, and every evening at dusk a couple hundred bats come zooming out. Despite the meadow adjacent to our property basically being a wetland half the year, and the numerous local ponds, we can be out and about without repellent and only encounter the occasional mosquito.

A zillion frogs helps, too, as do dragonflies, but I don't know how to encourage them, they just spontaneously generate around here.
I looked into getting mosquito fish for our pond and a guy looked at the pond water and said "they'd die in here, nothing for them to eat".

 

[atsah]

I have them bad here, when there is sun or in the evening. I have to plan my day accordingly.. I have several bat houses that help..

 

[Jstpssng]

In stagnant water a tiny amount of fuel will greatly stunt breeding but then it is now to late, next year.

I’ve been reading up on the life cycles and there may be some benefit this year, also. They overwinter from the adults hibernating in wood debris or from eggs laid in water. I have a couple of holes which I had dug to collect spring runoff so that I didn’tneed to carry it so far for my garden and livestock; usually they are dry by June but not this year. I’m going to try using diesel to cover it but not as you suggest; my situation is different than the OP’s and the diesel will run my tractor to cover the water with the same dirt that came out of the holes.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Sharn Jean has a bunch of different herbs planted around the patio; like Basil, Rosemary, sage, lavender, Camomile and some others. It doesn't eliminate them completely, but it really helps. She also uses a spray can "fogger".

 

[tjkubota93]

Permethrin which is a offshoot of the chrysanthemum flower and a Stihl Backpack Fogger but don't spray the stream just the reeds and standing water area. I have used this for 20 years and it works. This setup will cost $600 plus $100 for the materials.

There are some "garlic spray" too and I think that needs to be applied every few days - the permethrin lasts two weeks.

I use my regular backpack blower (shindaiwa) with a 3/8 hole drilled in the end where it blows out. Stick the end of my spray tank in it and it's a fogger. I have used talstar in the past. Use permethrin this year. I wear a mask when I do it. The same kind you wear to paint cars. It knocks a dent in them for sure. Just did it yesterday, having people over Saturday for kids birthday.

 

[GCoco]

I’m in Louisiana and I use Talastar with an insect growth regulator [IGR) every month from March thru October. I use a Stihl backpack fogger and spray the landscaping around the house and any trees/bushes out to 100 feet from the house. Then I spray the grass around the house. I have very few and each application might cost $5.

 

[tjkubota93]

I’m in Louisiana and I use Talastar with an insect growth regulator [IGR) every month from March thru October. I use a Stihl backpack fogger and spray the landscaping around the house and any trees/bushes out to 100 feet from the house. Then I spray the grass around the house. I have very few and each application might cost $5.

What igr do you use?

 

[Motorboatin]

I have 5 acres in the woods and this stuff works. It is safe for your family and animals but mosquitos hate it

 

[/pine]

We've had a wetter than normal Winter and a typical wet Spring...something I noticed this year is an abundance of dragonflies and fewer mosquitoes as wet as it has been...

The best long term solution is to get rid of any standing water etc...(older corrugated culverts make prime breeding grounds in drier weather)...

A short term solution to swarming mosquitoes is a fogger...

A quick and easy fogger can be made from any small gas engine like a push mower...all you need is a small tank (like off an old trimmer etc.) a valve and a fuel line (steel or copper etc.)...for 1/4" fuel line drill a 1/4" hole in the top of the muffler...mount the tank up on the mower handle...run the fuel line from the tank to the hole in the muffler with the valve close to the tank...
...mix some citronella oil with some kerosene or burned motor oil etc.. etc...and fill the tank...run the mower until the muffler is good and hot and crack the valve...instant fog machine...!

On a mower it makes it easy to fog under porches and along hedges etc...

mosquitoes can exist in just wet leaves...!

 

[JamesHW]

It was very wet everywhere on our land my most recent visit this spring and the mosquitos were prolific walking back on the trails near wet areas (not swamps, rather ephemeral woodland ponds located in our woods). We did not get a chance to put down Bti dunks (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis) that kill the mosquito larvae (they need to get dropped into the wet areas in the early spring and our town hands them out for free). Around the house sitting outside in the evening they were not bad at all for some reason. It may be the prevailing wind was pushing them back into the woods, maybe the bats and swifts doing their job. When it is bad we had some success, also with a box fan that we used to blow mosquitos away from where we were sitting behind the house. That and some home made essential oil spray or store brought Buzz Away sprayed on our exposed skin keeps mosquitos from landing. Out in the woods I spray deet on my legs and the back on my hat and that keeps most nasties at bay. So far this year they have not been bad despite the wetness of the spring.