Opinion on Mosquito (bug) Traps

[HawkinsHollow]

Just finished screening my new screen porch. Very excited to use that space! We have a large 8' fold away door that opens onto this porch from the house. The ultimate goal would be to open that door wide in the mornings and evenings when the weather is cool enough. Even with a well screened porch is seems inevitable that a few mosquitos/bugs could sneak in. I would like to have some sort of trap/zapper that kills or traps bugs that so make their way into the porch. What sorts of things have you been successful with? They say zappers kill more beneficial bugs than mozzies, my answer to that is there are no beneficial bugs on my porch. Another thing I want to avoid is attracting more bugs towards the porch, so I am leery of the CO2 traps.

 

[old and tired]

We just never use the door that goes outside from the screen-in porch. Guest come to the front door, and walk through the kitchen to "enter" the screen-in porch.

And, yes, bug zappers will attract more bugs your way (and kill more beneficial insects). What you need to do is buy your neighbor one... also buy them a June bug trap, too (works the same, attracts more of them)

 

[HawkinsHollow]

We just never use the door that goes outside from the screen-in porch. Guest come to the front door, and walk through the kitchen to "enter" the screen-in porch.

And, yes, bug zappers will attract more bugs your way (and kill more beneficial insects). What you need to do is buy your neighbor one... also buy them a June bug trap, too (works the same, attracts more of them)

Well that is our main point of entry to the house, so that plan is not going to work.

I have thought about putting some traps outside and a bit away from the porch to see if that will keep them away. Maybe a citronella plant near each entrance to the porch. Maybe a breeder bucket with a mozzie dunk in it to kill them in the larval stage. Every little bit helps I think.

 

[ponytug]

I would just use a UV zapper in the screened area. As you wrote, by the time the bug is in there, it's in trouble. However, CO2 based traps are much better at attracting killing mosquitos.

I haven't used one in a zillion years, but there are electronic mosquito repellers. I used one for a bit, and it was ok. I suspect that they are better now, but at the time it was not worth the hassle to me as mosquitos usually avoid me. YMMV.

The Best Mosquito Control Gear for Your Patio or Yard

Create a bug-free bubble outdoors with these spatial insect repellents.

www.nytimes.com

All the best,

Peter

 

[EddieWalker]

We use a small Thermocell when we sit on the porch. It's not screened in, and the bugs were horrible before getting the Thermocell. This year I saw that they have replacement pads that also work on other small flying bugs. We've used it half a dozen times so far this year and it's working great!!!!

I think we've bought just about every type of bug zapper out there. At one time we had three of them all around us. It's fun to see them sparks when something gest zapped, but even with all three running 24/7, there was always a bug issue out there.

The Thermocell is the only thing that we've tried that actually works.

 

[old and tired]

Any standing water will attract them... Do you have gutters? Oak leaves soaking in water is like Viagra to them...

Get rid of old tires, buckets, anything that holds any water (like puddles).

 

[HawkinsHollow]

We use a small Thermocell when we sit on the porch. It's not screened in, and the bugs were horrible before getting the Thermocell. This year I saw that they have replacement pads that also work on other small flying bugs. We've used it half a dozen times so far this year and it's working great!!!!

I think we've bought just about every type of bug zapper out there. At one time we had three of them all around us. It's fun to see them sparks when something gest zapped, but even with all three running 24/7, there was always a bug issue out there.

The Thermocell is the only thing that we've tried that actually works.

We have used Thermocells on our old unscreened porch, and yes they work better than just about anything. I don't think we need to repel as much any more and especially not with something that relies so heavily on consumables. If we still didn't have a screen we would have one for sure.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Any standing water will attract them... Do you have gutters? Oak leaves soaking in water is like Viagra to them...

Get rid of old tires, buckets, anything that holds any water (like puddles).

I am usually pretty good about getting rid of water. Will be vigilant with that for sure.

 

[WinterDeere]

Being able to switch the light on/off from both sides of the door will go a long way toward preventing bugs from entering the screened-in porch, when you open the door. Just turn off the light before opening the door, then turn it back on from inside after you've passed thru.

One end of our house is a large sun room with full glass French doors, one of those being our main entrance to the house and another being the door our dog uses to go in/out several times every day. All summer long we are in the second-nature habit of switching off the light before opening one of those doors, and switching it right back on when we close the door, it really makes a huge difference.

Having a light outside the door, to which the bugs flock as soon as you turn off the light inside the porch, also helps keep them out when you open the door.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

X2 thermocell...and these work!