Mosquitos! Please HELP!!!!!!!!!

[Worth1]

You all may think it is a joke but the kerosene lanterns work.
Get the big railroad ones that extinguish if tipped over.
While sitting outside I can set one down by my legs and won't get bothered.
Worth

[clkeiper]

I don't think the lanterns are a joke, ... do they leave a bit of fumes from the burning of the oil? if so... I would be having a headache.

One of my boys has a mosquito repeller. it uses butane cartridge and a citronella "fume pad" makes very little noise and you just set it near you it is supposed to be for camping/hunting. look in a sports dept. for them

[b54red]

Any mosquito repellent with a DEET content above 25% will work. I use Deep Woods Off, Cutters or Repel which is probably the cheapest and most effective from Walmart. There is no advantage to using one that is 100% DEET which is overkill and expensive.

I have to use a repellent every afternoon now that we have had a good dose of rain and the mosquitoes are really showing up in big numbers. I even have to use it in the morning if I go out too early. One of my old fishing buddies once told me I was the best mosquito repellent there was because if I was in the boat all the mosquitoes would come to me and leave him alone.

Bill

[oakley]

Whenever i have any infestation i try recommended attacks, usually a few. Then often
research again a few times. Sometimes a combination works. Starting with the least
toxic, environmentally friendly.

When i inherited pantry pests from the previous homeowners i have no clue what ended
up working because i had a carnival going on in there...all sorts of voodoo. Never went
toxic. Even though the home was clean i think the cause was birdseed. Took out a lower
shelf and found hints and bits of seed. (i store mine outside in a latched cooler)

Keeping a healthy bird population can keep down insects, then the downside is seed
attracts squirrels and rodents that cary ticks and such. Trying to balance populations by
not using too many toxins gets complicated and time-consuming but often worth it in
the long run.

Mosquitos will breed/lay in a thimble of standing water. We just had 24 hrs of rain but
i've tossed the 'bits' around the yard last week and i've got a dunk soaking to spray
today...
I've had just one mosquito bite this year. Had not applied my essential oil spray. It
happened in my car. Must have picked one up in the city having the windows open.
Horrible mosquitos in the city. All those flat roofs hold standing water. Huge problem
since you can't control the neighboring buildings.
This weekend will be really bad after this rain and warm temps. This is hilarious but
very effective and popular in Brooklyn backyards...along with a favorite skin oil or spray
it does work well. No air circulation in most backyards. Skeeterbag,
http://skeeterbag.com

I don't have one but friends swear by it. Most just DIY their own.

[GrowingCoastal]

Years ago there used to be a ditch at roadside here. The ditch would dry up in summer and there would be no mosquitoes. The city upgraded the street , added a sewer and did away with the ditch. Now we get mosquitoes. The sewer has a barrel deep well in it that holds water that allows mosquitoes to breed there. Go figure.

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by peebee

Possible you have a vitamin B deficiency, Salt? I am also a bug magnet; a flea will pick me over a dog nearby, if it had a choice. Many years ago I read that people like us "smell" different to these blood-sucking bugs and they like us for our low level of the B-complex vitamins. I used to take a supplement daily when I lived in Hawaii and I must say during that time I rarely got bitten. Nowadays I only need to take them during the summer months here, it's not humid where I live now so the mosquito problem isn't so bad. But fleas still find me if I'm not careful.

Peebee, I agree about the vitamin B deficiency. I'm one of the people who cannot take vitamin B supplements because they make my feet and lower legs swell. I have tried twice taking vitamin B pills because my doctors suggested it and it always ends the same way. It takes days for the swelling to go down after I stop taking the pills.

Luckily, our local HEB grocery store has coupons in the spring for Cutter repellent that cuts the price to .98 cents per can.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Peebee, I agree about the vitamin B deficiency. I'm one of the people who cannot take vitamin B supplements because they make my feet and lower legs swell. I have tried twice taking vitamin B pills because my doctors suggested it and it always ends the same way. It takes days for the swelling to go down after I stop taking the pills.

Luckily, our local HEB grocery store has coupons in the spring for Cutter repellent that cuts the price to .98 cents per can.

You might want to try the under the tongue vitamin B12 supplement.

Wow that is a great price on Cutters!

Bill

[MissS]

I am going to have to try vitamin B. The mosquitoes and yellow jackets just love me. Put me in a crowd and all of the insects will gravitate to me leaving everyone else undisturbed. I am allergic to Cutters and Deep Woods off, so those are not an option for me. I don't know if it is the Deet or some other ingredient in these products. I have tried a few non-deet products which work OK, but are not so good at repelling the chiggers.

Thanks for the tip!

[oakley]

Must try the B. I have a neighbor that is a magnet for mosquitoes. We would have her
over more often but she talks too much and drinks and that makes her talk more....a
tradeoff.

I have lanterns. Use them often but the town freaks during dry weather. Not even a
candle on a dining table outside. Can't really cary them around at work. Through Central
Park,

Some of the stronger deet stuff you can apply to a bit of cloth and pin onto your sock or
shoe. The DIY herbals are less irritating. Usually need to experiment to find one that
works.

[upcountrygirl]

Thanks, again, everyone. Worth, I've already dug out some kerosene lamps that we had stored in the barn. I've ordered some mosquito dunks. What confused me the most is we hadn't had any rain in over a week when they were eating us alive! All I could figure out was there was some standing water somewhere that I had missed and the eggs had been laid and hatched. We had rain the first 3 days of this week. We've been mostly sunny the last 2 days. No mosquitos. Go figure.

I also wanted to say thanks for the support. I know many of my posts wind up with some kind of error, whether it be repeat words or misspelled words. My children are 5, 4, and soon to be 3. Mama seldom gets through a post without one of them speaking to me. I always listen to them. I want to them to know I will always listen to them so they will know they can talk to Mama about what's important to them when they're older just as they do now.

[clkeiper]

being an attentive good mom is more important than spelling and/or repeated words. ask your questions errors and all .... there are far worse worries than those.