How do you control mosquitos?

[Beau Vine 54,207]

Shit's out of hand here.  

[Gil Bang 25,920]

I don't know how the fuck you guys tolerate that shit. I was just in FL and I got eaten alive

Fuck mosquitoes;  Viva San Diego!

[Hate 20,106]

We have a few citronella candles on the porch. If we are still getting bitten, a quick spray if Cutter Dry does the trick. We rarely get bitten using that method and we spend a lot of time on the porch.

[Chewbacca 7,767]

I live somewhere dry where we don't have a lot of mosquitos.

[Nueces River Rat 5,537]

Reason number # 2  I want to move up to the Hill Country.  These sons of bitches seem to get more immune to insect repellants year after year.

I know they are found everywhere, but they love standing water and humidity which is abundant down here on the coast.   At least up there in the Hill Country after big rains, everything drains quickly.  That's why I don't mind dry springs and summers as lone as we have the reserves in our water system and the Farmers get the rain when they need it (usually March)  so they can make a good crop.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8,817]

Fart

[justhookit 4,191]

Living at the coast we get a lot. If you are just wanting to control them around your house the Cutter Yard Guard works really well. I spray a little all over the yard but do a heavy perimeter around the porches and driveway. 

[SimonBolivar 10,957]

Does planting Citronella actually work? I thought it only worked when processed into candles or spray, but I've seen places online that recommend planting it.

[HiggyBaby 2,529]

Get rid of standing water and spray entire yard with this stuff. Works for us . Mosquitos don’t stray far.

[El Diablo 4,232]

Tasers, tear gas and riot gear.

[SimonBolivar 10,957]

I do miss the zapping sound for childhood of all sorts of flying insects meeting their maker. I know they still make them, but you don't really see them around much anymore.

Edited May 7, 2019 by SimonBolivar

[52-80 19,147]

by nurturing my spider garden

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,975]

2 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

Does planting Citronella actually work? I thought it only worked when processed into candles or spray, but I've seen places online that recommend planting it.

I think those plants aren't even the same as the stuff the candles are made of.

The Spartan Mosquito Eradicator supposedly works really well. It basically just attracts mosquitos and entices them to slurp up a yeasty liquid, which then explodes their stomachs.

[rage-a-holic 4,381]

Citronella and sonic blasters are snake oil remedies.

You want sprays with high levels of DEET or PMD. That's pretty much it.

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/06/30/623865454/a-guide-to-mosquito-repellents-from-deet-to-gin-and-tonic

https://entomologytoday.org/2017/02/17/mosquito-repellents-deet-and-pmd-sprays-most-effective-while-wearable-devices-disappoint-study-finds/

 

[Revolution512 1,487]

2 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

I think those plants aren't even the same as the stuff the candles are made of.

The Spartan Mosquito Eradicator supposedly works really well. It basically just attracts mosquitos and entices them to slurp up a yeasty liquid, which then explodes their stomachs.

You have to get these out early (Feb) in central Texas or they are useless. They work ok

[Austinvines 316]

I used the Spartan Eradicator last year and started in the Spring. They say two tubes will cover an acre, so I used two for my small suburban lot. It cut the mosquitos down significantly but there were still a few around.

It’s a pretty simple system. Large tube with holes in the top. There is a pouch with sugar, yeast and salt that dissolves once you add water and shake. The yeast eats the sugar and draws the mosquitos with co2. Not sure if the the mosquitos drink the fluid and it is the yeast that kills them or the salt.

My brother had good luck with the granulated garlic.

[Errestaurants 2,570]

My dad lived in a green belt with lots of standing water and mosquitos. He never got bit because he reeked of cigar smoke. He was the only person who could sit on the back porch without basically wearing deep woods off. Fucker wouldnt even have a shirt on. RIP DAD.

[Dolemite 143]

17 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

I don't know how the fuck you guys tolerate that shit. I was just in FL and I got eaten alive

Fuck mosquitoes;  Viva San Diego!

But the Ants..........

[Grippe 310]

Find all of the standing water around your house and put a dunk in it every month.  This includes the dead end of your gutters.

[South Austin 52,454]

Question on the yard sprays — do you have to reapply after all these heavy rains we’ve been getting?

[Kennythetiger 9,376]

17 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

I do miss the zapping sound for childhood of all sorts of flying insects meeting their maker. I know they still make them, but you don't really see them around much anymore.

Thank you for reminding me of my grandma's house in the summertime.  Her bug zapper was some gigantic blue contraption hanging from the tv antenna.  

[Guest Lobo]

First thing you do, and basically the last thing my two back neighbors ever think to do is remove standing water from your property.  Pooling happens in so many places your lazy ass never thinks to look.  

Second thing, is quit fucking planting bamboo!  Are you a fucking junior college student?  It's not a good look and it's basically a mosquito nightclub.  Why the fuck do Texans do this?  Even if you for some reason didn't get the memo that it's not pleasing to look at---the stalks not only provide little pools of water, but the mosquitoes really like it becuause it provides a very safe place to raise offspring due to the inherent protection of the stalk with narrow opening.  FUCKING-A with this shit! 

[crash_davis 23,101]

14 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

Citronella and sonic blasters are snake oil remedies.

You want sprays with high levels of DEET or PMD. That's pretty much it.

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/06/30/623865454/a-guide-to-mosquito-repellents-from-deet-to-gin-and-tonic

https://entomologytoday.org/2017/02/17/mosquito-repellents-deet-and-pmd-sprays-most-effective-while-wearable-devices-disappoint-study-finds/

 

only problem with deet is that shit melts plastic.  i'm worried that shit gets through the skin and into your body.

[crash_davis 23,101]

get rid of dead leaves in your yard.  if your yard a brown patch with dead leaves covering the ground, you will have a problem

[Bevo 13,568]

I've heard tiny transmitters work. I've only tried mind control. My wife wonders why I bite her plus sometimes I leave the backdoor open.

[Nueces River Rat 5,537]

My dad lived in a green belt with lots of standing water and mosquitos. He never got bit because he reeked of cigar smoke. He was the only person who could sit on the back porch without basically wearing deep woods off. Fucker wouldnt even have a shirt on. RIP DAD.

It’s kind of weird how mosquitos select who they want to feed on. There will be times my wife and I can walk outside and she will get swarmed and they won’t touch me and vice versa. They attack her more, but maybe it’s because she’s a beautiful Latina (no pics) and they prefer her blood over a white boy’s. I don’t know?

[Guest Lobo]

I used to think it was an old wives tale  but there are mountains of empirical data from all over the world that suggest that certain blood types are markedly more attractive to mosquitoes  

 

  O positive being chief among them

So if you’re O positive, Or have human blood of any other type in your body cut down your fucking bamboo you fucking child

[Dewey 3,286]

Does planting Citronella actually work? I thought it only worked when processed into candles or spray, but I've seen places online that recommend planting it.

Tried it over the last couple years, doesnt work for shit imo. Keep in mind I live on the coast, so maybe theres too many to deal with. Just another plant to water and watch die.

Spartan is the shit, from what I hear, I live in a tight spot, so.my porch and yard might get saved, but my neighbors would be living in mosquito hell.

If I do anything, a yard spray and douse myself when outside.

[El Diablo 4,232]

2 hours ago, Bevo said:

I've heard tiny transmitters work. I've only tried mind control. My wife wonders why I bite her plus sometimes I leave the backdoor open.

Peggy?

[NeverMarryAStripper 21,874]

2 hours ago, Nueces River Rat said:

It’s kind of weird how mosquitos select who they want to feed on. There will be times my wife and I can walk outside and she will get swarmed and they won’t touch me and vice versa. They attack her more, but maybe it’s because she’s a beautiful Latina (no pics) and they prefer her blood over a white boy’s. I don’t know?

If there is a single mosquito within a ten mile radius it will fly over and bite my daughter.

[RMac5 1,551]

I will take a hundred mosquitoes over a nasty fuckin chigger bite, they drive me insane.

[Beau Vine 54,207]

On 5/8/2019 at 9:42 AM, Nueces River Rat said:

It’s kind of weird how mosquitos select who they want to feed on. There will be times my wife and I can walk outside and she will get swarmed and they won’t touch me and vice versa. They attack her more, but maybe it’s because she’s a beautiful Latina (no pics) and they prefer her blood over a white boy’s. I don’t know?

I'm the canary in the coal mine for mosquitos.  They swarm me, and no one else gets bit.  And I'm not a beautiful Latina; ugly white boy.  I am O positive blood.

And yeah, we have a lot of bamboo (world's largest weed, I now realize) in the back of the yard.  And lots of dead leaves on the ground in front of that.  Ordered some of that Spartan stuff and will also spray once it quits raining.  

Edited May 10, 2019 by Beau Vine

[jimmyjazz 45,889]

11 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

Ordered some of that Spartan stuff and will also spray once it quits raining.  

So, August?

[ztejas 43,411]

[Nueces River Rat 5,537]

11 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

I'm the canary in the coal mine for mosquitos.  They swarm me, and no one else gets bit.  And I'm not a beautiful Latina; ugly white boy.  I am O positive blood.

And yeah, we have a lot of bamboo (world's largest weed, I now realize) in the back of the yard.  And lots of dead leaves on the ground in front of that.  Ordered some of that Spartan stuff and will also spray once it quits raining.  

And thank you for not posting your pics....  Just sayin from one fellow ugly white boy to another.  

When I was a kid, one of our neighbors had a whole bunch of bamboo  in their backyard to form sort of a natural fence to block their property from the alley and we used to play  in it.   I recall it felt cooler for some reason playing in bamboo grove vs just right outside of it in the open yard.  So now years later it makes sense why  mosquitos love it, especially once other moisture sources go away like during an extended dry period.   But those bamboo sticks made wonderful bottle rocket and chaser launchers for our firework wars.  lol.

In my immediate neighborhood we get a variety of mosquitos.   We get the traditional type which hatch during prolong periods of rain and standing water and attack you like crazy.  And then we get some that are just the drive by types which don't necessarily cause you to get the Off Deep Woods stuff and drown your skin with it., but you might be outside and one just lands on you and respond with a swat and get nice glob of blood on you.     I think those are the by product of living close to river.  

But I will say after doing some channel surfing yesterday during a down moment, I'm glad I don't have to deal with swarms of horseflies.  I was watching an episode of Naked and Afraid and those bastards cause a chic to drop out only three days.   They looked brutal as heck down there in Brazil. 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4,975]

When my wife was pregnant with our first we would go walking in the evening after I got home from work. There was a horsefly in this one spot that would always pretty much dive bomb her and bite her. Every single time. It didn't even notice I was there. So of course one day I tried swatting it with my hat. The horsefly laughed, the the wife was pissed I'd just whacked her with my hat.

[bernorange 8,359]

Where I live, the real problem is proximity to coastal wetlands.  When the tide comes in, mosquitos flourish in the wetlands.  I can keep my yard tidy (mowed, no leaves or debris collecting water) and it won't have any measurable impact on the mosquito population.  The only solution is to call the county and request that they spray.  For Galveston County you can find info here:

http://www.galvestoncountytx.gov/cs/mc/Pages/default.aspx

[retsevlys 408]

https://www.amazon.com/Zap-Bug-Zapper-Rechargeable-Super-Bright/dp/B01JBU4WE4/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=bug+racket&qid=1558105436&s=gateway&sr=8-3

[markstanco 12,571]

I got one of those spray systems at my lake house where they run tubes around the perimeter. It's a $300 service call a year and we now have minimal bugs. I think it sprays twice a day, not sure. But it works.

[Parliament 14,244]

Spray your yard with an approved insecticide, at the recommended interval.  (and after each rain, probably.)

Skeeters are weak fliers.  I think they can only travel 100 yards?  Whatever that distance is, do not worry about killing them out there.

Small piles of burning leaves, manure, garbage, etc around your house.  Sheeters hate smoke. 

[Tailgate 3,021]

I’ve heard good things from family with serious mosquito issues and the use of those propane devices that generate CO2.

[gsoda3 3,246]

all ya'll using cutter... upgrade to bifen XTS.  it's the active ingredient in all of those lawn sprays in industry strength concentrations.  you have to dilute it but all you do is put it in a sprayer, attach a garden hose, set the sprayer nozzle to the correct diluting setting and spray away.  you have to reapply every month or after every heavy downpour, but it works great.  we used to get killed just opening the door to let dogs out into the yard (and we don't have any standing water) but after we spray we can leave the door open and not even a fly will come in.

[Guest Lobo]

8 hours ago, Parliament said:

Spray your yard with an approved insecticide, at the recommended interval.  (and after each rain, probably.)

Skeeters are weak fliers.  I think they can only travel 100 yards?  Whatever that distance is, do not worry about killing them out there.

Small piles of burning leaves, manure, garbage, etc around your house.  Sheeters hate smoke. 

While you're setting small fires, be sure to burn down your neighbor's bamboo plantings.  How in the fuck is this still a thing when you're not a Rusted Root fan in your first duplex rental?  

[RDCanecutter 26,388]

Unless you adopt the young mosquito as a cub, you stand very little chance of ever training it.

[smwhorn 482]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/18/health/asian-tiger-mosquitoes-guangzhou-intl-hnk/?utm_medium=internal&utm_term=business-hp-test&utm_content=learn

Do mosquitoes have any useful purpose?  What calamities would occur if we kilt every mosquito on the planet (and on the moon and on Mars and other places)?

[Guest Lobo]

I still think some of you have either Saint Augustine grass or Bamboo in your yards.  Or both.  As well as standing water on top of myriad table covers, grill covers, hose boxes, tops of trash bins, playscapes, empty planters, etc.  As such, I hope your whole family dies of malaria.  

[Homercles 10,205]

On 5/19/2019 at 1:58 PM, gsoda3 said:

all ya'll using cutter... upgrade to bifen XTS.  it's the active ingredient in all of those lawn sprays in industry strength concentrations.  you have to dilute it but all you do is put it in a sprayer, attach a garden hose, set the sprayer nozzle to the correct diluting setting and spray away.  you have to reapply every month or after every heavy downpour, but it works great.  we used to get killed just opening the door to let dogs out into the yard (and we don't have any standing water) but after we spray we can leave the door open and not even a fly will come in.

Came to post this.  Buy a hose end sprayer from amazon and get a big bottle of Bifen...initial investment about $50.  Read the directions and set the sprayer to the max level the Bifen label recommends...I use Bifen IT and set the sprayer to 4 tablespoons per gallon  

 

Spray that shit up into trees (where mosquitoes nest), shrubs, the grass, 3’ up the side of your foundation, around doors, and into any standing water.  It’ll kill flies, spiders, fire ants, mosquitoes, wasps, even scorpions.  Lasts at least a month.  

XTS is oil based and probably lasts longer, but I’ve had great luck with IT (generic Talstar).  Been getting that setup as gifts for my buddies and they all swear by it.  

Edited July 23, 2019 by Homercles

[LarryTT 26]

https://dynatrap.com/

 

This has done wonders for our mosquito/ bug population. I live next to a lake and wooded area. Just plug it in and leave it except to empty.

Edited July 23, 2019 by LarryTT

[kmac30 416]

all ya'll using cutter... upgrade to bifen XTS.  it's the active ingredient in all of those lawn sprays in industry strength concentrations.  you have to dilute it but all you do is put it in a sprayer, attach a garden hose, set the sprayer nozzle to the correct diluting setting and spray away.  you have to reapply every month or after every heavy downpour, but it works great.  we used to get killed just opening the door to let dogs out into the yard (and we don't have any standing water) but after we spray we can leave the door open and not even a fly will come in.

So I got the Bifen and was in a rush last night to spray. I think I miscalculated and used way too much. What setting do I put my hose end sprayer on? 1 oz per gallon? I think that’s wrong. Bifen says mix in the sprayer 1 oz per gallon and that should cover 1k sq ft. Is that the same coverage I should get with my hose end sprayer going at 1oz per gallon? I have a big yard but feel like I used way too much product.

[benson32 7]

I sprayed Bifen XTS with a hose sprayer Monday. I haven't seen a mosquito since and we back up to woods. It's insect napalm. Where do I send my $9.95?

I bought this sprayer (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UER1S2I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and set it to 2 teaspoons per gallon of water.