As the title of this post implies, this is a cry for help. This year we are being inundated by mosquitos in our backyard, virtually at all times of the day and night. There are so many by my garage/shed that spending 30 seconds there will result in 10 bites. I don't know why it's so bad this year (we have lived in this home for 30+ years).
Looking for smart Boglehead solutions because citronella candles ain't cutting it. Has anyone tried foggers, or sprays that hook up to a hose? Anti mosquito machines? Hired a mosquito service like Mosquito Joe? We want our backyard back!
Additional info: We are on Long Island NY. There is no standing water in our yard where they can breed.
I want to go on record that services like Mosquito Joe kill fireflies, too. I know that LI is a great place for fireflies.
I would seriously search for any bits of standing water ... even as small as a soda bottle capful ... and try to dry them up. Are your gutters clogged? What about nearby properties?
With all those mosquitoes you should also have hundreds of dragonflies. If no dragonflies, then something bad has happened to your ecosystem.
Also you can wear more clothing like you would to combat ticks: Long-sleeve shirts, pants, a neck gaiter, a hat, a mosquito headnet and pre-treat all with permethrin spray according to the directions. Then either wear gloves or spray the backs of your hands with picaridin.
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I've had good luck culling the herd by using the concentrated mosquito killer that one mixes with water and uses with an n95 respirator and a pump sprayer. I sprayed all the green areas or the whodidntante estate.
After the invasive mosquito came to California last year, I just gave up on wearing shorts outside any time after 4pm. I tried drying up the yard, which did lead me to discover several small leaks in the irrigation system, and still got eaten alive any time I wore shorts. All it takes is one neighbor with a wet spot to keep the mosquitoes happy. Now I wear pants that have been sprayed with bug repellent if I'm going to be outside for any length of time in the evening.
El Greco wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 4:54 pm
As the title of this post implies, this is a cry for help. This year we are being inundated by mosquitos in our backyard, virtually at all times of the day and night. There are so many by my garage/shed that spending 30 seconds there will result in 10 bites. I don't know why it's so bad this year (we have lived in this home for 30+ years).
Looking for smart Boglehead solutions because citronella candles ain't cutting it. Has anyone tried foggers, or sprays that hook up to a hose? Anti mosquito machines? Hired a mosquito service like Mosquito Joe? We want our backyard back!
Additional info: We are on Long Island NY. There is no standing water in our yard where they can breed.
You can invest in a mosquitos mister system if you can afford it. Very effective.
"The pyrethrins are a class of organic compounds normally derived from Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium that have potent insecticidal activity by targeting the nervous systems of insects. Pyrethrin naturally occurs in chrysanthemum flowers and is often considered an organic insecticide when it is not combined with piperonyl butoxide or other synthetic adjuvants.[1] Their insecticidal and insect-repellent properties have been known and used for thousands of years.
Pyrethrins are gradually replacing organophosphates and organochlorides as the pesticides of choice as the latter compounds have been shown to have significant and persistent toxic effects to humans. Because they are biodegradable pyrethrins are widely preferred to pyrethroids, which are synthetic analogues of pyrethrin that accumulate in the environment."
"Pyrethrins are among the safest insecticides in the market due to their rapid degradation in the environment."
I sympathize with you. I can’t find any standing water in my yard/gutters, but this summer I am having mosquitoes in parts of my yard where I have never had mosquitoes. I have been wearing long sleeves with a hood and long pants every time I go out with the dogs. It’s been in the 90s this week, so wearing all those clothes has been miserable, but it is better than getting mosquito bites.
This doesn’t answer your question, but I have recently discovered that rubbing alcohol is the best remedy for me to stop mosquito bites from itching. Once I feel a mosquito bite start to itch, I put rubbing alcohol on it and that really reduces the swelling and itching of the bite. With some bites I have to use rubbing alcohol once in the morning and once at night, but, for me, that gets rid of the itching/swelling.
Hope you get through the summer with as few bites as possible.
They generally don't bother me. First, when bitten don't scratch it, as noted above, put rubbing alcohol on the bite to cool it and sooth it. Secondly, use unscented soaps on clothing and for bathing. Don't use dryer sheets which have a scent, use the dryer balls. Some folks say using hot water for a shower helps with itching, other say the opposite. One has to experiment.
They don't travel far, so there must be a water source somewhere. Drainage ditches in the pipes might be a source. Mosquito dunks are cheap:
Way back in the 1940s and 50s my parents had a cottage on a lake, and the skeeters were vicious after dark. We used something called Deet. I'm surprised to find it's still around. I don't know if the Deet brand name is still active, but I see it's in lot of other products.
If you'd started earlier in the season, ovitraps will keep their numbers down by attracting and killing most of the eggs. I've found that https://www.bitebackllc.com/ work pretty well, but they do break down from UV exposure after 4 or 5 years.
There're also people who use fans to trap mosquitoes, before killing them with a spritz of alcohol. Supposedly works with both strong fans and 20" box fans. This person claims 8K mosquitos killed in two nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BhV-o77RqQ
FWIW, the Thermacell device mentioned by Wirecutter heats a pyrethrin-family chemical similar to permethrin and bifenthrin (misspelled as bifinthrin earlier) called allethrin to volatilize it and fill the air around it. You breath it in yourself. If there is any breeze, then the chemical fog is dispersed and does almost no good.
I am not sure what the mosquito mister companies use, but I imagine it is something similar or the same. All of them are indiscriminate killers of insects including bees, dragonflies, etc.
Last edited by livesoft on Wed Jul 22, 2020 6:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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You probably do have standing water. Or your next door neighbor does. We had vector control out last month, and she found a potted plant in our yard, and a couple of bromeliads next door. It doesn’t take much. See if your city or county has a vector control unit that will come out and help you find them.
Don’t forget to check the street gutter, if you have one. Ever since our street was repaved, we have standing water in the gutter since neighbors a little higher than us over-water their yard, wheras we are closer to the storm drain. Even sweeping the gutters doesn’t help since the water runs right back to the low spot (gutter).
El Greco wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 4:54 pm
As the title of this post implies, this is a cry for help. This year we are being inundated by mosquitos in our backyard, virtually at all times of the day and night. There are so many by my garage/shed that spending 30 seconds there will result in 10 bites. I don't know why it's so bad this year (we have lived in this home for 30+ years).
Looking for smart Boglehead solutions because citronella candles ain't cutting it. Has anyone tried foggers, or sprays that hook up to a hose? Anti mosquito machines? Hired a mosquito service like Mosquito Joe? We want our backyard back!
Additional info: We are on Long Island NY. There is no standing water in our yard where they can breed.
Go to Home Depot, buy a bottle of Cutters, hook it up to a hose and spray the lawn, plants, top and bottom, the driveway, the base of the foundation, the steps, basically, spray everything- but do it at dusk so you can get them when they are actually active.
random_walker_77 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 6:04 pm
If you'd started earlier in the season, ovitraps will keep their numbers down by attracting and killing most of the eggs. I've found that https://www.bitebackllc.com/ work pretty well, but they do break down from UV exposure after 4 or 5 years.
El Greco wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 4:54 pm
As the title of this post implies, this is a cry for help. This year we are being inundated by mosquitos in our backyard, virtually at all times of the day and night. There are so many by my garage/shed that spending 30 seconds there will result in 10 bites. I don't know why it's so bad this year (we have lived in this home for 30+ years).
Looking for smart Boglehead solutions because citronella candles ain't cutting it. Has anyone tried foggers, or sprays that hook up to a hose? Anti mosquito machines? Hired a mosquito service like Mosquito Joe? We want our backyard back!
Additional info: We are on Long Island NY. There is no standing water in our yard where they can breed.
Go to Home Depot, buy a bottle of Cutters, hook it up to a hose and spray the lawn, plants, top and bottom, the driveway, the base of the foundation, the steps, basically, spray everything- but do it at dusk so you can get them when they are actually active.
I use a service like Mosquito Joe's. $50 month and worth every penny. It's not perfect, but I'm a mosquito magnet, and I would say I get at least an 80% reduction in bites, probably 90%. They come monthly, but if things get bad, they'll come back between scheduled services at no additional charge (I've only requested this once in 3 years) - at least, the services in my area all seem to do that. Not sure if that's typical everywhere.
random_walker_77 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 6:04 pm
If you'd started earlier in the season, ovitraps will keep their numbers down by attracting and killing most of the eggs. I've found that https://www.bitebackllc.com/ work pretty well, but they do break down from UV exposure after 4 or 5 years.
Unfortunately bite back won't ship to California
That's a pity. Don't know about other commercial products, but I do recall seeing instructions for building them. Just look for "mosquito ovitrap diy"
At the time, neighbors vouched for the bite back buckets, and I didn't have the time to build traps myself. If you're reasonably handy, and have the time, building some yourself would certainly be cheaper
Mosquitoes love me
We have a very large stream/wash that runs year round along one side of and on my property. About 50-100 yards across and a long par 4 away from the house. So we have voracious mosquitoes year round with breaks for cold and stiff winds. And, they are attracted to me far more than DW because they like Hawaiian food.
This was also a year round problem in Hawaii where mosquitoes can get so thick they look like smoke clouds and you can inhale them.
My only reliable solutions were to dress accordingly with long sleeve shirts, hats, etc. and use Avon “Skin So Soft” or stay indoors. After a lifetime of this I have very nice soft skin.
The horses, however, have a horrible time with mosquitoes. DW covers them with cute homemade/modified fly masks and also fancy fly sheets that wrap around the neck and stomach. Also a homemade mix of some spray that I can't stand the smell of.
Last edited by Sandtrap on Thu Jul 23, 2020 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
random_walker_77 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 6:04 pm
If you'd started earlier in the season, ovitraps will keep their numbers down by attracting and killing most of the eggs. I've found that https://www.bitebackllc.com/ work pretty well, but they do break down from UV exposure after 4 or 5 years.
Unfortunately bite back won't ship to California
That's a pity. Don't know about other commercial products, but I do recall seeing instructions for building them. Just look for "mosquito ovitrap diy"
At the time, neighbors vouched for the bite back buckets, and I didn't have the time to build traps myself. If you're reasonably handy, and have the time, building some yourself would certainly be cheaper
El Greco wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 4:54 pm
As the title of this post implies, this is a cry for help. This year we are being inundated by mosquitos in our backyard, virtually at all times of the day and night. There are so many by my garage/shed that spending 30 seconds there will result in 10 bites. I don't know why it's so bad this year (we have lived in this home for 30+ years).
Looking for smart Boglehead solutions because citronella candles ain't cutting it. Has anyone tried foggers, or sprays that hook up to a hose? Anti mosquito machines? Hired a mosquito service like Mosquito Joe? We want our backyard back!
Additional info: We are on Long Island NY. There is no standing water in our yard where they can breed.
Go to Home Depot, buy a bottle of Cutters, hook it up to a hose and spray the lawn, plants, top and bottom, the driveway, the base of the foundation, the steps, basically, spray everything- but do it at dusk so you can get them when they are actually active.
You might want to either put bug spray on you before you go out and spray lest they feast on you while your spraying or wear long pants and shirt. The Cutters definitely works and will cut the population down significantly. If need be, you might have to retreat after a month to 6 weeks particularly if it’s a rainy summer.
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We hire out a mosquito yard spray service. Costs a few hundred for the summer. It's not a magic bullet but it does help, certainly more than citronella candles or a zapper or such things. The bigger your yard, the more useful. Yard too small, and they just come from the neighbors anyways.
I haven't done enough research to determine if I could DIY the same thing they do for cheaper, which may be what some of the other posters reference. Not sure if I'd want to anyways, depending on what chemical is used.
I’m a mosquito magnet myself and apparently passed it on to my children. I’ve started using tiki torches and table top torches with the citronella bug fuel they sell at Home Depot and it has worked perfectly. I have a few tiki torches that I light up around the yard if we’re going to be in the backyard or pool in the afternoon and the table top torches if we’re hanging closer to the house. Light them before we go out and it helps create a barrier to keep the mosquitos away. Went from son getting 5 bites in the face to not a single bite last few times we’ve been out.
It's an indirect method, but I put out a birdbath with a BTI dunk in it. It's a bacteria that's toxic to mosquito larva, killing any that spawn in the water, but they're not toxic to birds or mammals. The thinking is to interrupt the life cycle. But as others said, make sure there's no other, untreated spots they could be breeding in.
Hardware stores sell them, I imagine Amazon would too.
Take up smoking cigars. I smoke giant Nicaraguans in the summer and puff until I can get a good plume off the end. Never get a bite. Friends used to hate it until I told them why I smoke them and now everyone huddles around me on summer evenings. Really helps when I go fishing too. Other than that, you would want to clear cut the area around your house and cut the grass overly short (preferably near kill it). Make sure drainage is perfect and lot is graded perfectly away from house. If you live in some place like Florida, none of that matters though, you will still have them.
1130Super wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 12:22 am
I ordered a (Mosquito Magnet) off of Amazon works wonders, dropped mosquitos by about 90% in my yard within 2 weeks
Or your yard and environs dried up in that two weeks and that was the end of the mosquitos.
Isn't it rather interesting that this summer there has been no outcry about the Zika virus?
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1130Super wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 12:22 am
I ordered a (Mosquito Magnet) off of Amazon works wonders, dropped mosquitos by about 90% in my yard within 2 weeks
Or your yard and environs dried up in that two weeks and that was the end of the mosquitos.
Isn't it rather interesting that this summer there has been no outcry about the Zika virus?
Zika has not been transmitted in the US by mosquitos for several years per CDC. The US episode was back in 2015 I believe. Given the way 2020 is going I'm sure something else will take its place!
Even though it has been dry, we have noticed that this is a bad year for mosquitoes at our mountain cabin. But it has also been a very good year for lightning bugs. It's hard to enjoy the lightning bugs while you are being bitten by the mosquitoes. A smoky campfire seems to help.
Find out where they are breeding and eliminate. Anything that will hold stagnant water. Gutters, bird baths,. One year I found they were breeding in the pipe leading from my downspout to the road.
3feetpete wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 7:48 am
Find out where they are breeding and eliminate. Anything that will hold stagnant water. Gutters, bird baths,. One year I found they were breeding in the pipe leading from my downspout to the road.
Between bird baths, gutters, ledge, wetlands, water feature for koi pond, etc., I’ve given up on trying to keep them from breeding. The tree swallows and bats feed on them, but it’s not enough.
We get what benefit we can from citronella, DEET, and an occasional fire pit blaze (but I hate to waste firewood for the purpose). We have our yard sprayed, but it’s an organic spray, and I might have to hand in my green card, but I’m tempted to tell them to spray the potent stuff.
Sandtrap wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 10:24 pm
Mosquitoes love me
We have a very large stream/wash that runs year round along one side of and on my property. About 50-100 yards across and a long par 4 away from the house. So we have voracious mosquitoes year round with breaks for cold and stiff winds. And, they are attracted to me far more than DW because they like Hawaiian food.
This was also a year round problem in Hawaii where mosquitoes can get so thick they look like smoke clouds and you can inhale them.
My only reliable solutions were to dress accordingly with long sleeve shirts, hats, etc. and use Avon “Skin So Soft” or stay indoors. After a lifetime of this I have very nice soft skin.
Aim your golf ball at them and fire away!
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We are in a woodsy area of southern NH. Although neighbor are 50 plus yards away, our and their yards are in the midst of mosquito central. Going to shady areas even in late morning could generate a swarm and forget about being outside when the trees block the sun after 4pm or so.
For the third consecutive year, we now get sprayed by a local mosquito service. Their 6 visits cost about $350. They spray under the shrubs and all around the edges to the woods. Rating of 4 out of 5 for mosquito control. Sounds decent but with 58,000,000,000 in the area, we still got bit. Neighbors also have their yards sprayed.
Last year, we used Spartan Mosquito Eradicators and they worked very well although we did not deploy them until after mid June which is really too late.
This year we put the Eradicators out in mid May and within 2 weeks, we did not see a single mosquito. It disrupts the breeding and life cycles of the mosquitoes.The things were great but YOU MUST FOLLOW THE LOCATION INSTRUCTIONS COMPLETELY ( not near where people congregate, about 6' inside the tree line and 6 feet off the ground). Although their website says you only need a couple around your house, at $12 each, we put out 8. They are spaced about 80 feet apart and surround the backyard. Discussing with my neighbors about them doing it next year,
The company promises 95% reduction maintained throughout the summer and I'd agree with that. The ongoing spraying helps.We only get an occasional mosquito - honestly.
Our experience is that if you time the deployment correctly, you will have greater success.
Quercus Palustris wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 1:22 am
It's an indirect method, but I put out a birdbath with a BTI dunk in it. It's a bacteria that's toxic to mosquito larva, killing any that spawn in the water, but they're not toxic to birds or mammals. The thinking is to interrupt the life cycle. But as others said, make sure there's no other, untreated spots they could be breeding in.
Hardware stores sell them, I imagine Amazon would too.
Sometimes the birds eject the dunk or maybe play with it, now I weigh in down underwater with a rock.
BTI is the only insecticide I would try. The others are more systemic and so kill everything else, too - bees, fireflies, butterflies, bugs that birds eat, etc...
I like having wrens and butterflies in my back yard.
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mcblum wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 7:18 am
for sitting in back yard or patio, cheap box fan or two will protect you. All the other chemical remedies will not work. It is seasonal. M
+1 This the only thing that works as far as I'm concerned. Mosquitos are weak fliers so a good breeze from a few fans keeps them away.
Have you gone onto your city or municipality's website and searched for mosquito control? In some areas, you can email your county or city and request service by filling out a request form with your contact info....they'll do a treatment upon request.
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1130Super wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 12:22 am
I ordered a (Mosquito Magnet) off of Amazon works wonders, dropped mosquitos by about 90% in my yard within 2 weeks
Or your yard and environs dried up in that two weeks and that was the end of the mosquitos.
Isn't it rather interesting that this summer there has been no outcry about the Zika virus?
That’s because they are waiting for the Murder Hornets to arrive!
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Our new house came with an automatic mosquito sprayer system. Sprays permethrin once a day during mosquito season (May through September) Not sure what it costs to install, but we only very rarely see mosquitos in our yard. At the old house (less than 10 miles away), the mosquitos would positively swarm once they figured out your location.
1130Super wrote: ↑Thu Jul 23, 2020 12:22 am
I ordered a (Mosquito Magnet) off of Amazon works wonders, dropped mosquitos by about 90% in my yard within 2 weeks
Or your yard and environs dried up in that two weeks and that was the end of the mosquitos
Isn't it rather interesting that this summer there has been no outcry about the Zika virus?
I’m pretty sure it’s working since every few days I empty it and it’s about a pound of dried mosquitos.
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