tuna55
MegaDork
7/18/20 7:24 p.m.
Tunawife wanted, and got, a beautiful pergola and swing at the back of the yard. The problem is that mosquitoes and gnats are everywhere in our yard and I can't figure out what to do about it. She prefers natural pesticides and won't really entertain harsh chemicals, especially since we have a vegetable garden nearby, kids all around, and really want to keep our bees and hummingbirds safe. We tried one natural spray on repellent but it didn't seem to do anything.
Bug zappers?
Candles?
Something from the pet store?
We don't currently have 120 service back there but we will eventually. Something battery powered, or solar powered, or nothing powered would be best. We've had mixed success with candles, they seem to melt and leak out on hot days. I'm open to suggestions otherwise. We really can't enjoy it until we figure this out.
shellb
New Reader
7/18/20 7:36 p.m.
https://www.thermacell.com/collections/mosquito-repellents-patio-shield
I have one. Works great. Takes some time to start working, but really cuts down on the mosquitoes here in MN. If it's windy, it dosen't work.
I would suggest a big slow moving fan to create just enough breeze to discourage the mosquitos without being noisy or loud. I don't know if any of the battery powered tool systems have a fan big enough to put a breeze on two people so the idea may not be viable until you have wired power.
tuna55
MegaDork
7/18/20 7:54 p.m.
Fueled by Caffeine said:
https://www.thermacell.com/collections/mosquito-repellents-patio-shield
I have one. Works great. Takes some time to start working, but really cuts down on the mosquitoes here in MN. If it's windy, it dosen't work.
You have to replace those fuel things every few hours??
tuna55
MegaDork
7/18/20 7:54 p.m.
MrJoshua said:
I would suggest a big slow moving fan to create just enough breeze to discourage the mosquitos without being noisy or loud. I don't know if any of the battery powered tool systems have a fan big enough to put a breeze on two people so the idea may not be viable until you have wired power.
That might be hard. It's a big yard and we want to use all of it.
Just as an FYI, my company sells a picaridin based personal repellent (works great, safe, but not natural.) In all our testing we didn't find any "natural" repellents that actually worked for more than an hour or so when sprayed directly on skin. Talking about actual lab testing though, not anecdotal or real world.
we also looked into spatial or area repellents using natural oils. None of those showed efficacy in lab testing at all.
id love to hear from some one using a modern bug zapper. There are plenty of them on Amazon but reviews are very mixed.
tuna55
MegaDork
7/18/20 7:55 p.m.
tuna55
MegaDork
7/18/20 7:57 p.m.
ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) said:
Just as an FYI, my company sells a picaridin based personal repellent (works great, safe, but not natural.) In all our testing we didn't find any "natural" repellents that actually worked for more than an hour or so when sprayed directly on skin. Talking about actual lab testing though, not anecdotal or real world.
we also looked into spatial or area repellents using natural oils. None of those showed efficacy in lab testing at all.
id love to hear from some one using a modern bug zapper. There are plenty of them on Amazon but reviews are very mixed.
I hear that. A zapper would be a reasonable attempt.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't think there is a solution :( I have no standing water/breeding grounds anywhere in my yard, and I have it professionally treated once a month. Even with fans / bug repellant torches / etc. I cannot stand still in my yard for 5 minutes without being eaten alive.
One more reason I want to move downtown.
That said, I'd love if someone posted the miracle cure here.
shellb
New Reader
7/18/20 8:17 p.m.
In reply to tuna55 :
Well damn. The nasty stuff must be doing its job. Sorry!
02Pilot
UltraDork
7/18/20 8:24 p.m.
We've been having the yard sprayed with a non-toxic walnut oil-based solution that seems to help to a degree. It keeps the deer ticks from being a major problem - the primary concern and reason for the spraying - and reduces the numbers of flying insects. The remainder can be dissuaded to an extent with the usual stuff, mostly those green incense-like coils. It's not perfect, but it's certainly better than it was without treatment. Multi-layered solutions will probably be your best hope.
Do you know where the mosquitos are breeding? They need standing water for 3 of 4 life stages. Only the adult stage can go without water, although the other stages may survive droughts or freezes because they can diapause. Egg, larvae, and pupa stages last from like 3 days to a couple weeks. So somewhere there is water collecting & sitting. While people think of puddles, ponds, etc. some plants like bromelaids collect and hold water for long periods and although not a large quantity of water it's enough to start a mosquito ranch if you've got a bed full of broms. Rain gutters on the house are also a perfect breeding place if there are sections that don't fully drain out. Piles of old tires, bird baths, wheel barrels, unused pots, buckets, etc. are all great breeding places. Somewhere there is water collecting and standing long enough for the mosquito life cycle.
If you do have a pond there are safe biological controls like mosquito dunks you put in the pond. Long term, the goal is to interrupt the life cycle of the mosquitos. Killing a small percentage of the population with sprays, zappers, etc. doesn't stop the problem.
The answer is freaking lasers.
In reply to tuna55 :
The cartridges last 12 hours the pads last 4
Most years we have had good luck with citronella candles, but is not a guarantee. As someone else had mentioned, getting rid of standing water helps a lot. We live on a piece of family property, that has a parts combine stored on it, and there was water collecting in the old front tires. It helped quite a bit when we corrected this.
tuna55
MegaDork
7/18/20 10:58 p.m.
We have some neighbors who are not as careful as we are with junk in their backyard. One time years ago I stuck my hand in some slop to drain their boat. It may be time for a talk with them.
They make propane powered zappers. No experience though.
tuna55 said:
We have some neighbors who are not as careful as we are with junk in their backyard. One time years ago I stuck my hand in some slop to drain their boat. It may be time for a talk with them.
I will say, this worked for us. There's not "none" but there's WAY less after I combed through the woods and disposed of all kinds of junk that could collect water.
Bat boxes and citronella grass as decorative?
Anything that's gonna actually work will contain some form of chemical. Anything you spray on the lawn will potentially kill all other bugs. So the good ones too.
ive heard the propane powered ones work ok. But those require maintenance as well.
Bats, nighthawks,swallows, purple Martin's and frogs are my suggestions.
35 years ago I told my ex wife that one day someone was going to invent a system to track and laser zap mosquitoes out of the air.
I had no idea then or now of how to do that but its cool to see someone did it.
Fueled by Caffeine said:
https://www.thermacell.com/collections/mosquito-repellents-patio-shield
I have one. Works great. Takes some time to start working, but really cuts down on the mosquitoes here in MN. If it's windy, it dosen't work.
I'll second this. I have the backpacker version that runs on the larger fuel cans.
