Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Wildlife Management Mosquitos

No, I again stupidly went commando, it's force of habit. Due to the copious amounts of smoke generated by my arsenal on July 3 and 4, didn't have any issues. However, I WILL use this on my next visit to the farm in the evening. Is it a straight 50/50 blend of water and vanilla?

Correct. Not sprayed on the skin. No skin spray needed when using it.

TJ, that's what we did. 50/50 with imitation vanilla. It's cheap.

BTW, I have no personal knowledge of whether it works. Stinging insects don't mess with me. But, Charlene swears by the stuff and every biting stinging bug gravitates to her. If a wasp stings her, she she swells up pretty badly. I was once told that dryer sheets repel mosquitos. Charlene found that they don't work.

Bob, I once heard that only the females bite/sting and only the males make the buzzing sound we hear. However, being hard of hearing, I don't hear anything. So, if you hear a skeeter buzzing around you, no sweat. Evidently, the real problem is when you don't hear any buzzing around you.

Not sure if most folks know this, but DEET is the most effective mosquito repellent known to science. Spraying non-blooming foliage around one's home with an approved pyrethroid insecticide helps cut down numbers. There are lots of "home remedies", some of which can be effective too, but not as effective. Just be careful with homemade concoctions. Many are untested for side effects.

RAH:

I am mindful of the bees, that's why I cut all the grass/clover so there are no blooms in it or the surrounding area before I spray the bushes/shrubbery/long grass. I don't spray the cut grass/clover with it.

I agree, 100% DEET works VERY well. I spray it on my long pants and long sleeve "T" shirt before going out in buggy areas, and I spray any exposed skin with a lesser concentration of DEET.

I have tried other home mixes (Avon Skin-so-Soft, etc.) and they haven't worked very well for me.

Ya I only roll with DEET none of this hippy crap.

I do know 100% DEET can melt a rain coat.

And water can melt limestone!

I've heard water called a universal solvent. Maybe not fast, but it sure eats away at a LOT of things!!!

Our skeeters have never been worse. Thousands outside the screens of our open windows trying to get inside every night. The culpret is the small puddles in the woods we can do nothing about, and our garden pond which is a cesspool in need of a serious overhaul. Once we got the big pond, the garden pond has been more or less ignored except for its ability to generate frogs like magic. Baby frogs come out of that 8x15 pond almost like a page out of the bible. That makes me happy,
Currently catching some FHM from the big pond to thin the skeeter herds.

Yep, load up those puddles with FHM.

They were awful here and there are two pounds in the land behind me. I had mentioned stocking those too and was told that if they are more than 100 yards away (they are) not to worry about about them. I was told mosquitoes stay within 100 yards of their larvae.

I stocked my 1/8+ acre pond with 7 lbs of FHM, 4 lbs of tilapia, 60 CNBG, 25 HBG, and 8 bass. Pretty much immediatally noticed a reduction in the amount of mosquitoes. Realize the fish don't eat mosquitoes, they eat their larvae. If I remember correctly, the females (the ones that bite) live 4-6 weeks. Males 10 days. So it takes a month to get rid of them. I can go to my pond now and not get a single mosquito bite. So the 100 yard thing seems to be true.

FYI, the lady I talked to at Overton's told me BG will eat more of them than FHM...not sure if that was just a sales pitch or what.

Sean

I think all fish will eat anything that will fit into their mouth.

We've experienced an unusually wet spring in many parts of TX, and the mosquitos took full advantage of the countless puddles of water; from dog bowls to discarded tire and anything else that would hold water for a few days. Needless to say, FHM are not an option in many sites that mosquito larvae find most hospitable. It's not always practical or prudent to treat with adulticide insecticides (products that target the adult fliers), and treating every puddle with an oil-coating isn't feasible or environmentally acceptable.
Enter mosquito larvacides, particularly the biological types (aka "bt" based products).
I've had very good results treating puddle-holding areas behind my back yard with Aquabac 200G (granular) and Aquabaq XT (liquid). Both products target mosquito larvae prior to their emergence as adults - and appear to hold in an active state for several weeks post-application.
This approach might offer a solution in situations where FHM and adulticides aren't feasible.