Mosquito Control

sodak · May 5, 2016

This spring has been very wet so there is also standing water in ditches, etc., and mosquitoes are beginning to hatch. Since we live near some sloughs and a stock pond, prior years have been pretty bad, too.

We are considering adding bee hives so if we can stay away from something that would harm honeybees, that would be ideal.

What have you found to be the best way to control mosquitoes?

North Idaho Wolfman · May 5, 2016

Fish in the ponds is the best and safest way.

D2Cat · May 5, 2016

Around here we have a few Martin houses. Each bird consumes up to 2000 'sketters per day. That's like a flying vacuum cleaner!!

Tooljunkie · May 5, 2016

We are lucky so far, repeated freeze thaw and now its really dry and 90 some odd degrees the little buggers are hunkered down in the bush. They can stay there.
Big issue here is three things. Forest fires , woodticks and tourists

Ramos · May 5, 2016

Tooljunkie said:
Big issue here is three things. Forest fires , woodticks and tourists

Seems the first two things would help with the third!

CaveCreekRay · May 5, 2016

Frank,

What is the best thing you have found for getting rid of pesky tourists?

Grouse Feathers · May 5, 2016

We have really good mosquito control in Michigan also works great for black flies, no-see-ums, and deer flies all of which we will soon have in abundance.

Our control is called winter and we only have to wait 6 months.

Tooljunkie · May 5, 2016

Well, its a matter of opinion but high prices and bad food seem to keep them out of the local restaurants.....
Tourism is big around here, population 3000 in winter 15000 in summer.

D2Cat · May 5, 2016

Frank, are you sure that 12,000 difference isn't the locals leaving for warmer weather?

coachgeo · May 5, 2016

thought I heard that if you keep the water moving mosquito's won't lay eggs in the water.

If that is true maybe along with fish those floating water fountains will keep the water moving some. Some are solar powered too.

skeets · May 6, 2016

Last time I was in Northern Quebec a waitress at a local resturent told me, in broken french, english to just leave money and go home! After I got back home, I heard the place burned down a week later...karma huh

JWatkins · May 6, 2016

My daughter is highly allergic to mosquito bites. If she gets one or two on her face, she looks like she went three rounds with Mike Tyson. So I have a zero tolerance for the little vipers. I mix two quarts of Permethrin solution in 60 gallons of water and spray the whole five acres with it. Boom spray the whole lawn, wand spray into the woods. My neighbor has a service spray his place, but when I walk across the property I can tell the difference after about 5 paces. He has control. I have elimination.

CaveCreekRay · May 6, 2016

J,

My dad worked at CAI in Barrington. What a gorgeous little town!

Ray

JWatkins · May 6, 2016

Thanks. We love it here.

sodak · May 6, 2016

coachgeo said:
thought I heard that if you keep the water moving mosquito's won't lay eggs in the water.

If that is true maybe along with fish those floating water fountains will keep the water moving some. Some are solar powered too.

Good idea - I will have to look into it for the water on my property. Google tells me some mosquitoes in the midwest can travel miles from their breeding spot to eat, and eggs can hatch in as little as an inch of standing water, so I may need something more for the ones that come from other people's property.

JWatkins said:
My daughter is highly allergic to mosquito bites. If she gets one or two on her face, she looks like she went three rounds with Mike Tyson. So I have a zero tolerance for the little vipers. I mix two quarts of Permethrin solution in 60 gallons of water and spray the whole five acres with it. Boom spray the whole lawn, wand spray into the woods. My neighbor has a service spray his place, but when I walk across the property I can tell the difference after about 5 paces. He has control. I have elimination.

This is excellent. How far away are you from your neighbor? 'Skeeters treat your place like a no fly zone?

Not sure if it will harm bees. Maybe if I stay away from where the hives are?

JWatkins · May 6, 2016

sodak said:
This is excellent. How far away are you from your neighbor? 'Skeeters treat your place like a no fly zone?

Not sure if it will harm bees. Maybe if I stay away from where the hives are?

All the plots in our neighborhood are roughly 350ft x 650ft. I spray right up to the property line and probably inadvertently over it at times. I'm not sure how it affects the bees, but I know the biting flies are barely deterred. Mosquitoes, ticks, those little gnat swarms; that's it's bread and butter.

Another product that works great is Wisdom TC. They have it at Tractor Supply. It's made with Bynethrin. Both of these come with a laundry list of warnings about your skin, your pets, proximity to fresh water sources, agriculture etc. It's not your Home Depot variety bug spray, so proceed with caution.

sheepfarmer · May 6, 2016

Permethrin is "extremely toxic" to bees.

http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/metiram-propoxur/permethrin-ext.html

Judging from the name, the Wisdom might be similar. Bees spend a lot of time walking around on plants close to the ground like dandelion flowers and clover flowers, so their exposure to the spray would be high. And then not sure how much of the stuff would end up in the honey, if tney lived long enough to carry the pollen back to the hive.

Avoid the sprays with neonicotinoids in them, they also are toxic to bees.

Ike · May 6, 2016

I have not seen a bee up this way in at least 3 years. I don't know what happened to them We have yellow jackets. hornets and wasps but no honey bees. I have been thinking about starting a hive, but I figure it would be bear bait

CaveCreekRay · May 7, 2016

From the Cy-Kick data sheet....

Prescription Treatment brand Cy-Kick CS Controlled Release Cyfluthrin is the multi-use insecticide designed for professionals like yourself who want a product that works just as smart as you do. It dishes out 90 days of full-throttle, broad-spectrum killing power, controlling insects inside and outside, on the toughest areas and surfaces. The difference is SmartCap™ microencapsulation technology that protects cyfluthrin to create a long residual and a mobile lethal dose of this broad-spectrum active ingredient that insects easily pick up. Cy-Kick CS has the high-powered performance and flexibility you need, at a competitive price. And it’s much less likely to cause skin irritation than some other products.

eddiebob · May 7, 2016

We have a pond in the front yard and the mosquitos are controlled naturally by bats. I put up several bat boxes around the area and that's where the bats live. The boxes are easy to make or can be bought at any of the big box stores in the garden department. Ed B

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