Filthy Bloodsuckers

[rookiefarmer]

After the mild wet winter, we already have mosquitos in our area, about a month and a half earlier than normal. They were bad here last year, they were so thick we would be eaten alive no matter how much spray we had, and its looking to be even worse this year. We bought this property with the ambition of being outside ALL the time. My daughter is mildly allergic to being bit, she welts up worse than anyone else in our family. So we are forced to stay indoors way more than we would like.

My property consists of 10 acres, mostly woods with a 1-1/2 acre homestead. My woods are un-maintained in the sense that I leave fallen trees and leaves in their natural state. It stays 'fairly' dry but if we have a really wet season it will retain water for a couple of weeks. The adjacent property to the south of me a 1/2 acre swampy area that currently has 18" of water in it. I have permission from the land owner (who lives on the other side of the county) to treat that swamp with any chemical that I wish.

I spent big bucks on this property, my 'forever home' so to speak, and we are unable to use the outdoor area. I am not afraid to spend money killing every last one of these bastards. My question for OTT, what is your preferred method of mosquito control? I am in a dead zone where the big name companies won't travel to my area to fog with their truck. I have been looking at buying a HVLP backpack sprayer, making my own fogger using my lawnmower, or buying a 3-pt sprayer for behind the tractor.

I would like to minimize harm to beneficial bugs and lowest toxicity to humans and dogs as possible. I can't wait to hear your suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[coachgeo]

IMHO..... build a big giant outdoor screened room. Lots of things in that room for her to create her own play spaces.

citronella candles hanging everywhere as well.

Put an adult section in it with a nice patio furniture.... barbecue pit (with appropriate thru the roof smoke stack) some sort of deck etc.

as for the swamp.... dig a pond and stock it with skeeter eater fish.

motorsports- little dirt bikes or atv's .... by the time the kid is fully geared up to ride.. there is no place for the skeeter to get to the skin

 

[sheepfarmer]

I'm afraid my suggestion will not help given your description, but mosquitoes love bushes and trees. If you keep an area around the house cleared, and if you have lawn keep it cut really short that would give her an area to play in that has fewer of them. Places like flower beds with bushes and ferns are awful. I have to wait for a dry day with a howling gale to weed them.

 

[Ike]

In Jan they were cutting part of my woods off and I was talking to one of the loggers. Them suckers were landing on the tractor hood and the guy I was talking to killed one. The temp that week was in the 50's and we had 10 inches od snow on the ground. Hope this is not a sign to come

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Its not just out there.

In Arizona, one of the benefits of the first few 105 degree days used to be the bugs all disappeared. Not the last couple years. In fact, last year was non-stop bugs all summer long.

We only have skeeters after many consecutive rains. Biting gnats are May to July and the no-see-ums were non-stop from May until October last year.

I read a suggestion to put the old gold original Listerine in a spray bottle and wet yourself down before going out. It helps but, I still get bit, especially around the ankles and elbows.

No-See-Ums itch for about two weeks. I have literally found that at the first notice of a bite (usually around day two or three) isolate the main bite area and "scratch" it with a new sanitized razor blade or X-Acto blade. You'll bleed a little but it will result in less damage than scraping the whole bite area off with your finger nails, which is what most people do to stop the itch.

What a nice place the world would be without bugs.

 

[D2Cat]

Do your homework on Martin's! Discover where is the best location, height of house, and distance to a water source. Birds come in pairs and continue back year after year. Each bird eats up to 2000 (that's 2K) mosquitoes per day. Their flying vacuum cleaners for bugs!!

We have three houses with 12 to 18 apartments each up now and I bought another one last fall to put up soon.

You can even get purple martin decoys to attract them in.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Heath-Purpl...e2de60&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=12&sd=191946739997

 

[Tooljunkie]

Yup, purple martins. Theres all kids of bird apartments around here. Also mosquitoe magnets. They use an attractant and it kills them without chemicals. Also zappers work too. Just set them up away from your play areas, you want to attract them away from you. My yard is 9 aces, but wide open and on a hill so its dry.
I dont care for applying spray on my skin,so i soak my hat and jean jacket and the top of my boots. I dont care how hot it gets i keep covered up. Now im talking about 60 miles north of me,swamps and puddles everywhere,was part of my old job to work outdoors in the park.

Wont see them little buggers for a few weeks yet.

 

[rookiefarmer]

Do your homework on Martin's! Discover where is the best location, height of house, and distance to a water source. Birds come in pairs and continue back year after year. Each bird eats up to 2000 (that's 2K) mosquitoes per day. Their flying vacuum cleaners for bugs!!

We have three houses with 12 to 18 apartments each up now and I bought another one last fall to put up soon.

You can even get purple martin decoys to attract them in.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Heath-Purpl...e2de60&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=12&sd=191946739997

Thanks for the reminder D2! We have a healthy bat population on our property and I bought 3 more bat houses to hang up. I went to the hardware store last weekend and bought the bat houses but they were all out of the Martin houses. I have one saved in my Amazon cart right now.

 

[D2Cat]

Your welcome Rookiefarmer. I have never seen a bat around here. What environment attracts them?

 

[sheepfarmer]

Your welcome Rookiefarmer. I have never seen a bat around here. What environment attracts them?

Old barns

Actually several different kinds in midwest, caves for one kind, I had a small colony for a while in my old barn, only see occasional one roosting any more. There is a serious bat disease going around especially in the cave dwelling ones so they are not surviving the winter. Not contagious to people.

 

[tempforce]

build some bat houses and put them around your property.. each bat house occupant(s) will take care of a few thousand mosquitos each night..
i'm building a bat motel, using 6-8" high plywood box, like a bird house only no hole and the bottom is missing. a scrap of carpet is nailed/stapled to the inside back of the box. my box is a full 4' wide, with the bottom open. thats why i call them a bat motel. i mount them under the eve's of my shop.

 

[Bulldog777]

How about a couple of bug zappers? Any standing water is a breeding ground for them. My grandfather used tocatch rain water in containers, and he would put just a little oil in it to keep out the "wiggle tails".

 

[Lennyzx11]

One person I ran into had the propane attractors in his backyard and swore by them.
I don't know any more about them.


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[rookiefarmer]

One person I ran into had the propane attractors in his backyard and swore by them.
I don't know any more about them.


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Lenny two years ago I bought one of those things, about $350 with all the necessary accessories and it was horrible. They have multiple ways of luring in the mosquitos and catching them but the only thing it ever succeeded in doing was wasting propane and catching black flies on the tack paper. They advertise 30 days on a propane grill tank, but the longest I ever ran on one was 16 days. The upkeep and running costs were outrageous. I wouldn't have minded the cost if it actually reduced the mosquito population though.

 

[rookiefarmer]

Your welcome Rookiefarmer. I have never seen a bat around here. What environment attracts them?

D2, the most I have counted flying around my backyard at one time was 12. No caves in my area, so most likely they nest in a tree hollow or my neighbors old barn . Sheepfarmer is right though, there is some serious issues with the Midwest bat population right now, but I think the disease is starting to burn out. They are supposed to reopen a couple of the state park caves this year in Indiana, they have been closed due to all the dead bats on the cave floor.

 

[Lil Foot]

At my place in the mountains, I've had a couple of this style bat house hanging in trees 12'-15' high around my place for years. Only took a couple of weeks and the bats moved in; got (4) that live permanently in the one in front yard. Use unfinished wood (on the inside), vary the spacing between the boards, & give 'em some horizontal grooves to hang on to. Mine are about 5" square & 16" tall. Have been planning to build more, if we ever get past the primary caregiver stage & get some time back.
Google "bat house designs".

 

[D2Cat]

Thanks guys and gals. I am going to study up and build a couple bat residences. I'm not referring to them as motels 'cause I want them to be residents, not visitors.

In my barn I have trouble with pigeons. Will bats conflict with pigeons, one running the other off?

 

[skeets]

I cant remember the last bat I saw around here,, unless you count the Ex,, and swifts, swallows, and martins not for years. Its a shame really
I dont think the bats will bother them,, but a .22 will or even a pellet rifle. Ya might hanging up an owl decoy in the barn for the flying rats, but you have to move it like every day so they dont get use to it

 

[CaveCreekRay]

We have loads of bats around my neighborhood. Still have loads of bugs too.

I guess we'd have loads more without the bats.

A neighbor around the corner built three big bat houses. Hope they move in soon.

 

[Russell King]

You can treat clothing with permethrin and it will keep bugs away. Best if you use long sleeves and long pants. Tough to do here in Texas. It stays on the clothing for several washes.


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