So I just moved into a beautiful new apartment. It has a balcony with a killer view - big tall trees, a huge mini-lake sized pond off in the distance, and a rambling creek that runs just below it. Which, of course, means that there are gonna be big demonic hordes of mosquitoes. Frankly, I don’t relish the thought of being eaten alive by them whenever I want to sit out there and relax. If I bought a couple of citronella candles and carefully used them, would it be effective? If not, is there anything else you could recommend?
Oh yeah, and screw mosquito repellant. I dont want to cover myself in that crap whenever I go out there.
Citronella works to a pretty limited extent in my experience, I’ve been bitten almost as much near a citronella candle as I have without one. If you have big bucks, check http://www.mosquito-trap-depot.com/ out.
thanks for that link, but thats just a bit beyond my budget…anything else?
I’ve heard that vitamin (I think) B1 creates a nuturally repellant odor to mosquitos. I heard this from a guy that did landscaping work on huge plots of farmland, he swore by it. Maybe it’s B2, I haven’t Googled it yet but you’d think that if there were something that effective out there that more poeple would know about it.
Bug zappers are not only reasonably effective, but they’re fun to watch.
I guess if mosquito repellance was that easy, the makers of the after-bite type stuff would be out of business.
I found citronella useless in Australia, even with the pure essential oil rubbed over my feet and elbows, the mozzie fuckers would still bite me there.
The only thing that worked - and worked REALLY well - were mosquito coils. Like joss-stick/incense stick type substance, but formed into a big spiral. They were also very cheap. The smell was quite pleasant, some were more scented than others.
The coils work pretty well too, although you have to either be downwind or have a really calm day to be in the affected area.
Citronella is notoriously weak- about the only thing that it’s good for is reassuring people that they’re not using “chemicals” to keep away mosquitos.
There are all sorts of repellents out there- if they use DEET, they’re all about equally effective, but the duration of effectiveness varies with concentration. Skintastic by OFF is pretty tame stuff- doesn’t smell bad, isn’t oily, etc… but only lasts like 45 minutes.
I’d wait and see- ponds large enough to have fish usually aren’t that bad as far as mosquitoes go- the larvae are tasty treats for fish. Neither is running water- they don’t survive too well. Stagnant little puddles and stuff like that are just about ideal for mosquito larvae though- if it’s swampy by the lake, you’re screwed. Otherwise, you may not have nearly the problem you think you will.
I saw an article about this in our local newspaper earlier this summer - the only skeeter repelling chemical that has proved effective in scientific tests is DEET. Citronella candles don’t do a damn thing; I’ve seen mosquitoes drowning in the molten wax.
Smoke in general seems to discourage skeeters, though candles don’t give off enough smoke to matter. Farmers used to use smudge pots and other smoky fires to protect their animals. At outdoor events with the family I usually try to sit next to my brother-in-law. He’s the only smoker left in the bunch 
Even then I’ve been bitten. Mind you, we’ve got the mutant heat-seeking man-eating Arctic mosquitoes up here; YMMV.
How high up are you? I have friends with balconies on high floors who always keep their doors open. They tell me they never get mosquitos, and have no idea why. I wonder if bugs have an altitude limit.
Could you install mosquito netting or screening around the perimenter of your balcony? If that isn’t possible, could you rig a smaller mosquito-netting canopy that you could sit under?
The other posters may be proved right, though – you just might be spared afterall. (If you don’t have them by mid-August you probably won’t get them, period.)
Have you asked any of your neighbors about the bug situation?
Vegemite is an excellent source of B vitamins. And it tastes good, too. I don’t know anything about it’s effectiveness against mosquitos, though. (Fortunately, mosquitos are not a problem where I live.)
Well, if you can’t find any other workable solutions, you can always try the epicly famous and 100% foolproof outback Australian solution…
Just burn dried out cow dung patties…
I know, I know… not very practical… but I’ve gone on geological expeditions through the Kakadu - which is some of the world’s most fiersome mosquitoe territory, and my geologist mates would simply set up the camp fire, and then, at 10 yard corner marks, just burn a few cow dungs.
The mozzies would run for the hills. They wouldn’t come back for days. Honestly, it’s a tried and true method - and it’s been in Australian folklore since the mid 1800’s.
Not an altitude limit, per se, but the buggers are very poor at flying in any kind of a wind. If the higher balconies get a fair amount of wind, then they should be mosquito free for that reason.
Quite apart from the fact that many chemical insect repellants are highly toxic to humans too, I honestly found they did not work at ALL.
In one flat in Sydney, Australia I literally slathered my feet, ankles and elbows (which always get bitten) with BushMan Extra Strenght, Rid Ultra, and pure Citronella oil. All at the same time, having tried them individually in succession. I STILL got bitten.
Whereas the much, much cheaper coils totally drove the mozzies away. Sometimes, I could hear the mozzie sort of being driven mad by the fumes, sort of darting about the room and falling down or something. They totally stopped me getting bitten (though the smell permeates your bedclothes, curtain, and other clothes in the room, particularly in a humid climate).
Fans are also a good idea, as the breeze helps blow them away.
First of all, just because you live near a pond and creek does not mean you will have mosquitoes. Secondly, even if you do live near those structures you mosquitoes may not be coming from them. The pond, if it has fish in it, has most likely kept its mosq. population in check. And the same can be said for the creek, also the creek will also flush out the mosq larvae after mid-level rain events.
If you do have mosquitoes identification is your most powerful weapon. In my experience apartment complexes are major breeding sites for Ades albopictus or the Asian Tiger Mosquito. As far a mosq go she is the peskiest and been known to ruin many an outdoor experience. ATM may be the most annoying mosq, but it is also the easiest to control. Eliminate all standing water in human made containers. ATM will breed in very small amounts of water, I’ve seen larvae in a two liter bottle cap. Of course, this will take a community effort and I doubt you apartment complex will bother. Most will blame the lake and creek while never peeking into the flower pots or toys.
Spiff is correct as far as albopictus go they are one of the weakest flyers. (flying only a few hundred feet from their breeding grounds) But some mosq. will flyer more the twenty mile in med-high winds for a blood meal.
As far as citronella candles go, I think they our good only for a light source. I have heard the coils work well also. And vitamin B complex twelve has worked for me along with a lot of garlic.
Citronella candles do not work, however, the plant Citronella, which is where the scent for the candles is derived from, works beautifully.
It is a supremely ugly plant with huge rough leaves, that grows no higher than two feet, and doesn’t flower. But the good news is that it is hardy. Put it in a medium to large pot, and then carry it anywhere. You can even leave it outside through the winter and it will come back.
Another plant that has natural pyrethrins is the marigold. I don’t think they are going to be the answer to your problem, though. Maybe combine it with the citronella plant described above?
That gas-powered mosquito trap has gotten some good press, including from a neighbor of mine who says it works great. But the initial cost is more than most people want to deal with, along with the continuing cost of propane tanks.
Some science on the subject. (See especially the comparison table.)
Now for my anecdotes:
I can’t stand the smell of DEET and so have experimented with various alternatives. Note that I live in Texas, where the mosquitoes are really pretty wimpy compared with the nasties in the rest of the country… but there’s a lot of 'em in my neighborhood, and they do gang up sometimes.
If you can entice bats or purple martins or other mosquito-eaters to live near you, that can be effective. I never get bitten downtown where the Austin bat bridge is.
Citronella doesn’t do squat for me whether in oil on the skin, mixed in creams or sprays, candles, coils, or what-have-you. I’ve never tried the plant itself. Anyway, I don’t like the way citronella smells much better than I like DEET. I do have some cheap bucket-style citronella candles that smoke a lot (big fat fuzzy wicks might have , and they do seem to help, but at the cost of breathable air.
I’ve had some luck with some herbal sprays with strong concentrations of neem oil, but I have to re-apply them every half-hour or so for them to keep working. When the brand I liked was discontinued at my local hippie co-op, I mixed up some for myself using essential oils of neem, cedar, etc. with some glycerin in an alcohol solution.
I really want to try “Bite Blocker” , mentioned in the New England Journal of Medicine article linked above, though I haven’t found any locally yet and may have to special-order it.
Finally, I have noticed that I seem to be bitten less while I am drinking beer. I do not know whether this is because mosquitoes think beer-sweat is unappetizing or because I start to notice the buggers less after a pint or two… but, then, I don’t notice the same effect when drinking wine or margaritas. Further research is certainly warranted, and I’ll be writing up the grant application for that any day now. Donations and/or sponsors are welcome.
Many thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. I went to Fred Meyer today and bought a bounty of mosquito coils - they sell here in packages of 8 for like $2.50, and they burn for 5-7 hours each. I’ll give them a try.
thanks again
** emilyforce **
Just to let you know a study has been done which resulted in an attraction to mosquitoes after alcohol consumption. I will attempt to find the article if needed. If it works for you go for it, as I stated earlier garlic and B12 work for me and a minority out there.
I did here a new product was coming out on the market, maybe Bite Blocker is it.
Also the study done on purple martins and bats for mosquito control were not accurate. They will eat mosquitoes, but not in enough numbers to effectively control the population of skeeters. Bats and martins will definitely go after the fatter slower moths and other bugs before they bother with the mosqs.