I live in Calcutta, Minnesota. My backyard is overgrown in abundant lazy hippy fashion. Which is usually just fine. Because I’m lazy. But now I must chop away the verdant growth because its is home to one pernicious species, and you know who I mean.
But today, I went out to chop some away, and ended up back in the house sobbing like a red-headed stepchild, they kicked my ass totally in about one minute flat. Deep woods Off was like perfume to them, they hummed and chuckled and bit, bit, bit.
I must kill them. At least long enough to chop away some habitat. I’m not looking for a yard fogger here, I’m looking for a war crime, if I could buy napalm, I’d use it. Wait, I can’t, right?
They must die, that I may live. OK, that’s crap, I just want them dead. Now.
Advice and suggestions solicited, so long as they are lethal. Kill. Kill. Kill.
And if you need to clear out the brush before you can find the breeding point (putting you in a Catch-22), you might try different times of day. Mosquitos are generally most active at night, and least during the day, so you might be able to get a lot of work done earlier rather than in the evenings.
Also, OFF isn’t a mosquito repellent; it’s a scent mask. It won’t work unless you cover all of your exposed skin with it, and preferably the unexposed skin, too.
daytime with a breeze go and cut down shading vegetation that would shade puddles. also any containers or objects that can hold water are breeding grounds.
Mosquitoes were pretty ridiculous for a while this summer here in Edmonton. A week or so ago, the dragonfly population boomed, and they ate up all the mosquitoes. One morning I saw dozens if not hundreds of dragonflies during my quick walk to the LRT station; no mosquitoes. It was a great turn of events, because dragonflies apparently don’t try to eat or even land on people. I suggest you try to find some sort of dragonfly supplier and buy a swarm of them to release into your back yard.
Deep woods Off is only 25% Deet, which is the minimum recommended percentage. Go all out and use 100% Deet. That’s what I use, and have found it very effective.
As it’s a carcinogen though, try and put 100% Deet on your clothing if possible as opposed to your skin.
There are hose-end spayer applications of mosquito repellant/exterminant that are effective for far longer than the 3 or 4 hours a yard fogger application will provide. They say they’re effective for 3 to 4 weeks. If even just half that, they’re worth the money. I remembr last paying about $9 each, though in the peak of the season they’ll up it to $13. You find them at Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, etc. Spray everything, especially around shaded, less windy areas. Get the vegetation, side of house, fence, even the lawn.
Many military ops depend on weather conditions.
If you could chose a time when the winds are seriously strong, the mosquitoes would not be functional and you could get the job done. Really heavy rain might work too, but cutting would be difficult. I like the flame thrower concept if you could prevent colateral damage, such as burning the neighborhood.
Just got to chime in with Max. It’s been a terrible year for mosquitoes here (Thunder Bay, Ontario), but the dragonflies have eaten all of them. Also, if you have a small yard, or an enclosed space, mosquito wicks work fairly well, although they smell terrible.
Yep, got it on the first post. Cutting grass or chopping vegetation isn’t going to help you much, here. Find the standing water, and get rid of it (or add those cakes, as suggested upthread.)
Not true. The research has shown that above 50% concentrations you’re not getting any additional benefit, and above 30% the returns diminish quite a bit. The main benefit of higher concentrations are longer lasting protection, not any additional repelling of insects.