Where are your hummingbird feeders? Hummers aren’t as good as bats, but they do eat a lot of tiny flying insects so its good to encourage them to hang around. Plus, they are entertaining.
We used to get mosquitos during the monsoons and I could control them with mosquito punk, but I have heard that our mosquitos are tiny and anemic compared to Texas mosquitos.
I agree that you need one of those mosquito net tents. Be sure it has an attached floor because those sneaky bastards with crawl under the walls if they have the chance.
There are several ways mosquitoes find people to bite; they are attracted to the CO2 in breath, they seek out body temperature, they are attracted to certain smells, etc. It’s not really well understood and there is still a lot of research going on.
Suppose you are walking along a hiking trail. As you walk along you are breathing out CO2, leaving a trail of the gas behind you. Mosquitoes have very sensitive CO2 receptors and will alter their course to follow your trail. When you stop walking to take a break the cloud of gas you are emitting expands around you and the mosquitoes who have been following you zero in. They can see you, they can smell you, they can have you for lunch.
Having a fan in the area can help prevent your gas cloud from zeroing in the damn bugs; they will still wander around but won’t have that particular big arrow pointing right at you. So yeah, a fan might help some when you are sitting still outside.
How about a bug zapper racket? That’s just the first one I found to use as an example, not the one I have.
I bought mine on the recommendation of a friend who hiked by the river and was constantly beset by all sort of squeeters and noseeems. She says that clearing a cloud with one swipe is much fun.
Mine isn’t high powered enough to deal with horseflies. It gives a satisfying zap sound and blue flash, but the fly is just stunned and I have to finish it off by myself.
(Of course, the first thing I did with it was zap myself. No worries about pets or children getting hurt.)
When I was sitting outside having a beer with a friend in Sri Lanka, the proprietor noticed mosquitos harassing us, and brought something that looked like this out and lit it. Didn’t really have any problems with 'em the rest of the night.
I’m sorry you’re suffering such a maddening invasion of your inviting patio area, @ThelmaLou. No wonder you’re missing your old “back yard” right now – but perhaps not otherwise!
I wish I had a crackerjack solution to offer, but I don’t. Just wanted to wish you luck in finding one.
