Controlling Mosquitos

[Jbonnette]

I think we'll try a Martin house and some tiki torches. I was considering the bug zapper, but it doesn't sound like they do any good. Thanks for all the input!

[madwil]

I also have a fogger- about $60-70 bucks at Home Depot/Lowes, $10 for a quart of juice. They have electric or propane ones....
If you get one, you need to fog initially 3 times, about 3-4 days apart (1 weekend, midweek, next weekend)
Then about every 2 weeks after
This kills the current generation, the current eggs as they hatch, and the next generation... the 2 weeks after is to kill those trying to move in on you!
I use about 2 quarts a year, when I lived in S Georgia, similar climate to Louisianna...

[Poconos]

I bought one of these things used on Ebay maybe 10 years ago for around $500.
http://www.dynafog.com/foggers/pje/t...azer/index.htm
I've got a pretty large area and use a permethrin insecticide in a diesel fuel carrier. Generates a pretty good fog. Do the lawn, bushes, poolhouse, and anywhere bugs like to be. Even stick the snoot in a gopher hole and fog under the pool deck. The insecticide concentrate was expensive too and cost somewhere around $300 then but was enough to make something like 90 gallons. The model I have is supposed to work with a water base too but I found the fog isn't nearly as 'foggy' as the diesel base. An exterminator friend uses a slightly bigger version to do the local fairgrounds in the Fall. http://www.dynafog.com/foggers/pje/g...agle/index.htm
The company has quite a variety of foggers.
Trick is to find one cheap. People that get them tend to hold onto them.
Al

[PoolDoc]

Keep in mind that it takes at LEAST a year to get martins established - so they won't help you at all this year. You may want to put up martin houses for the future AND try one of the other methods, for now. The links below might help you distinguish effective and ineffective methods.

Of course, you could employ the VERY effective method common to Florida (and hardly anywhere else): a screen house, enclosing your pool! That pretty much works immediately.

PoolDoc

PS: There is also some question about just how effective martins really are:
http://purplemartin.org/update/MosCont.html

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health...s/mosquito.htm

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef005.asp

[PoolDoc]

All links archived at thread 10844.

[keastman]

Not to rain on the purple martin parade but.... I adore purple martins and used to have a registered colony when I lived on a lake in NYS. I miss them very much and wish I now lived where I could attract a colony. However, it is a bit of a myth about mosquito control. Their diet consists of less than 3% mosquitos. In fact a large portion of their diet in season is dragon flies and damselflies. Unfortunately, the nymph stages of these flies are a major aquatic predator of mosquito larva. So, in theory, purple martin colonies would lead to increased local mosquito populations. But by all means put up some houses, they are beautiful birds to watch and you will never regret having them around. Unless you like to sleep late, they are a very sweet sounding alarm clock as they start their day.

[kelemvor]

Just following up on the Mosquito Magnet thing I mentioned above. I sent my unit off to be serviced, and $180 later it came back working perfectly. It's only been running for 3 days now in my yard and already has what must be well over 20 mosquitoes in the trap chamber. I'm thinking this thing is going to work out well - just don't buy a used one unless you're sure it's in good working order. For what I paid for the device + repair I could have saved money buying it new.

The EPA page linked above by pooldoc provides a reference to the "American Mosquito Control Association" which has a page talking about these devices here.

[sunlove]

Bats...specifically mexican free-tailed bats love to eat em. Lots of fun to sit in the pool and watch them too, sometimes they will dive down for a drink. I live in deep east texas so I feel your pain on the mosquitos. Some neighbors have a pond about a 100 yards away and they are terrible