mosquitos

[Benny]

Wow, you are the epitome of the stereotype you seem to hate so much.

He's an internet troll pretending to be a cop...You shouldn't expect anything less out of him.


BTW, hey Keyser, will you name at least 1 INGO member that can vouch for you that you are what you claim to be?

If not, negative rep inbound.

 

[shibumiseeker]

A quick check of the many bat web sites will indicate that bats eat from 600 mosquitoes per hour, to 700 per night. Either way, thay adds up to a LOT of mosquitoes PER bat

Yes, because many bat websites are promoting bats. Which there is nothing wrong with because bats are our friends. As a caver I love bats and I've spent a lot of my life studying them up close. I also know several of the preeminent bat biologists and have done field work with them and I train bat biologists every year in vertical caving techniques, so I spend a lot of time with the subject. The 600 per hour figure is based on some very old research with some bats in a controlled environment and gets quoted a lot, but it simply isn't the real-world results. A better figure would be a few mosquitoes an hour and a couple dozen a night. Considering that a bat house might have 10-20 bats in it, and an average acre of land in a suburb might have ten THOUSAND mosquitoes in it, that's not much impact especially considering the breeding cycle of the mosquito is so fast.

But, since words I write will invariably convey much less authority, here's a few links that explains the study that started it all:
FRANKLIN COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: The myth of bats and mosquitoes - Chambersburg Public Opinion
New Jersey Mosquito Biology and Control. Center for Vector Biology


A mosquito is a very small dinner for a bat, it takes a lot of calories to catch them for not much gain. They are also harder targets. Moths and beetles are very energy rich foods and take a lot less effort to catch.

Texas Mosquito Control Association

Wanna know why I can expound upon this subject? Because I too had grown up with the myth and was eager to display my knowledge when I was with a group of bat biologists doing field work one night (much bat field work is done at night), and I was soundly put right on the subject.

 

[hornadylnl]

Well, the standing water part is pretty much an impossibility right now with all the rain we've been having. I've had one huge puddle for about a month now. It sits right over the top of my field tile but it's about 10-12' below the ground level there and I don't think I could get to it with my backhoe attachment to run a beehive there. I might try it once it dries out. I need to get several truckloads of dirt hauled in to fi in some areas.

There was an email going around about spraying listerine but I doubt that will work.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Well, the standing water part is pretty much an impossibility right now with all the rain we've been having. I've had one huge puddle for about a month now. It sits right over the top of my field tile but it's about 10-12' below the ground level there and I don't think I could get to it with my backhoe attachment to run a beehive there. I might try it once it dries out. I need to get several truckloads of dirt hauled in to fi in some areas.

There was an email going around about spraying listerine but I doubt that will work.

Pick up some BT donuts. They are a bacteria that interrupts the breeding cycle of the mosquito and the donuts are designed to be time-released so they can be placed in just that kind of puddle or pond or the like.

 

[gunman41mag]

DRAGONFLIES like eating mosquitos

 

[hornadylnl]

Pick up some BT donuts. They are a bacteria that interrupts the breeding cycle of the mosquito and the donuts are designed to be time-released so they can be placed in just that kind of puddle or pond or the like.

Is that something I can get at Rural King?

 

[shibumiseeker]

Is that something I can get at Rural King?

Dunno about Rural King, but they are generally available at farm supply places and garden centers. Ask for mosquito donuts, or "those things you can put in water to control mosquitoes" since the ignorant clerks rarely know what the hell Bacillus thuringiensis donuts are, let alone pronounce them. I use Dipel dust on my tomotoes and peppers (same stuff, Bt) for hornworm control and just sprinkle a little in my traps since the bacillus reproduces and lives for several weeks.

 

[jclark]

This is gonna sound crazy, but give it a try.
Mix a few ounces of vanilla extract, a half a small bottle of yellow Listerine, and pour it into a spray bottle. Fill the rest up with water, mix well, and spray it on yourself. They will leave you alone as long as you don't sweat it off. Re apply as necessary.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Mosquito Donuts - rain barrels in composters for composting available at GREENCulture

Here ya go!

 

[Mike H]

A lot of good advice given so far. I have found that Thermacell works great for repelling [not killing] skeeters. So if you want to repel while you are sitting on your deck etc. Thermacell will do it.

 

[Hkindiana]

Lowes carries the mosquito donuts as well

 

[singlestacksig]

sprays & fogs are the best you can do this year.. but for the long term look up hedge apples. also make a permanent pond, yes , long term pool of water will attract frogs, dragonfly, swifts, & a whole bunch of other bug eaters.. it will give them a habitat for the drier times so they are around in the wet times to eat the mosquito larva..

 

[spec4]

When we lived in the country we had a bat colony set up shop in our attic. One night I counted over 30 of them flying out by the chimney. We finally paid a pro to get rid of them, he sealed all the openings and set up a net where they could fly out but could not get back in. Then after a week he came back and sealed that up. After the bats left, we noticed a big time increase in the mosquito population. I think if you put up bat houses, they have to be at least 12 feet above the ground.

 

[navarre1095]

Ace and Rural king carry BTI dunks.

When I was in charge of vector control for my city I used this
Mosquito Repellent | Tick Repellent | Natural Mosquito Control by Mosquito Barrier
I'm using some tonight to keep skeeters out of my party.

 

[rambone]

The answer is to pass laws that force everyone in the vicinity have grass shorter than 3".

 

[hornadylnl]

The answer is to pass laws that force everyone in the vicinity have grass shorter than 3".

I'm not mowing 17 acres of woods. I'll just have to consign myself to an infestation of Mosquitos and rats.