Mosquito..be gone...

[moolie]

The most recent June/July 2012 Mother Earth News has a whole article on plants that keep mosquitoes away, they recommend:

Lantana (Lantana camara)
Rose sented Monarda (bee balm)
Lime basil (Ocimum americanum or "hairy basil")
Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
Sacres basil (Ocimum sanctum or "holy basil")
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

 

[cheepo]

thanks 4 being so wonderfully helpfull...
I do have a wood heron..had it place in the garden but will definately move it...
I also have garlic chives...left over from last years planting..will try...good tip..
The yard has some hardy geraniums.....but I will be on the hunt for a mosquito shoo...
for sure...love the thought of a natural cure..thanks 4 the picture
there seems to be lots on the market...
but first I find it confusing...
and second I rarely am at the store...and third..really wouldn.t want to waste money...
but the mosquito magnet was reasonably effective then...
last year there were a few dragon flys..but haven't seen them yet...
It is probably not as hot here as where you are...and i think it was middle of summer I saw then...
hope they come back, because they are lovely to whatch, and now I know can serve a great purpose
great list moolie..!!!
thanks...will have lots to add to my plant/seed wantabee list...

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Anyone tried applying Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis to their property to help control your mosquito population?

Here's another option as well:

Spartan Mosquito - Spartan Mosquito

Spartan Mosquito Pro Tech is an effective, long-lasting, continuous mosquito killing product for up to 30 days.

spartanmosquito.com

Looking to not hate being outside on my own property this summer :/

 

[tortoise]

My solution is to garden and be outdoors in the morning. No bugs then! Afternoon and evening are when the mosquitos and BITING FLIES are so bad! Get up at first light and go outside until the sun is too intense (about 10 a.m.) Get a good 4 hours of outdoor work in bug-free and repellent-free.

 

[Britesea]

If you Google, you can find a cheap DIY version of the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator. Some people swear by them, some swear AT them. The Spartan product uses sugar and yeast to produce CO2, which mosquitoes are attracted to. The salt in the trap is to kill any eggs the female may lay inside the trap. In the DIY models, the mosquitoes get trapped in the 2 liter bottle and eventually drown, but the Eradicator is too small to be very effective at that. Their literature claimed that the yeast continues to produce CO2 inside the mosquito's stomach causing it to rupture and kill the mosquito. I know that raw yeasty dough can be dangerous for pigs for the same reason, but not sure it would work that way on mosquitoes- I'd want to see some laboratory studies on that.

There is also a bacillus thuringiensis that you can get, similar to the one that kills cabbage loopers and such. You float the donut-shaped cakes in ponds and other places mosquitoes breed; it prevents the larvae from maturing.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

My solution is to garden and be outdoors in the morning. No bugs then! Afternoon and evening are when the mosquitos and BITING FLIES are so bad! Get up at first light and go outside until the sun is too intense (about 10 a.m.) Get a good 4 hours of outdoor work in bug-free and repellent-free.

If only it were that easy :/. 5 kids, lots of gardening and land tending for myself and then a tree farm + my daytime job means I don't get to be selective of my hours I can be working outside. Plus, kids want to play when the kids want to play, so I'd like for them not to come in looking like a pepperoni pizza and feeling all itchy

If you Google, you can find a cheap DIY version of the Spartan Mosquito Eradicator. Some people swear by them, some swear AT them. The Spartan product uses sugar and yeast to produce CO2, which mosquitoes are attracted to. The salt in the trap is to kill any eggs the female may lay inside the trap. In the DIY models, the mosquitoes get trapped in the 2 liter bottle and eventually drown, but the Eradicator is too small to be very effective at that. Their literature claimed that the yeast continues to produce CO2 inside the mosquito's stomach causing it to rupture and kill the mosquito. I know that raw yeasty dough can be dangerous for pigs for the same reason, but not sure it would work that way on mosquitoes- I'd want to see some laboratory studies on that.

There is also a bacillus thuringiensis that you can get, similar to the one that kills cabbage loopers and such. You float the donut-shaped cakes in ponds and other places mosquitoes breed; it prevents the larvae from maturing.

Thanks for the write-up. I had looked last summer on how their product works and didn't recall finding anything, so your information certainly useful. I'll look up some DIY stuff that mimics theirs. However, I'm living on 10 acres here. I'm not about to put in a ton of effort into 45 DIY traps around the property if I can just buy a dozen Spartans and throw them up in a tree. Whether they actually work is certainly a question though

We don't have any actual standing water on our property, so I wish it were as easy as a those skeeter discs

 

[Hinotori]

Put out bird feeders for the omnivore species like red-winged blackbirds or starlings. If enough hang around you don't have mosquito issues.

We have 60+ acres of shallow pond and marsh here next to us. I rarely see mosquitoes. There are large flocks of insect eaters that come out every evening.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Put out bird feeders for the omnivore species like red-winged blackbirds or starlings. If enough hang around you don't have mosquito issues.

We have 60+ acres of shallow pond and marsh here next to us. I rarely see mosquitoes. There are large flocks of insect eaters that come out every evening.

I think the previous owners just sprayed permethrin and that's just not something I'm going to do. I've been planting and spreading more wildflower and prairie grass seeds in order to start attracting more species of birds. We get a ****load of dragonflies here that swarm really good, but it just doesn't seem to make a lick of difference. The amount of mosquitoes is just ridiculous.

I inquired about bat houses but from many other folks I've heard that you can put them up but it might take 5 years for some to show up or not at all, so I'm focusing energy elsewhere.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

Well it is that season again...
love to be outside...
but good gosh...can't say those blood suckers are making it pleasant..
Has anyone managed to come up with anything reasonably effective

It's Lemon Eucalyptus. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified lemon eucalyptus, a registered EPA repellent, as an active ingredient in mosquito repellent.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

Well it is that season again...
love to be outside...
but good gosh...can't say those blood suckers are making it pleasant..
Has anyone managed to come up with anything reasonably effective

Oranges, lemons, lavender, basil and catnip naturally contain oils that repel mosquitoes and are generally nice to the nose.