Mosquito Control
- Thread starter DoWhat
- Start date
struggler44
A Salute to all on Watch
Swatting alot
......making sure there is no standing water anywhere on the property is where I started (and probably will end)
struggler44
A Salute to all on Watch
Can I borrow it on the weekends? Not so much needed during the week
Proud_Nana
Member
DoWhat, which county do you live in?
Are you going to make the purchase of the SkeeterVac?
If so, I would be very interested to hear about your results since I work for Mosquito Control.
Will you keep me posted, please?
Are you going to make the purchase of the SkeeterVac?
If so, I would be very interested to hear about your results since I work for Mosquito Control.
Will you keep me posted, please?
Thinking about buying.
Wanted to get some feed back.
I run the mosquito control in my community.
St. Mary's County informed me that Maryland State Agriculture has cut back and will not pay for the portion that they have been paying due to cut backs.
The price has doubled, and the residents here and myself are thinking of stopping service with the county. Everybody will have to fend for themselves.
Proud_Nana
Member
I work in Calvert County. The State cut our funding 100%. So, at this point it is County and community funded. If you don't mind, let me ask a few questions. How big is your community, how many homes, are they fairly close together, the community or most homeowners yards nicely maintained? Is it in a marshy area of the County? Do you know if your prevelant mosquito is the Asian Tiger?
In the beginning had about 20 homeowners.
All homes are on one street.
All home owners.
Nice yards.
No marshy areas, a creek back in the woods.
Very wooded area.
Tiger mosquito, yes. They are mean little bastards and will get you even biting through your clothing.
Can you do anything about it?
Says it will last for 30 days.
JOKER
Great Mills Rd
That doesn't sound bad at all.
But I have only been reading the reviews from their website.
Was hoping somebody here may have purchased a similar product and tried it out years past.
I hope people realize how bad the mosquitoes will be this year.
frequentflier
happy to be living
Besides the normal watering holes for breeding mosquitoes, add in all the uprooted and knocked over trees from last years storms; whose root balls are huge gaping holes full of water and muck.
Goldenhawk
Well-Known Member
I built myself one of these, and can vouch for its effectiveness. Works FAR better than the propane Mosquito Deleto I bought a couple years ago.
Skeeter Bag
or
Diy – Mosquito Trap | Gomestic
One box fan ($15), a couple yards of mosquito netting ($5), a few minutes of sewing... done.
Catches 10 times the skeeters that the propane unit ever caught, and cost about 1/5 as much - and I never need to replace any expensive propane.
Skeeter Bag
or
Diy – Mosquito Trap | Gomestic
One box fan ($15), a couple yards of mosquito netting ($5), a few minutes of sewing... done.
Catches 10 times the skeeters that the propane unit ever caught, and cost about 1/5 as much - and I never need to replace any expensive propane.
Proud_Nana
Member
DoWhat, let's see if I can help here.
(And I'm not speaking directly at anyone or pointing fingers...just trying to educate)
Many people do not really realize that mosquitoes are a public health threat and should be a concern to all citizens. Many people just blow it off as a simple nuisance. Varieties of mosquitoes carry varieties of diseases.
This link Mosquito Control is for Calvert County Mosquito Control Program's website. You may find some valuable information here.
With the Asian Tiger mosquitoes, the only way to get rid of them is to get rid of all standing water. When we go to communities for inspections, we can walk into the cleanest communities, yards and homes. BUT, all these particular mosquitoes need is a bottle cap of water to breed or a tiny amount of water in a MAN MADE CONTAINER! Tiger mosquitoes will not breed in mud, dirt, etc. I'm serious here! Mosquities instinctively now what holds water. They lay their eggs just above where they know water has sat in the past. When it rains, and that container floods, the mosquito eggs will go through the process of development and become biting adults. The BEST way to control these mosquitoes is to get rid of the breeding sites. You kill many more moquitoes in a flower pot tray, tire, bird bath, etc. as larva, then you will with a spray truck. Most people served by our profession don't understand that because they don't understand the biology of the mosquito.
Imagine this....you have a flower pot on your deck that unknowningly is breeding mosquitoes, you go out on the deck to grill a steak, MISS mosquito (females need blood meal for their eggs to develop) bites you on the leg, by the time you realize you've been bit, she is gone and soon to lay eggs in that flower pot to wait for the rain so many more will come and bite you later, therefore creating many more adults that will lay that many more eggs. It is a vicious cyclye. If you don't get rid of the containers, you cannot break the pattern. Now, with all of that said.....many homeowners often cannot find their breeding sites on their own. (I had a hose reel that had one leaf stuck in a drain hole....it held about 1 inch of unseen water and had hundreds of larva in it) It happens to the best of us. It is all about education.
A couple of suggestions. If you use outside lighting, turn off the lights as the mosquitoes are attracted to bright light. Change to yellow bulbs. If you purchase and use some type of 'mosquito magnet machine', put it on the edge of the property, not next to the deck.
DoWhat, you say you have a creek bed behind the house. This type of environment would not breed tiger mosquitoes, but possibly other types of mosquitoes if there is standing/stagnant water. As long as the water is moving, it should not breed. Bats - eh....there are much bigger insects a bat would rather eat than a tiny mosquito.
Also, it is best to verify what type of mosquito you are dealing with. There are other mosquitoes that look similar to the asain tiger (with black and white stripe) but are more aggressive. The 'tigers' generally stay below the knee and are very skittish. You go to swat them, they back away and then come back. Others are relentless and will even fly in your ears and up your nose.
The State of Maryland has cut funding to many programs througout the State, including mosquito control. Less staff, more paperwork and more financial burden on the providers, whether it is a County or State run program.
You can also call your local program, ask if they can come and do an inspection to help you identify and resolve your problem.
I hope this has helped some!
On a side note, Avon has a wonderful mosquito repellant line for adults and children over the age of 2. There is also a natural repellant that I will be trying in a few weeks called Skedattle.
(And I'm not speaking directly at anyone or pointing fingers...just trying to educate)
Many people do not really realize that mosquitoes are a public health threat and should be a concern to all citizens. Many people just blow it off as a simple nuisance. Varieties of mosquitoes carry varieties of diseases.
This link Mosquito Control is for Calvert County Mosquito Control Program's website. You may find some valuable information here.
With the Asian Tiger mosquitoes, the only way to get rid of them is to get rid of all standing water. When we go to communities for inspections, we can walk into the cleanest communities, yards and homes. BUT, all these particular mosquitoes need is a bottle cap of water to breed or a tiny amount of water in a MAN MADE CONTAINER! Tiger mosquitoes will not breed in mud, dirt, etc. I'm serious here! Mosquities instinctively now what holds water. They lay their eggs just above where they know water has sat in the past. When it rains, and that container floods, the mosquito eggs will go through the process of development and become biting adults. The BEST way to control these mosquitoes is to get rid of the breeding sites. You kill many more moquitoes in a flower pot tray, tire, bird bath, etc. as larva, then you will with a spray truck. Most people served by our profession don't understand that because they don't understand the biology of the mosquito.
Imagine this....you have a flower pot on your deck that unknowningly is breeding mosquitoes, you go out on the deck to grill a steak, MISS mosquito (females need blood meal for their eggs to develop) bites you on the leg, by the time you realize you've been bit, she is gone and soon to lay eggs in that flower pot to wait for the rain so many more will come and bite you later, therefore creating many more adults that will lay that many more eggs. It is a vicious cyclye. If you don't get rid of the containers, you cannot break the pattern. Now, with all of that said.....many homeowners often cannot find their breeding sites on their own. (I had a hose reel that had one leaf stuck in a drain hole....it held about 1 inch of unseen water and had hundreds of larva in it) It happens to the best of us. It is all about education.
A couple of suggestions. If you use outside lighting, turn off the lights as the mosquitoes are attracted to bright light. Change to yellow bulbs. If you purchase and use some type of 'mosquito magnet machine', put it on the edge of the property, not next to the deck.
DoWhat, you say you have a creek bed behind the house. This type of environment would not breed tiger mosquitoes, but possibly other types of mosquitoes if there is standing/stagnant water. As long as the water is moving, it should not breed. Bats - eh....there are much bigger insects a bat would rather eat than a tiny mosquito.
Also, it is best to verify what type of mosquito you are dealing with. There are other mosquitoes that look similar to the asain tiger (with black and white stripe) but are more aggressive. The 'tigers' generally stay below the knee and are very skittish. You go to swat them, they back away and then come back. Others are relentless and will even fly in your ears and up your nose.
The State of Maryland has cut funding to many programs througout the State, including mosquito control. Less staff, more paperwork and more financial burden on the providers, whether it is a County or State run program.
You can also call your local program, ask if they can come and do an inspection to help you identify and resolve your problem.
I hope this has helped some!
On a side note, Avon has a wonderful mosquito repellant line for adults and children over the age of 2. There is also a natural repellant that I will be trying in a few weeks called Skedattle.
Proud_Nana
Member
Also, mosquito fish can be very helpful for ornamental or storm management ponds. Any place that has permanent water.
Proud_Nana
Member
Also...for an attractant for the machines......Asian tigers are attracted to Carbon Dioxide (what we breathe) The best attractant is dry ice, which is very cost prohibitive for long term use. I am not familiar with the attractant that the device uses that you are considering.
Here on the island, the state mosquito control efforts have dwindled so much in the last couple seasons that they were already completely worthless...so this year is looking grim.
I put out the larvicide granules soon after every rain and do some spraying of the open areas. Bought one of the expensive CO2 and electric mosquito 'disco traps' too but have not been impressed with it at all.
I put out the larvicide granules soon after every rain and do some spraying of the open areas. Bought one of the expensive CO2 and electric mosquito 'disco traps' too but have not been impressed with it at all.