OB,

The mosquitos are driving me crazy on my back patio. What are some good solid suggestions to keep them away?

Ay crazy home remedies that actually work?

Plant some American Beauty Berries in the area. Crush some leaves when the skeeters are bad. They'll leave you the eff alone.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4390237
Get some of this stuff and put a little in a Tupperware container with a few holes poked in the lid. Put it somewhere on the patio where it will stay dry and it will keep the mosquitos away for a week or two. When you stop smelling it, dump and refill.

I had a huge problem with them congregating around my front door and coming in when it wa opened. Haven't had one in the house since using this stuff.

It's not a home remedy but I had a misting system installed about 18 months ago and I honestly have even forgot that they even exist. I can't say enough about it. Money well spent for us.

Tell us more about your misting system. National brand? Chemicals used? etc.

I believe bug zappers kill skeeters? I got one for flies that are attracted to my dogs poop, which I clean up 2x a week but they still come running in for a poop buffet, and it works well.

On the box it says it will kill Mosquitos but maybe it's bull****?

I've done a fair amount of research on this and there aren't a lot of great options other than a misting system, but I do have 2 recommendations - (1) buy some permethrin concentrate and spray and (2) when you want to spend time on the patio, get Thermacell lantern to help clear about a 15x15 area. The misting systems are the best option, but also tend to be somewhat costly.

At least based on what i've read, bugzappers don't help.

[This message has been edited by DannyDuberstein (edited 6/24/2012 10:13a).]

Don't know where you live PTX, but + 1000 on the misting system. We live in Aggieland and installed one in our new place. Worth every penny. In fact, we are going to expand our system to cover the property a bit more - not just around the house. Let me know if you want a reference for the subcontractor. Might PM me though bc I'm not on the boards a lot.

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Tell us more about your misting system. National brand? Chemicals used? etc.

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We have a Mist Away system. Full coverage in the backyard and about 15ft out along the front of the house including the driveway. One full side yard and about 1/2 the other side yard.

They have different options but we went with the barrel one that churns for 30 seconds before it comes on to keep everything mixed. We went with a good number of nozzles for the relative size of our yard but it is working well.

Right now during the high season it goes off basically at sunrise and sunset for a little less than a minute. During the winter I will have it go off about 10 seconds once a day just to keep the lines flushed.

The only maintenance is filling it up. Sometimes you can cut a line when you are digging in your beds or with the weed eater. We had a squirrel eat through a line but it's an easy fix.

The best part for us besides no mosquito's is that it seems to dramatically reduce other insects. It doesn't eliminate them like it does mosquito's but the number of spiders and other insects we have is almost none now. We also put in a snake repellent additive but honestly I couldn't tell you if that's working or not. We haven't seen any snakes but then again we didn't see to many before it either.

One thing to be aware of is that some plants are sensitive to the mist. Everyone will tell you that they are aren't but a few are. We have a rose bush that is near on and it struggles. Most plants tolerate it fine though.

thanks for the info!

did you install it yourself or have it done? mind providing a ballpark cost figure?

We had it installed. We didn't go with the big company in the area Houston Mosquito Control Systems though. On a referral we went with Leo the Mosquito man. He's got a real company but it's not like he has a website or anything. He's a good dude trying to grow a company. He just discovered Excel and I spoke with him for a while about how he is going to use it. He's here legally and is working his ass off to get his wife and kids here legally which he told me he hopes will be in about 2 years. He's a guy trying for the American dream the right way so I like supporting him. Sorry for the sidebar, back to your question.

You could probably install it yourself. It's not rocket science at all but you would need to know how many nozzles you need for adequate coverage and how to space them. Again, nothing that 30 minutes on the internet couldn't solve. For us the labor wasn't that much compared to buying everything ourselves and installing so it was easiest to have him do it.

Where the value of having them do it is in all the little extra things you have to buy. For example, they have the tubes in all different colors so it matches your trim paint or fence color. They have the copper tubes they use as risers for the nozzles in your beds. They have this flexible metal tube that covers the hose where the make transitions that weed eaters could get. And I think the most valuable part is they know all the tricks to hide the hose so unless you know to look for it you don't see them.

Again though, you could do it yourself but it wasn't worth the extra few hundred bucks. They pounded it out in a few hours with 3 people.

You could EASILY maintain it yourself. I just let Leo do it for me though but it would be easy to refill it yourself. The deal I have with him is he comes by monthly to make sure it's working fine and the nozzles are clear. Any issue I have (including me or anyone cutting the line) he repairs free including parts. What he gets is I use him for the refills. Which he probably makes about 50 bucks a refill on.

If you do shop for one make sure you get the all stainless nozzles. There are some that are partial stainless and have plastic or other metals that don't hold up as well.

There are basically three options. One is a barrel system that doesn't agitate before dispensing which is just bad because the chemical will settle and needs to be mixed. The second is the barrel that agitates before dispensing. The third is a system that hooks directly to your water line and mixes as it dispenses. It is much smaller (no barrel) but more costly to buy, install and maintain. If space is tight though it's a good option. We went with the barrel that agitates and it sits on our AC pad between the AC's.

Edit - I forgot to say how much it was. I don't remember exactly but I think it was around $1500. That is a wild guess though.


[This message has been edited by Fairview (edited 6/24/2012 2:38p).]

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I believe bug zappers kill skeeters? I got one for flies that are attracted to my dogs poop

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Bug zappers kill bugs but they attract a lot more than they kill. The ento guys on here will have a better idea than me but I seem to recall my Ento prof saying if you really wanted to get rid of bugs buy a zapper for your neighbor so he would attract all the bugs.

Thanks Fairview.

In addition to the zappers drawing more than they kill, they really don't attract mosquitoes very well at all. Skeeters aren't attracted to light, as I understand it, but the heat and CO2 we give off. So your zapper would, at best, kill a bunch of junebugs and moths, but not too many mosquitoes.

I saw a zapper the other day at home depot that had a mosquito attractant that you would need to change every month or so. Still not convinced it would work, but for about $50 I might give it a try.

I've been real curious about the mosquito magnet that puts out co2 and heat to attract them. They start around $300.

Ultimately I'd like to get one of these misting systems, but I just bought my house and am nowhere near spending the money on a mister. For now I'll just stick to my thermacell.

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I've been real curious about the mosquito magnet that puts out co2 and heat to attract them. They start around $300.

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My house backs up to a greenbelt and I guess that's the source of the mosquitoes that just SWARM to us if we're out near dusk. I noticed and recognized one of those Mosquito Magnets in the back yard when our real estate agent was showing us the house (2009). When I met the seller, I asked him about it, and he said he didn't think it ever caught a mosquito the whole time he had it... FWIW.

Good to know. On home depots website people either gave it a 5 or a 1 not many in betweens, but its hard to tell from those because people usually write a review about something they love or hate.

Where can I buy these American Beauty Bushes????

Im in Dallas...

Place a water filled plate or shallow dish on the patio with a couple of drops of Ivory dishwashing detergent mixed in.

It works.

We have an absurd amount of mosquitos in our backyard. I've used everything from citronella torches to Thermacell to handheld fogging machines. They all work to varying degrees. If we weren't considering a move in the next couple of years, I'd go ahead and put in a misting system.

With all that said, the cheapest, easiest solution is to just use OFF.