Mosquitoes - We are being eaten alive- OT

Pacuare

We moved into a new house in July in the DFW area.  With all of the recent rain we have had recently, the mosquitoes have gotten really bad.  We can't be outside after about 4:30pm without being eaten alive.  They even attack us in the pool.  I am mostly left alone when I am outside using the egg but they still wander my way.  We have tried citronella candles but the mosquitoes didn't care that we had some lit.  The previous home owner had also prepaid for a company to spray for mosquitoes and the last treatment was just two weeks ago.  We definitely need help in order to be able to enjoy egging and the outdoors.  Any suggestions for the best method to keep them away?

henapple

We used to plant citronella plants across our porch... Worked.

hapster

Rub your exposed skin with a dryer sheet. Should help keep them away

travisstrick

3m ultrathon. I was born on the coast of Florida, spent several years in Alaska (by far the worst for skeeters) and now live a little south of you. The 3m stuff is the best.

If you don't want to apply bug dope, you can soak your duds in permethrin.

Chubbs

Dryer sheets in the back if your hat (hanging over neck) work well. If wife not a fan, like @Hapster said just have her wipe her skin with it.

Foghorn

So far, in San Antonio I  have found the the Off Mosquito Lamps work really well.  When we have company over to sit out on the deck I light 4 of them and space them about every 20 feet across the deck as soon as I go outside to cook - usually in the morning if I am doing something low and slow.  I refill them in the late afternoon when the evening mosquitoes would normally start to accumulate and we have mosquito-free evenings. 

Pacuare

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.  I definitely want to try to find a chemical free solution since we have three little kids - 4, 2, and 2 months.  I want to avoid DEET if possible and will give some of the other options a try. 

Que_n_Brew

That's weird. I live in a suburb of DFW (Heath) with a pond behind the house. We have been in this area for 5 years and I'm amazed at how we never seem to have Mosquitos problems. Make sure you are rolling plenty of smoke in the BGE. Should solve the problem.

yzzi

Flamethrower makes quick work of getting rid of mosquitoes.

Wolfpack

Lowes and Home Depot sell a cutter product that you hook up to your hose and spray the yard. We have had really good luck with it- make sure to spray the bushes and low trees really well. The Mosquitos hide under bushes- you will need to reapply every 3-4 weeks

Mattman3969

Black Flag fogger = problem solved

TUTTLE871

I got a fogger as well here in Dallas and then I spray myself also.
And thanks to the City of Dallas for spraying us with crap that's unknown to man. Won't forget last year when they decided to do fly overs with crap we will never know and drop it on us.
Just a little of my anger issues today.

Pacuare

@Que_n_Brew - our lot and surrounding lots are heavily wooded. I don't know if that has anything to do with the large number of mosquitoes we have here. 

 I will definitely have to look into a fogger and see what's available at Lowes and Home Depot.

jimreed777

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000HMA7OK
Been using that and mixing mineral oil from horse.com and pyrethrum from doyourownpestcontrol.com for a couple years.
What was an awful mosquito problem now is almost zero

Pacuare

@jimreed777 - thanks for the info. I will check that out too.

FlyingTivo

I have 2 of the MosquitoMagnet.com and they work great down here in Mexico. The trick is you have to start early in the season to trap the new born females!

Felipe

Sundown

Pacuare said:

We moved into a new house in July in the DFW area.  With all of the recent rain we have had recently, the mosquitoes have gotten really bad.  We can't be outside after about 4:30pm without being eaten alive.  They even attack us in the pool.  I am mostly left alone when I am outside using the egg but they still wander my way.  We have tried citronella candles but the mosquitoes didn't care that we had some lit.  The previous home owner had also prepaid for a company to spray for mosquitoes and the last treatment was just two weeks ago.  We definitely need help in order to be able to enjoy egging and the outdoors.  Any suggestions for the best method to keep them away?

Give this site a look. I discovered it a few years ago and haven't looked back. Our yard is mosquito free while our neighbors have nothing to do but wave at the air trying to get rid of the pesky little devils.

Perfectly safe around kids and pets but, also keeps vampires away.

You only smell the garlic for about half an hour after spraying in case that's a worry.

I also spray my daughters beach house in Rhode Island about every 4 weeks and the kids play out in the yard (when not at the beach) without any bites at all!

You can get the little pump sprayers at Lowe's or HD. I finally got the back pack type that holds 4 gallons.

FanOfFanboys

I got my yard professionally sprayed. I hate using sprays when just hanging out in yard, get greasy. The pro spray lasted about 5 weeks with zero mosquitoes and saw none within 30 mins or so of them spraying. Safe for my dog and kid. 

SmokeyPitt

I haven't tried one, but have heard positive things about the ThermaCell products such as this:

http://www.basspro.com/ThermaCell-Mosquito-Repellent-Outdoor-LED-Lantern/product/10215996/?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&om_mmc=shopping_googleproductextensions&kpid=10215996

<edit>

I didn't realize that those took a "fuel".  You have to refill the butane cartridge so it might get expensive as a permanent solution. 

FanOfFanboys

SmokeyPitt said:

I haven't tried one, but have heard positive things about the ThermaCell products such as this:

http://www.basspro.com/ThermaCell-Mosquito-Repellent-Outdoor-LED-Lantern/product/10215996/?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&om_mmc=shopping_googleproductextensions&kpid=10215996

I use a thermaCELL constantly in the deer stand and while fishing. Works amazing. They make a lantern for backyard stuff but it is a relatively small space covered and doesn't work well if windy that day.  

SmokeyPitt

FanOfFanboys said:

SmokeyPitt said:

I haven't tried one, but have heard positive things about the ThermaCell products such as this:

http://www.basspro.com/ThermaCell-Mosquito-Repellent-Outdoor-LED-Lantern/product/10215996/?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&om_mmc=shopping_googleproductextensions&kpid=10215996

I use a thermaCELL constantly in the deer stand and while fishing. Works amazing. They make a lantern for backyard stuff but it is a relatively small space covered and doesn't work well if windy that day.  

Cool...thanks for the info.  I'm thinking of getting one for camping.  Sometimes the skeeters are just unbelievable around the fire.  

fljoemon

We tried Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard and that seems to work for the mosquitoes (http://www.amazon.com/Avon-GUARD-PICARIDIN-Aerosol-Spray/dp/B000FTNBLQ)

FanOfFanboys

SmokeyPitt said:

FanOfFanboys said:

SmokeyPitt said:

I haven't tried one, but have heard positive things about the ThermaCell products such as this:

http://www.basspro.com/ThermaCell-Mosquito-Repellent-Outdoor-LED-Lantern/product/10215996/?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&om_mmc=shopping_googleproductextensions&kpid=10215996

I use a thermaCELL constantly in the deer stand and while fishing. Works amazing. They make a lantern for backyard stuff but it is a relatively small space covered and doesn't work well if windy that day.  

Cool...thanks for the info.  I'm thinking of getting one for camping.  Sometimes the skeeters are just unbelievable around the fire.  

I hunt in SC and GA and they can be awful. literally see a swarm just flying around. once i light the thermacell tho i can sit for hours and not get bit once. and i am one of those people who can be standing around with 5-6 other people and be the only one getting bit. in aug-sept my thermacall is by far my favorite hunting accessory. 

Pacuare

Thanks for the additional suggestions.  We will look into them.  

We don't have any bodies of water near us. We also don't really have any standing water in our yard. They must have been an issue previous years because the previous homeowner paid for a series of treatments this summer.

henapple

TUTTLE871 said:

I got a fogger as well here in Dallas and then I spray myself also.
And thanks to the City of Dallas for spraying us with crap that's unknown to man. Won't forget last year when they decided to do fly overs with crap we will never know and drop it on us.
Just a little of my anger issues today.

That was Air Force One dumping its black tanks... He's been pissing on all of us.. You just got the real thing.

Botch

FanOfFanboys said:

I am one of those people who can be standing around with 5-6 other people and be the only one getting bit. 

Me too.  Its so bad I've actually accepted jobs because of their locale.  My last Active Duty assignment was in Grand Forks ND, where I spent more time outside in the -30F winter than in the summer, because the mosquitoes were so bad.  I paid a lot more for the same-sized house here in Ogden because it was up on a bench, not in the lowlands by all the mosquito marshes.  I can sit outside all night and only get bit once or twice here (yet, somehow, those damn *$&%^! mosquitoes get me on the knuckle, every f***ing time!)

I HATE MOSQUITOES!!!

I've tried most of the "remedies" mentioned here; my personal body chemistry must be more powerful than all of them; I still get bit using them.  

My home here is paid off, still got 5 years to go til I can retire; I'll probably be staying here in retirement just because of the lack of mosquitoes.  

Did I mention I HATE mosquitoes?