LauraGB Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I thought we were having a good season because there were virtually no mosquitoes...until last week. Then they were out in full force like I've never, ever seen before in my life. Repellent barely works, and for areas that the spray might miss, well, they zoom in no matter how small the area. I sprayed myself 2x in about 30 minutes today, but they still attacked the tips of my ears and the area just behind my ears. My poor dog - she walks in an absolute cloud of them, and I put some repellent made for dogs on her, too, but not her face - they literally cover her face. It is absolutely awful here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty Mathy Mom Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 We can hardly go outside at from June to September without donating blood. They swarm you looking for a spot where you missed the repellent. That's why we school all summer long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 YES! (I think WI is getting hit hard this year - I have never seen swarms like this) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I'm glad we have bats. We have very few mosquitoes and can enjoy the great outdoors without repellent even though we live in the country. Threads like this remind me to be VERY thankful for our flying mammals! We were REALLY annoyed the year neighbors in a rental house KILLED several!!! The difference was amazing. Fortunately, more bats have moved in and the killing neighbors have moved OUT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Yes! There are larvae or whatever in every little place with standing water, including puddles. Yuck! On the other hand, those tiny things are interesting to look at under the microscope. LOL I'm amazed at how the mosquitos either really go after some of us in our family and totally leave some of us alone. ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 We take the sublingual B vitamin complex from Trader Joes. I have tried this the past few years and did not get bit at all. Last week, I ran out of them 5 days and I got bitten up. Back on them now and not a bite in sight. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 I'm glad we have bats. We have very few mosquitoes and can enjoy the great outdoors without repellent even though we live in the country. Threads like this remind me to be VERY thankful for our flying mammals! We were REALLY annoyed the year neighbors in a rental house KILLED several!!! The difference was amazing. Fortunately, more bats have moved in and the killing neighbors have moved OUT. Bats? Maybe I should build a bat house. Or 20. And then I could use the guano for fertilizer :). I wonder we wouldn't have enough bats to eat the mosquitoes. That's interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyJudyJudy Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Not too bad right now. The only good thing about not having enough rain is that there aren't as many mosquitoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Bats? Maybe I should build a bat house. Or 20. And then I could use the guano for fertilizer :). I wonder we wouldn't have enough bats to eat the mosquitoes. That's interesting. Our conservation district recommends bat houses when people complain about mosquitoes. We don't have any, but I think they naturally use our barn. The year ours were killed I found myself wishing we could order some more from someplace! More moved in on their own - I'm not certain where they came from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I don;t really know. I am hardly ever bit- one of the very few positive aspects to my chronic illnesses. I take Plaquenil, which was originally, and sometimes is still used, an antimalaria drug. I take it for my Sjogren's and RA. But anyway, I think it worked as an antimalarial because it stops mosquitoes from biting. I am very rarely bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 No, they spray for mosquitoes around here. We get the West Nile virus, which I guess is pretty bad and that's a mosquito-borne illness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I just looked around online to see what research has been done on this and one article in the WSJ said that people produce different chemical smells, and one of the deterrent scents was produced by people who are more stressed or anxious. Interesting! You know what? The 2 of us who get bit the least or not at all (I mean, come on, an entire week of camping in soggy conditions and neither of us was bitten ONCE) are the ones with more nervous, anxious personalities. LOL I get sick of hearing how only the sweet people are bitten, *grumble grumble*, but I'm not sure I want to be identified as the most stressed person, either! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 What amazes me is how it can be sooooo dry (the grass is dead) and yet, I am being eaten alive!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 I just looked around online to see what research has been done on this and one article in the WSJ said that people produce different chemical smells, and one of the deterrent scents was produced by people who are more stressed or anxious. Interesting! :lol: I'm totally cracked, so that would make sense! My poor dog is a serious head case, so it make sense there, too. :lol: But for real, I think the problem has become completely worse since the banning of DDT. I'm not saying I want it back, but something has to give. I think pesticides are a horrible nasty and am, for the most part, against them. However, something new needs to be discovered...and soon. I've already got my kids looking up bat house designs. That seems like a win-win situation, and I'm IN. Citronella, clove oil, all the natural pesticides are...eh. These conditions are at least 90x worse than last year's and last year's were bad enough. How do people in swampy areas handle it? I can't imagine what Louisiana might be like right about now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Not too bad right now. The only good thing about not having enough rain is that there aren't as many mosquitoes. They weren't bad until the past couple of weeks. We have been getting nightly thunderstorms and now the little biters are EVERYWHERE. DS walked from the front door to the van the other day and got 8 bites on his FACE. They look horrible. We are on a no playing outside time right now because even mosquitoes are just laughing at the repellent. Looking forward to a cruise next week to just get away from the critters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YLVD Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 No, not really. But, I live in the PNW and we tend to have less bugs in comparison to the rest of the country. After dark though, all bets are off. They LOVE ME so I am glad there aren't too many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Blue House Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Yes! They are horrible here. We live in the DC Metro area which is humid, wet, marshland. They're everywhere and drive me nuts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) Nope. Hardly any mosquitoes. Now the black flies, No-see-ums and ticks are outrageous though. :glare: ETA: On the bright side, the bear has moved on. :D Edited July 7, 2011 by WishboneDawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetBean Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 When we lived on the CT shoreline, we were wedged between salt marsh and fresh water wetlands, and our acreage was mostly wooded as well. We were eaten alive every time we stepped out of the house, day or night. I had to put repellent on every day. This is the only natural repellent that I found, that actually works, and doesn't give me a rash. http://schoolipm.ifas.ufl.edu/biogan04.htm We now live in central NJ, and have almost no mosquitoes, thanks to some very reliable bats who come out every evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellieMI Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Yes! After this weekend one son looks like he has some kind of disease, he has so many bites on his lower legs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Yes, it definitely seems to be worse this year and steadily getting worse in general. This is one reason I'm glad I live in the Northern part of the state and have summer, but a short one! We only have to suffer a couple months and be done with the buggers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 I thought about many of you when I was out last night enjoying the somewhat cooler air. After about 20 minutes I heard a mosquito (one mosquito). I did get a little concerned though... for some reason, I didn't see our bats last night. That could be scary. We've had up to 14 we could count at once (other years). The last couple of nights I've only seen one or two. Last night I didn't see any. I hope our new neighbors aren't doing them in. :glare: Maybe they're just going elsewhere to get their mosquitoes since there weren't many around me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 They were horrible this year for about a month, we generally don't have them at house but now they seem to be gone again, thank goodness. Even when we went to town for fireworks there were none at all and there are usually a town and we had terrible flooding this year. I don't understand it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 No, but only because we're experiencing a drought. As soon as we start getting rain again, they'll be back in force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 We are opposite season to you but yes, our last season 6 months ago was the worst ever. You really couldn't walk out at dusk or dawn, they were too bad, but just for a few weeks. The way I handle it is to use a flynet. We also get bad flies a certain time of the year here and to take a walk you really need a fly net or you are constantly swatting. Its just a net you put over a hat. As long as the rest of you is covered up its ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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