Spraying your yard for bugs/mosquitoes

[DawnM]

Do you have your yard sprayed for bugs each year?

 

We have never done it.  Is it something you can do yourself or is that not safe?

 

About how much is it to have it done?

 

I really want the bugs to be gone.  I don't even go outside much after 4pm because of the mosquitoes.

[TranquilMind]

Do you have your yard sprayed for bugs each year?

 

We have never done it.  Is it something you can do yourself or is that not safe?

 

About how much is it to have it done?

 

I really want the bugs to be gone.  I don't even go outside much after 4pm because of the mosquitoes.

 

I'm wondering if it helps.  How does it keep them from coming from next door.  It's all open.

 

Not a fan of sitting outside at all, because of bugs.  So glad new house has screened porch.  I might actually go "outside". 

 

[Laurie4b]

I don't think spraying your yard will eliminate mosquitoes. To do that, you're much better eliminating any standing water on your property and encouraging neighbors to do the same. "Standing" water can be water in a dog bowl, in the saucer of a planter, in the watering can that got left out. 

 

What other kinds of bugs are a concern? 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

We don't but it's part of our personal belief system.  We believe pesticides are harmful to the environment.  Yes, some bugs (ticks, fleas, mosquitoes) are annoying and possibly harmful to humans but there are other insects (bees, wasps, butterflies, beetles, fireflies) which are beneficial and quite enjoyable.  Pesticides don't discriminate.  Then there are the small animals which rely on insects as part of their food web.  Bats and dragonflies both eat mosquitoes.  I love bats and dragonflies therefore I put up with the mosquitoes.  We even put up a bat house to encourage bats to nest in our backyard.

[TravelingChris]

We don't spray.  We use citronella lights and that helps.  We don't want to be killing beneficial insects and yes, we do like bats and birds that eat insects.

[Um_2_4]

You can plant the plant that citronella comes from and that will keep them out of your yard. It grows on neglect basically  :lol: , even I can keep them alive. You can put some on the corner of you decks/patio.

 

Also do the "get rid of standing water thing". But what about pools??? Our neighbor has one, I guess the chemicals keep them out??? I hope so.

[DawnM]

Off doesn't work on 3 out of the 5 of us.

 

We do have a pool, but it is chlorinated and quite unusable after 4pm if we don't wish to get eaten alive.

 

I will just call around.  I am done with literally getting at least 10 bites every 15 min. we stand outside or go in the pool in the early evening.

 

Our entire area is like this, we just live in a very mosquito infested area.

[City Mouse]

I don't think that spraying once a year will do anything for misquitos. When we lived in Houston, I thnkk the county sprayed at least monthly, maybe even more like every week it two in the summer. My DH did purchase some kind of hand held sprayer/foggier thing that I would use to treat the yard before parties, but it only worked for that evening.

[arnold]

A few of our neighbors hire a professional company to do it a couple time each summer and it does seem to help.

[Dmmetler]

We have frogs. Lots and lots of frogs. We treat the frog ponds with mosquito dunks (which contain a bacteria that feed on insect larvae), but the frogs and their tadpoles do a good job of controlling insects. Except for ticks, unfortunately. For those, the only answer is to keep the parts of the yard where humans go mowed really, really low.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I wonder the same.  I'm inclined to think it won't help enough.  I hate spraying bug spray on myself regularly, but they have other products that you can use like clip ons and special candles and stuff.  I wonder if they help.

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Off doesn't work on 3 out of the 5 of us.

 

We do have a pool, but it is chlorinated and quite unusable after 4pm if we don't wish to get eaten alive.

 

I will just call around.  I am done with literally getting at least 10 bites every 15 min. we stand outside or go in the pool in the early evening.

 

Our entire area is like this, we just live in a very mosquito infested area.

 

This stinks, but it's the same here.  We once went to an outdoor movie at the park up the street in the evening.  Despite bug spray I got eaten alive.  We had to leave it was so bad.  I woke up the next morning and I must have been bitten on the eye lid because my eye was swollen shut.

 

My younger kid has allergic reactions to bites too.  Sometimes his whole limb will swell up and get hot.  Sometimes he gets full body hives after being bitten once.

 

So annoying. 

[Mergath]

Nope. I'd rather deal with the mosquitos and keep the pollinators. Not to mention that I'm not crazy about having insect poison sprayed all over where dd plays.

[Lucy the Valiant]

We have frogs. Lots and lots of frogs. We treat the frog ponds with mosquito dunks (which contain a bacteria that feed on insect larvae), but the frogs and their tadpoles do a good job of controlling insects. Except for ticks, unfortunately. For those, the only answer is to keep the parts of the yard where humans go mowed really, really low.

 

And chickens! (I realize not everyone can or wants to have chickens, but just throwing that out there - they can knock down a tick population FAST!)

 

We're in heavy tick country & need all the help we can get.

[DawnM]

DH sprayed the perimeter of the house yesterday.   He came inside and had two ticks on him.  UGH.

 

The areas we can mow are mowed, but we have a lot of trees, areas that don't have grass, and such.  

 

This year is especially bad, the winter didn't get cold enough.

 

He hasn't sprayed the entire yard, just the area closest to the house.

 

But we will.  

[Farrar]

Spraying works. I mean, I don't typically do it... it's so bad for the environment. And it doesn't work long term - in fact, by killing the "good" bugs and driving others away, it might make it slightly worse. But a few times my mother had events in her shady yard and she sprayed a couple of days before. It was a relief.

 

We use the dunks. There are always a few places where you can reliably clear the water and we put dunks there. Also, and I'm sure this is horrible, but... I have been known to sneak into the neighbors' yards and put dunks in their standing water. I live in a rowhouse. It's pointless for me to eliminate my water if others don't bother. The yards are only a car's length wide. So... I practice some ninja mosquito removal on the neighbors sometimes.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Someone once told me it's a good idea to attract bats to your yard.  They'll take care of the mosquitoes.  I'd do it, but my yard is tiny.  Maybe with a bigger yard that would be fine.

 

 

[JennyD]

We have frogs. Lots and lots of frogs. We treat the frog ponds with mosquito dunks (which contain a bacteria that feed on insect larvae), but the frogs and their tadpoles do a good job of controlling insects. Except for ticks, unfortunately. For those, the only answer is to keep the parts of the yard where humans go mowed really, really low.

 

I've never thought about building a frog pond before.  What an interesting idea.  Do you have any favorite books or websites that you'd recommend for more detailed information?

[alisoncooks]

Ticks have been awful in our part of NC this year.  Blech.  I'm thinking about spraying since we have a line of pine trees right along the back edge of our yard and there are tons of ticks around those trees.

[Lucy the Valiant]

Ticks have been awful in our part of NC this year.  Blech.  I'm thinking about spraying since we have a line of pine trees right along the back edge of our yard and there are tons of ticks around those trees.

 

We've also had good success with Tick Tubes.

 

This is already a bad year (at least in my area) for ticks, I'm guessing due to the milder-than-usual winter.

[Dmmetler]

I've never thought about building a frog pond before. What an interesting idea. Do you have any favorite books or websites that you'd recommend for more detailed information?

Here's DD's instructions for creating a seasonal frog pond from a wading pool. This has been her research project for the last few years. We also have tree frog shelters-PVC pipes, with drain holes a few inches up so they catch a little bit of water in the bottom, attached to trees and sticking up out of the yard, especially near porch lights. Tree frogs move in and are protected. will say that the number of frogs grows from year to year. The first Spring/summer we had it out, we got a few singleton adult frogs, the next year many more and quite a few tadpoles, and this year we have a LOT of them. And we just plain don't have mosquitoes-or, as far as I can tell, many flying insects at all.

 

http://allissnakes.blogspot.com/p/if-you-build-it-they-will.html

 

Here's a couple of articles about backyard frog habitats that are more involved

 

https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Gardening/Archives/2000/Want-to-Host-a-Garden-Party-for-Frogs.aspx

 

https://savethefrogs.com/ponds/

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Our town actually sprays for Mosquitos, so that helps some.

 

 

No spray or treatment will last that long. Encouraging bats and other creatures that like to eat bugs would work better long term.

 

You can put in a bat house. And plant vegetation that helps repel Mosquitos.

[Melissa in Australia]

We have a bat house plus a huge amount of frogs.we also keep vegetation down near the house and don't go out I the evenings without protective clothing like long sleeves etc.

[Erica in OR]

When we lived in the midwest, we bought a Mosquito Magnet for the yard. It burns propane, the mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide as well as a mosquito attractant chemical you place in the machine, and they enter the machine's net and dehydrate/die. From what I remember, it takes about 6 weeks for it to have a noticeable effect on the population, with the life cycle of the mosquito. It was a huge help to us. When we moved to a much drier location with rare mosquitoes, we passed it along to my parents, also in the midwest—still going strong after many years. You do need to refill the propane several times in a season, since it burns all the time.

 

Erica in OR

[klmama]

Yes! 

 

When we lived in the midwest, we bought a Mosquito Magnet for the yard. It burns propane, the mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide as well as a mosquito attractant chemical you place in the machine, and they enter the machine's net and dehydrate/die. From what I remember, it takes about 6 weeks for it to have a noticeable effect on the population, with the life cycle of the mosquito. It was a huge help to us. When we moved to a much drier location with rare mosquitoes, we passed it along to my parents, also in the midwest—still going strong after many years. You do need to refill the propane several times in a season, since it burns all the time.

 

Erica in OR

I love the Mosquito Magnet.  It's expensive, but it works.  When my older dc were little, it was the only thing that made our yard usable.  After years of use, we don't have much problem anymore, even in wet years.  Fewer mosquitoes this year mean fewer eggs to hatch next year.

 

We've also had good success with Tick Tubes.

 

This is already a bad year (at least in my area) for ticks, I'm guessing due to the milder-than-usual winter.

 

Thanks for sharing this info.  I've heard these work well. 

 

 

[DawnM]

We have a lot of frogs.

 

We don't want to attract bats.  Some of you may remember our bat issue several years ago.

 

The neighbor behind us has an old barn and bats live in it, so we do have them, but I am not housing them.

[SparklyUnicorn]

We have a lot of frogs.

 

We don't want to attract bats.  Some of you may remember our bat issue several years ago.

 

The neighbor behind us has an old barn and bats live in it, so we do have them, but I am not housing them.

 

I don't blame you on the bat thing.  I think I do remember that.

[Dmmetler]

dmmetler--Can I ask you here a question about mosquito dunks, since we're on the topic? My dd has had her frog pond set up for 1-2 months now, and has been using the dunks from the start, but she continues to have tons of mosquito larvae in the pond. It's a fairly big wading pool, but still, just a wading pool. She had been putting in pieces of dunks, then half a dunk, and now she has just put a whole dunk in. Is there anything that inactivates the dunks, or any other reason that they wouldn't be working? Or is it possible they're working, and the zillion larvae squiggling all over will never actually reach the point of flying? At this point, we have no frogs, but a fabulous mosquito breeding spot :ohmy: .

You may want to use bits first (or crush a dunk) to shock the pool, and then use dunks to maintain. The bacteria are supposed to kill thr larvae before they change to mosquitoes, but since they're sustained release, if you already have a population of mosquito larvae, there may be too many for the bacteria to attack in what is being released from one dunk. Also, check the surface area-you may actually need 2 to cover your pond if it's a large wading pool. I don't think using extra hurts any. Having said that, larvae will still hatch-the bacteria kill them in that stage, until there are predators to eat the adults and eggs (I honestly don't know if the tadpoles eat the eggs, or if it's frogs eating the adults, but we have few mosquitoes now, and we live in an area where they practically pick up and carry away small children).

 

I guess it's also possible it's a bad batch. We've cultured the dunks on Petri dishes and found them potent, but I assume that the bacteria could die if conditions were wrong somewhere along the way.

[Murphy101]

I took our pool down this year bc I don't think I'm up to maintaining it. But having a clean pool is not a mosquito hazard. The filtration system prevents whatever the saltwater or chlorine doesn't.

 

I have a small garden pond, I've never seen mosquito larve in it. I keep a small filter on it to keep the water circulating, mosquitos need standing water to breed. And every spring I put some feeder fish in it. Rosey reds are about .15 - .22 each and they eat such larve. I buy about 10-15 each spring. The tree frogs and toads don't mind sharing at all.

 

These water sources aren't causing mosquitos.

 

But we would get chewed up something awful in the pool in the evenings bc the part of our body above the water was a mosquito buffet. We bought mosquito repelling lamps and set them all around the pool and patio and that helped greatly, but it was annoying bc they used batteries quickly and couldn't just be left outside in the elements, so it was a production to set them up and then put them all away when we were done swimming.

 

When not swimming, we use super bands. They are $1 each but we've been very surprised by how well they work. We spent all day and most of the night last Fourth of July outside setting off fireworks in the country on property right next to a large stock pond. The mosquitos are usually so awful that every year we rethink whether we want to even go, but last year I didn't get a single bite! One of the kids got a couple bites and we gave them a second band and that was it. Usually we wear one on our ankle and that's good enough, but if it's just awful or someone seems extra appealing to mosquitos, they will add one to their wrist too.

 

I'm curious about the mosquito magnet! One device for one acre? Does anyone know how fast it burns the propane?

 

ETA: I don't think spraying does much long term. It helps with an immediate problem, but that's about it and it's not safe to humans to do it repeatedly in short times.

 

Like others said, eliminate standing water retaining problems. This might include how people water their gardens. I put my soaker hoses underneath the mulch. So there's no puddles above ground for the mosquitos to use. Base of plant containers. Bird feeders. Over watering with lawn sprinklers. Just for some ideas that people forget.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Murphy101

[ThursdayNext]

We have a lawn company spray our entire lawn twice a year, for about $200 each time. We do it for the red imported fire ants. But it also reduces flea, tick, and mosquito populations. I think with treatment it's about 25% of what it had been, big reduction.

 

We tried natural methods and everything you can get at a Home Depot and similar. But the fire ants are too resilient, and had taken over the yard. Now, I do hate to spray something toxic all over our yard. I feel bad about how it affects all the other living creatures. But on the other hand, we can't set foot in the yard if we don't fight this invasive species.

 

On frogs, bats, etc, don't you need some kind of water to draw them, a breeding ground for mosquitos to attract them? When we were reading on how to attract bats, the Internet said we needed water, which of course would also up our mosquito population.

Edited May 17, 2016 by ThursdayNext

[ThursdayNext]

Also mosquito related, we tried all the natural Deet-free mosquito repellents I could find. Including my MIL growing her own herbs and making her own!

Repel Lemon Eucalyptus worked the best for us. It works pretty well in the yard, at the lake and beach, hiking in the woods. We haven't tested it in a severe bug situation yet though.

[StephanieZ]

Off doesn't work on 3 out of the 5 of us.

 

We do have a pool, but it is chlorinated and quite unusable after 4pm if we don't wish to get eaten alive.

 

I will just call around.  I am done with literally getting at least 10 bites every 15 min. we stand outside or go in the pool in the early evening.

 

Our entire area is like this, we just live in a very mosquito infested area.

 

Can you build a screen enclosure around the pool? That seems to be the norm for outdoor pools in Florida, and it makes heaps of sense to me. 

 

To me, it'd be a lot better to invest in an enclosure than to expose my family to the amount of pesticides that would be needed to control bugs in a very buggy place. 

[Dmmetler]

We have a lawn company spray our entire lawn twice a year, for about $200 each time. We do it for the red imported fire ants. But it also reduces flea, tick, and mosquito populations. I think with treatment it's about 25% of what it had been, big reduction.

 

We tried natural methods and everything you can get at a Home Depot and similar. But the fire ants are too resilient, and had taken over the yard. Now, I do hate to spray something toxic all over our yard. I feel bad about how it affects all the other living creatures. But on the other hand, we can't set foot in the yard if we don't fight this invasive species.

 

On frogs, bats, etc, don't you need some kind of water to draw them, a breeding ground for mosquitos to attract them? When we were reading on how to attract bats, the Internet said we needed water, which of course would also up our mosquito population.

 

It's a trade off-which is why the mosquito dunks are good (assuming that they actually work for you). We found that we had to be very aggressive about treating the water for mosquitoes while the frogs were getting established, but once they were, the frogs and tadpoles did a great job of eating mosquitoes and keeping them under control. We also started getting dragonflies, and dragonfly nymphs are ravenous feeders on mosquito larvae. I'd also suggest that if you know someone who has a pool that sits open in the winter/Spring, and they happen to have a bunch of tadpoles in a pool they're going to shock or drain, it might be a kind thing to rescue the tadpoles and bring them to your backyard water feature so they can help with your insect population while also having a place to live.

 

Unfortunately, there really aren't any easy to attract predators that eat fire ants. Armadillos and Horned lizards will, as will some birds, but usually nowhere near enough to control a population, and horned lizards are increasingly rare in the wild.

[JennyD]

Am I the only one who has chiggers in her yard?  Mosquitos are definitely a problem, but it's the chiggers that make our yard essentially unusable during the summer.   

[Murphy101]

It's a trade off-which is why the mosquito dunks are good (assuming that they actually work for you). We found that we had to be very aggressive about treating the water for mosquitoes while the frogs were getting established, but once they were, the frogs and tadpoles did a great job of eating mosquitoes and keeping them under control. We also started getting dragonflies, and dragonfly nymphs are ravenous feeders on mosquito larvae. I'd also suggest that if you know someone who has a pool that sits open in the winter/Spring, and they happen to have a bunch of tadpoles in a pool they're going to shock or drain, it might be a kind thing to rescue the tadpoles and bring them to your backyard water feature so they can help with your insect population while also having a place to live.

 

Unfortunately, there really aren't any easy to attract predators that eat fire ants. Armadillos and Horned lizards will, as will some birds, but usually nowhere near enough to control a population, and horned lizards are increasingly rare in the wild.

Horned lizards are very close being listed as endangered. The same things that kill ants, also killed horned lizards and of course, the main diet of horned lizard was ants, so it was/is a double whammy.

 

I missed "horny toads" as all the little kids called them when I was growing up. They were easier and friendlier to catch than frogs and toads and we would watch them hunting for hours in the backyard. Can't remember the last time I saw one,.., at least 10 years. They were everywhere around here when I was growing up.

[Bluegoat]

When we lived in the midwest, we bought a Mosquito Magnet for the yard. It burns propane, the mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide as well as a mosquito attractant chemical you place in the machine, and they enter the machine's net and dehydrate/die. From what I remember, it takes about 6 weeks for it to have a noticeable effect on the population, with the life cycle of the mosquito. It was a huge help to us. When we moved to a much drier location with rare mosquitoes, we passed it along to my parents, also in the midwest—still going strong after many years. You do need to refill the propane several times in a season, since it burns all the time.

 

Erica in OR

 

I know people who use these, but burning fossil fuels to keep down mosquitos seem like a plan that will backfire in the long term. 

[ktgrok]

Do call your county. Where I live one county will actually come out and place larvicides (like the dunks) as well as spray for adults if need be. It's a public health issue - Dengue, Chickungunya, etc etc. 

 

When I was in high school we had 2 yrs of no night time football games because of mosquito illnesses being spread. 

[Bluegoat]

I think I would also look into the possibility of a screened in area.  For the cost of other measures over time it might pay for itself.  When I go out in the woods, I sometimes where a screened hat, but that might seem a bit weird at home.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Am I the only one who has chiggers in her yard?  Mosquitos are definitely a problem, but it's the chiggers that make our yard essentially unusable during the summer.   

 

Those things are a nightmare.  We don't have any in our yard, but at the community garden. 

[J-rap]

We don't spray our yard, but our entire town is quite thoroughly sprayed about once/week once the mosquitos are out.  They do it at night when most people are sleeping.