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Old 09-19-08, 12:33 PM   #1
Daox
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Default Green mosquito repelling?

I love my house, but so do the mosquitoes. I went to the store and found some Cutter or something like that. You hook this bottle up to your hose and spray your yard with it. It is supposed to kill mosquitoes and their eggs and generally keep them out of your hair for about a month. So, I start reading the bottle as my wife had concerns about using it with a dog (which we are picking up today)! I'm reading and reading this thing and the warning label seems to be quite on the long side. Short end of the story is that I don't feel comfortable spraying this stuff on my lawn. But, I still really would like a way of keeping those pesky mosquitoes away from me. Ideas?

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Old 09-19-08, 07:55 PM   #2
dentprone
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The mosquitoes here are terrible right now, they are even out at high noon. I was looking for some safe ideas a while back myself, as the foggers and sprays are a bit scary. Turns out, Chrysanthemums are a natural mosquito repellent. I found that out after researching pyrethrin, the active ingredient for the Thermacell unit. Pyrethrum is extrcted from the Chrysanthemum flower. I have been kicking around the idea of buying a jug of the stuff to try it out, but it is fairly pricey.

Mosquito Control - All Types of mosquito control solutions and equipment. Mosquito Control, Fly and Insect Control, Backpack Sprayers, Compression Sprayers, Automatic Sprayers, Foggers, Permethrin, PBO, pyrethrum, pesticides, insecticides.
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Old 09-19-08, 07:56 PM   #3
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The link at the bottom of my last reply is the first supplier I found, there are many others.
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Old 09-20-08, 01:26 AM   #4
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If you're open to ideas that may take a little longer to "grow" you may want to look into plants that will repel mosquitoes. Try Citronella Grass, Catnip, Rosemary, Lemongrass, Lavender, Basil, Thyme, Penny Royal, Garlic or Marigolds. Be careful of any plant labelled as a "Mosquito Plant" or "Citronella Geraniums". The mosquito plants are usually just marketing hype trying to make a sale, and usually don't work. Real Citronella comes from one of two different types of grasses, so the "Citronella Geraniums" smell like citronella, but have none of the bug-repellant advantages that real Citronella Grasses have. Not only will these plants repel 'skeeters' but they'll make your backyard look prettier, and will do Mother Nature a little good by having more plants around

While these plants do a great job at keeping mosquitoes away from your backyard, if you do need a little bit of a boost for lots of them try taking leaves from some of those plants I mentioned crush them and rub them on your skin, or on your puppy. You can also make your own repellant just like the more harsh chemical-laden ones from the store by crushing the leaves and letting them infuse into a small bottle of alcohol or vodka, and then applying it like any other bug repellent.

If you're looking for something of the store-shelf variety for personal repellent, I would HIGHLY recommend Cutter's Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent. My fiance and I do a LOT of camping, hiking and canoeing, and it has worked wonders from The Smoky Mountains, to Illinois riverways, to the backwoods of Wisconsin, and the Northern woods of Minnesota. It says to only apply twice daily, but we find we're only applying it once, and it lasts the entire day. She may be cute and nice looking on our hikes, but I'm the kind of guy who sweats... and a lot, haha, and I've never had to apply it more than twice a day while out on the trails. The main ingredient is Lemon Eucalyptus oil, and it doesn't feel as oily or greasy as your typical bug sprays.

If you're looking for something a little more immediate for your entire backyard, you might want to try using a hose-end sprayer to spray the area with a mixture of 1 cup each of lemon-scented ammonia and lemon-sented dish soap. Spray three times a week early in the morning or late in the evening. Some people swear by this. I haven't tried it, so I can't say what kind of results I got, but it may be easier that using all those other chemicals. Or you can try and Google "mosquito dunks" and see what comes up. The mosquito dunks are a biological control agent, look for one with Bacillus Thurengiensis. They seem to work wonders, and aren't hazardous to animals or plants The way you use them is by placing them in pools of standing water (which is where Mosquitoes lay their eggs) and it will kill their eggs and larvae. Spraying your grass with a chemical to kill Mosquito eggs will do little to no good (unless your yard frequently floods) since, as I mentioned, they only lay their eggs in water. So make sure you get rid of any standing water on your property. Any old tires, bird baths, clogged gutters, ponds, etc. are all perfect breeding grounds for the little buggers, so make sure to get rid of anything they will take advantage of.

P.S.- If you're interested in reading more about how well Catnip Oil works, check out this link:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nwgard...ovejoy10.shtml
P.P.S.- You may want to check out this website to get an idea of what kinds of products are out there:
www.CleanAirGardening.com

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Old 09-22-08, 11:56 AM   #5
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I was thinking about this over the weekend and I have to agree with Tree Hugger. One of the best ways to deal with this is with prevention - find and stop the source if possible. Drain standing water, add dunks, or add mosquito fish if they are available. Another option that I thought of is to build and install a bat box on the property. Bats will eat lots of mosquitos. They will also eat other flying insects.

It seems that a lot of the expensive mosquito traps use CO2 generated from Propane as an attractant. Although this is much safer than a lot of the sprays, it burns fossil fuels.
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Old 09-23-08, 08:26 AM   #6
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i've tried the cutter yard spray...... total bs. didn't do a thing. i live next to a bunch of rice fields, so no matter what water i get rid of around my own place, theres 50 acres of mosquito wh***house all around me.

i like the idea of planting catnip, and my cat does too . that and marigolds sound pretty good.
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Old 09-23-08, 09:11 AM   #7
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I too really like the idea of growing plants to naturally repel misquitoes. Sounds like the best way to me. My brother in law who was over this weekend just bought a house and even really liked the idea (he is not an ecofriendly guy either). Thanks guys, you just helped me green up his place too.
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Old 09-23-08, 06:00 PM   #8
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It's no problem I have a pond in my front yard, a swampy area on the other side of my driveway, the horse pasture behind my house has a pond, there's another marshy area across the road from my driveway, then there's about 4 or 5 more marshy areas around my neighbors' houses, so I know how deadly those little suckers can be! Best of luck, and when you do get the plants growing you should defiantly post back here to let us all know how it works!
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Old 08-11-11, 09:51 PM   #9
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Bumping this for more ideas. I've tried the mosquito repelling plants and they seem to do some good, but only if they're surrounding the area you're in.
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Old 08-11-11, 10:00 PM   #10
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Spray the yard with GARLIC. I'm really surprised that no one has posted that already.

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