MOSQUITOES!!! Please leave me alone!

[shmokes]

Ahhh . . . . I moved into a new place about a month ago and the mosquitoes are SOOOO bad.  I don't know why they're so bad.  There's a swimming pool on the property, but the water circulates regularly and a pool guy comes weekly to maintain the chemicals and so on so I can't imagine that's the breeding ground.  They're driving me ---smurfing--- nuts.  I get bitten every single day at least a couple times.  Over the last hour or so I was sitting at my computer with my shirt off and all the while one of the little ---smurfs--- was having a ---fracking--- party on my back.  I got 17 bites.  God . . . I'm getting so angry about it, but I don't know what to do.  I'm not going to keep myself covered in bug spray 24 hours a day.  And from what it looks like the only really effective mosquito traps are the Mosquito Magnets which cost like $500.  Don't get me wrong . . . if it took care of the problem it would be $500 well spent, but I can't afford that.

Does anyone else have mosquito trouble?  Know of any inexpensive method for dealing with them -- ESPECIALLY indoors?  If I'm going out I can always spray myself with bug spray, but I'm not going to do that when I'm planning to stay indoors.  I know some people swear by eating lots of garlic, but I've read a few university studies that strongly suggest that this is a complete myth.

[tommy]

Nothing you can do, that's the Florida heat and humidity for you and mosquitoes come out at night all year long. Don't sit with no shirt on and do not open your doors or windows, turn on the A/C. Enjoy.

I guess when you were thinking of moving here you did not read the documentation that says "Florida, damn mosquitoes".

[polaris]

tonic water, add some gin and you wont care either way, the quinine in the tonic water works apparently. its what the brits drank during their occupation of india. hence the popularity of gin and tonic.

[danny_galaga]

tonic water, add some gin and you wont care either way, the quinine in the tonic water works apparently. its what the brits drank during their occupation of india. hence the popularity of gin and tonic.

that won't stop him getting bitten though. and since malaria is pretty rare in the US, it won;t really help with that either...

shmokes, apparently mossies track carbon dioxide emissions to find their prey. all you have to do is stop breathing 

[shmokes]

Nothing you can do, that's the Florida heat and humidity for you and mosquitoes come out at night all year long. Don't sit with no shirt on and do not open your doors or windows, turn on the A/C. Enjoy.

I guess when you were thinking of moving here you did not read the documentation that says "Florida, damn mosquitoes".

They're actually MUCH MUCH worse at my new house than they were at my old house.  The two places are only about a half mile apart.  They must be breeding nearby.

[polaris]

tonic water, add some gin and you wont care either way, the quinine in the tonic water works apparently. its what the brits drank during their occupation of india. hence the popularity of gin and tonic.

that won't stop him getting bitten though. and since malaria is pretty rare in the US, it won;t really help with that either...

oops , my bad, i thought it stopped em biting, ---fudgesicle--- it , just go with the gin then.

[grantspain]

the alcohol thing is correct,i am always pissed(drunk) and mossie's never bite me-even in kenya

[shmokes]

I'm not especially concerned about malaria or west nile virus.  I just hate the itchy welts.  They can bite me all they want if I'm never the wiser.

[JimmyU]

Since I work in the mosquito control business, I can give you some advice.
1.  Look for all standing water.  It's how mosquitos breed and their larvae breath.  It can only be a few inches in diameter and an inch deep and they will breed there.
2.  Consumer insecticides are crappy.  They don't have nearly enough chemical to treat any large amount of area.
3.  If your'e near any wooded area, your'e screwed.  Just load up on the DEET and be done with it.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

[shmokes]

I think I'm just screwed.  It's incredibly lush where I live.  Plus, there's a pond only a couple blocks away from me.  I just wish I wasn't so susceptible.  I know lots of people who don't get bit, or they get bit but don't react to the bites.  I seem to attract mosquitoes and react really badly to them. 

[Ed_McCarron]

http://www.eparks.org/wildlife_protection/wildlife_facts/bats/bat_house.asp

[JackTucky]

Purple Marlins are supposed to suck up the mosquitoes too.

I had a mosquito magnet in NJ.  It sucked up the mosquitoes by the bag full.  But I still got bit.

When we would sit outside at night, we always started a fire in the fire pit.  Since mosquitoes follow your carbon dioxide output to you, we assumed the fire worked because the smoke covered our beer breath.

How are they getting in your house? 

[MikeQ]

I seem to attract mosquitoes and react really badly to them. 

Bloodsuckers attracted to a law student.  Ironic. 


Stagnat water (like your pond) is a real culprit.  Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water like this.  Most municipalities in Florida have some sort of mosquito abatement program.  You might want to call the city and see if they can step it up in your area.

[Jdurg]

Go buy a few gallons of bleach and dump them in the pond in the middle of the night.

Seriously.

DO IT. 

Nah.  Throw a few pounds worth of sodium and potassium metal in the pond.  You'll get an AMAZING fireworks show, and the resulting NaOH and KOH in the pond will kill anything in it!   

[polaris]

Go buy a few gallons of bleach and dump them in the pond in the middle of the night.

Seriously.

DO IT. 

Nah.  Throw a few pounds worth of sodium and potassium metal in the pond.  You'll get an AMAZING fireworks show, and the resulting NaOH and KOH in the pond will kill anything in it!   

and pretty likely kill yourself too

[ChadTower]

In the warmer months the mosquitoes were just unrelenting where I grew up.  The people there just accepted them.  If they cared, they used screenhouses and such outside.  Not much going out after dark when they really buzz in.  Older people would be so used to them we'd be sitting in a boat and my uncle would literally have 10 mosquitoes on his head and he was oblivious.

[Jdurg]

Go buy a few gallons of bleach and dump them in the pond in the middle of the night.

Seriously.

DO IT. 

Nah.  Throw a few pounds worth of sodium and potassium metal in the pond.  You'll get an AMAZING fireworks show, and the resulting NaOH and KOH in the pond will kill anything in it!   

and pretty likely kill yourself too

Nah.  Not if you break it up into separate five gram, maximum, sized chunks.  One pound bricks?  Yes.  You will most likely wind up severely injured, if not dead.

[Jdurg]

It's pretty easy actually.  I can get a hold of it pretty easily.  It's just that the cost makes it a bit difficult.

[Ed_McCarron]

Just dump a bottle of old motor oil in there.

Not the best for the environment, but the film of oil will prevent the larvae from breathing and kill 'em off.

Its what everyone used to do before we gave a crap about the planet.

[shmokes]

The pond is pretty big -- like three city blocks by four city blocks.  I doubt a bottle of motor oil would have any appreciable effect.  Maybe I can get a drum or two.   

The mosquitoes just get in, you know, when we open the door I assume.  The place actually seems sealed really well.  I've yet to see a single spider, cockroach or lizard inside (unlike our last place, in which all three were daily occurrances).  It's not like we have them all over our walls.  You won't even know there's one in the house till you suddenly start itching, or see one every now and then.  But all it takes is one and the little ---maternal-smurf--- will terrorize you -- biting you over and over again.

[Daniel270]

Bloodsuckers attracted to a law student.  Ironic. 

It's the females that suck blood (for egg laying)... there's your irony... lol 

[Singapura]

I'm happy that Singapore has the toughest anti-mosquito laws in the world. If you leave so much as an uncovered tray with water on your balcony you can get a fine of a thousand dollars or more. Despite that we've already had 2 dengue outbreaks.

[danny_galaga]

i grew up in the tropics, similar to florida i suppose. i still remember when i was a kid they used to have trucks driving around the streets in the evening spraying something into the air. i'm hoping not DDT. hmmm, there's a thought shmokes...

[ChadTower]

i grew up in the tropics, similar to florida i suppose. i still remember when i was a kid they used to have trucks driving around the streets in the evening spraying something into the air. i'm hoping not DDT. hmmm, there's a thought shmokes...

Definitely not worth the risk with a baby in the house.  If you're just talking about one or two buzzing around you at night, you're never going to get rid of that.  There's just no way to get to zero mosquitoes in the house.  You'll end up a cartoon psycho running around the house shattering stuff with a fly swatter tied to a bat.

[tommy]

Another option is to get really drunk when you're about to open the house up and relax with your shirt off. I don't think they would like the taste of alcohol in your blood and they will pass the word along to other skeeters. 

[MikeQ]

i grew up in the tropics, similar to florida i suppose. i still remember when i was a kid they used to have trucks driving around the streets in the evening spraying something into the air. i'm hoping not DDT. hmmm, there's a thought shmokes...

It was probably Malathion.  Malathion is what they use in Florida in trucks similiar to what you describe.

[Ed_McCarron]

i grew up in the tropics, similar to florida i suppose. i still remember when i was a kid they used to have trucks driving around the streets in the evening spraying something into the air. i'm hoping not DDT. hmmm, there's a thought shmokes...

And we, as kids, would run around in the fog behind the truck playing...  C'mon, someone else has to have done that...

[MaximRecoil]

Are mosquitos attracted to light at all? If so, a bug zapper makes for some cheap entertainment as a bonus.

You could try the Quick and Dirty Mosquito Trap too.

And what about ultra high sound frequencies? Do those repel mosquitos? 

[ChadTower]

A bug zapper inside?  I can't think of anything that would scream trailer trash harder than that.

[MaximRecoil]

A bug zapper inside?  I can't think of anything that would scream trailer trash harder than that.

I never said anything about a bug zapper inside (though that would be kind of cool too, lol). Mosquitos start out on the outside, meaning that killing them outside keeps them from getting inside in the first place.

However, unfortunately it seems that most varieties of mosquitos are not attracted to UV light, though some bug zappers come with an additional mosquito lure of some sort.

[JackTucky]

A bug zapper inside?  I can't think of anything that would scream trailer trash harder than that.

See reply 24

I never said anything about a bug zapper inside (though that would be kind of cool too, lol).

The problem is in the ground wiring

Mosquitos start out on the outside, meaning that killing them outside keeps them from getting inside in the first place.

Can't you read?  See reply double aught 4

However, unfortunately it seems that most varieties of mosquitos are not attracted to UV light, though some bug zappers come with an additional mosquito lure of some sort.

It's probably because :Slc

[MaximRecoil]

The real genius here

[MPTech]

I've heard that taking vitamin B daily wards off mosquitos.

[Edgedamage]

Get the Executioner I got two last summer and nothing feels as good as making flys / mosquitoes / spiders die with a nice loud pop.
http://www.bugzapfun.com/theexecutioner/html/video.html

Some sellers on ebay sell two for one. Out of the two ones I got I only opened one and it was in use for two months non-stop.

[shmokes]

Oh wow!  I might just have to get one of those.  My hatred for these mosquitoes has turned me a bit homicidal.  I've been working on my arcade cabinet (FINALLY) over the past week since I've been out of school, and I've got a can of ant/roach spray that I get the ---daisies--- with (it works better than the stuff made for mosquitoes for some strange reason).  I derive an unhealthy amount of pleasure from murdering them.  I think I would really enjoy murdering them with electricity.

[ahofle]

Shoveling snow in the winter suddenly doesn't sound so bad. 

[DaOld Man]

If the pond is stagnant, I would throw some used oil bottles in there, filled with water so they sink.
If it is not stagnant, and it doesnt dry up in dry seasons, buy the cheapest guppies you can find at the pet store. Get as many males and females you can afford, and let them go in the pond.
Guppies have a great appetite, plus they multiply like cockroaches.
It might take a summer, but they will control the skeeters..
Also, look around, make sure there is no standing water. Rain gutters that are drooping a little is an excellent place for the little buggers to breed. As are old pots, tin cans, beer cans, old tires, anything that can hold water.