Earlier this month, we suggested a few effective ways to ward off mosquitoes this summer. Then we asked you, our readers, to share your very best tips for keeping mosquitoes at bay...and boy, did you deliver!
We pinpointed ten of our favorite reader suggestions for altering your outdoor environment to keep those hungry insects from turning us into the main course at our next barbecue.
"I have a chiminea on my patio and when i do a campfire, I throw in
a few chunks of pinion wood. it works like a charm keeping the skeeters away."
-- Rick L
"After noticing that flies and mosquitoes didn't seem to be around our deck when the conditions were breezy,
I moved a cyclone fan onto the deck and kept it on low. The principle is that the little critters can't get their bearings in the moving air. It seems to work."
-- Pathfinder
"
I have geranium plants on front and back porch and haven't seen mosquitoes in years."
-- Jayne
(Editor's note: Lemon-scented geranium, also known as
Mosquito plant, is the specific type of geranium to plant to repel mosquitoes.)
"This solution always worked for me when I lived in Florida.
Take an old garden feeder that attaches to your garden hose and fill with the following solution: 1/3 stale beer (any kind), 1/3 epsom salt and 1/3 mouth wash (with alcohol). Put it in the feeder, attach it to the hose and spray your entire yard including shrubs, trees and even door ways. We did this twice a year and never had to worry. The smell will be strong at first but then in about an hour you won't be able to tell."
-- Tracy
"ThermaCELL Portable Mosquito Repellent Appliance. Available in Home Depot or Lowes. THEY WORK."
-- Charlie
"The most effective thing I have done is putting water on a white paper plate, then
adding a few drops on lemon Joy [dish detergent] on either side of the place I'm sitting. The mosquitoes are drawn to the Joy, not you."
-- Tennwilliams
"
Put used coffee grounds in standing water. When the larvae hatches they float to the surface of the water and get covered by the oils from the grounds and it kills them. I think it cuts off their oxygen. Plus it's safe for the environment."
-- Kenny
"
We have had a Mosquito Magnet on our acre forested property for several years. We are on our second unit and we catch thousands of mosquitoes almost every month."
-- Michele
"
Try using Red Cedar mulch or chips; you find the big 25-50 pound bags at
Lowe's or
The Home Depot. Spread it in the yard and it will keep them away. Make a tea out of the chips and put in a pump sprayer or bottle and spray it on the patio or walkways where you can't spread the chips because they will be tracked into the house. It really works and it's on the cheap side."
-- Brazztazz
Dry ice. Photo: joka2000(busy), Flickr
"Mosquitoes find us by zeroing in on the carbon dioxide we exhale.
Put a chunk of dry ice, which is solidified carbon dioxide, in a bucket 15 ft. or more away from the party area and they will flock to it and not to you. As the dry ice "melts" the carbon dioxide releases into a cloud of gas around the bucket, much denser than what you'll be exhaling so much more enticing to the mosquitoes."
-- Argie
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Reader comments (Page 4 of 4)
In Montana, we used to spread oil on the swamps to kill the mosquitos. This BP oil gusher should rid the gulf of mosquitos....Now all we need is to rid the ocean of oil these oil suckers.
ReplyTo keep mosquitos away while sleeping, I keep a fan blowing directly on myself.
ReplyIt's totally effective.
What most people do not understand is that WD-40 is actually made from fish oils. For years I have sprayed it on standing water to kill mosquitoes. It's effective, environmentally friendly, and the odor evaporates within an hour.
ReplyJust put some hair spray on you. You can get it for less than $1.00
ReplyHey why not invite BP to set up a drilling operation . With all the oil they dump out into the water the Mosquitoes will surely die off fast just like all of the wildlife that is currently dying off from the Gulf mishap
ReplyInteresting about the Geranium plant. My question is, how many plants do you need to ward off mosquitoes from around your patio deck? ie. one or two at the ends of the deck, or enough to surround the perimeter of the deck
ReplyWhen I was a kid ( in the 50's) we didn't have a lot of fancy stuff. In the South skeeters are heavy. My Granny used Campho Phenique, she would dot in on the bites already there and dot some extra to keep the bugs away.
ReplyIt has Campher oil and Eucalyptus oil and light mineral oil. It stinks, but it does work. And last quite a long time. Just dot it on your elbows, ankles and knees. Don't cover a lot of skin. Check with Doctor about toddlers. One could probably sit some Eucalyptus arrangments around the porch, they stink to.
These solutions are more for outdoors. What do you do for unseen mosquitoes indoors? I rarely leave my house but still I find bites on me, without even have seen the bugs.
Replywhats good to keep fly's away ?
ReplyDDT has worked just great for me over the past three decades. Mix it a little more concentrated than manufacturer recomendations and it will kill mosquitoes, mosquito larvae and all other insects.
ReplyI just have my wife sit next to me. Mosquitos don't bite me, just her, she is wonderful to have around
ReplyThat plant doesn't resemble the geraniums I'm used to; you'd think all geraniums would at least resemble each other. The plant shown looks more like a tomato plant than anything else I'm familiar with.
ReplySkin so soft absolutley the best the US Marines use it and if it;s good enough for them it;s good enough for me and i tried it and it works !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no insects will come near you and you smell good too !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyFemale mosquitos need to land on the surface tension of standing water to lay eggs. A light spray of diluted soap/surfactant destroys surface tension. Dip a bar of soap in standing water. The female drowns. I'd like to watch.
ReplyPreviously laid eggs hatch into predatory larvae that need to come to the surface and break through and become adults. They drown, too.
The solution for flies is to put plain tap water into a sealable bag (ie; ziploc sandwich bags, etc.) and hang in general area of infestation. Here (coastal SC) we hang them around the exterior of doors to keep flies out of the house. I have seen this used at restaurants and fish houses as well. It works and it doesn't effect the environment in a negative way as well as the obvious cheap cost for this solution.
ReplyThe Origional Skin so soft bath oil works great...keeps those mosquito's and fleas away! http://www.youravon.com/cstetson
ReplyI am amazed at the number of folks still buying into the old wives tale of using nail polish. All I can say is, those who find it successful have a strong mind over matter ability because it sure is not the nail polish.
ReplyI lived in Missouri for many years and used everything under the kitchen sink to get the itch to stop.
I was up all night once scratching and googling when I found a
Give this a try on those chigger bites. They guys really give you real deal when it comes to treating chigger bites.
Reply