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Best mosquito/gnat repellent or killer for full yard?

carvers4math said:
Haven’t had much of a mosquito problem this spring yet but we really need rain.

My issue is ticks. I do believe nukes are appropriate.

I am pretty sure they hitch a ride on the dog who is on the tick med that only kills them if they latch on. He is black and they are hard to see. I do a tick check when we come back from our walks and I don’t have any. Then for the rest of the day, I am removing ticks from me. Have had as many as eight ticks from a 2-3 hour walk.

They seem indestructible unless you flush them. I noticed one on him at the park, grabbed it, and tried stomping on it repeatedly and it would not die. Found a stick and kind of ground it to death.

Mostly wood ticks but I did find a dead deer tick on him so at least the expensive meds worked for that.
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I always burn them. This isn’t one of those “kill it with fire” jokes. For real…burn the little bastards. Lighter or matches work fine.

My wife puts them in a little container in the freezer. Supposed to suffocate them, or something, but I don’t get the same satisfaction as I do when I burn the *******.
 
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Going to be Debby Downer here, but I urge all of you thinking to spray your yard to kill mosquitos to NOT do so, and here's why:

First, the most widely used residential mosquito sprays are also highly toxic to native pollinators such as bees and butterflies, fish and other aquatic organisms, and they can even pose a risk to pets and people. A lot of these sprays kill EVERYTHING. Thus, you're killing monarch butterflies, dragonflies (which eat mosquitos) and other insects. What's more, mosquitos and those insects play an ecological role. Mosquitos and other insects are food for songbirds. For example, 96 percent of our backyard birds rely on insects as the exclusive food source for their babies. Without the base of the food chain (insects), these ecological systems collapse. So, if you like seeing Scarlet Tanagers, hearing singing warblers, etc. - don't spray! Not only will there be less nature with more pesticide and chemical use, but we also imperil our own food web as so much of what we eat depends on pollination by insects. Here's a helpful article with some other more natural suggestions you might be able to employ: https://blog.nwf.org/2020/09/what-you-need-to-know-before-spraying-for-mosquitoes/ . There's some helpful tips in there and a link to another article about ways to deter mosquitos.

I hate those bastards too, but I'm not willing to indiscriminately kill all this other life just so I can avoid a few more bites. I'd ask you to weigh the benefits and the drawbacks of spray. We already dominate our planet so much. Is it worth it to you so you can have just a little more comfort outside to destroy the ecosystem around you? Wildlife is already imperiled and numbers are so much more decreased than 50 years ago, and incredibly decreased than even 100 years ago because we have become so efficient at killing things, habitat loss, etc. It just keeps piling on year after year. I'd ask you to just not spray and find natural repellants for the sake of wildlife and think of a new way of doing things. If you enjoy songbirds, meadowlarks, etc. just don't spray.
 
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BCClone said:
Ever tried the deep woods type stuff for ticks? I got a tick early this year and the area I think I got it was kind of a surprise. I bought some and am hoping that that stuff works because I have to venture into tall grass in places like ditches and such to trim back trees and bushes at times. Maybe wait until a longer dry spell.
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Every day. Obviously not effective.
 
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I use this big John fogger. Hooks to the 3 point of my tractor so it obviously doesn’t work for everyone. You can get ones with a small engine on it and put it in the back of a pickup or ranger. I use permethrin or Asana and blow that stuff everywhere. It shoots up in the trees or in the grass. Works awesome. The neighbors always ask me to use it when the skeeters are bad. I even had the local golf course have me use it one summer.

Chitowncy just had a heart attack.
 
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I use the Thermocells and they do work pretty well. I like how they're portable, so I can set one by our chairs when we're watching fireworks or whatever.

I also bought a fogger many years ago. It uses a propane tank (1 lb) to produce the fog from the solution you purchase. It only kills on contact, no residual. It seems effective also. I'll 'fog' a few hours before having a BBQ or a bunch of kids over. It's fun to do, too. I kinda feel like a ghostbuster or I'm in Vietnam!

 
cowboycurtis said:
View attachment 113206
I use this big John fogger. Hooks to the 3 point of my tractor so it obviously doesn’t work for everyone. You can get ones with a small engine on it and put it in the back of a pickup or ranger. I use permethrin or Asana and blow that stuff everywhere. It shoots up in the trees or in the grass. Works awesome. The neighbors always ask me to use it when the skeeters are bad. I even had the local golf course have me use it one summer.

Chitowncy just had a heart attack.
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True.

Motha-******

;-)

I mean, I'm going to argue for what I think is right, but that don't mean I don't love my Cyclone brethren and enjoy a good sense of humor!!
 
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PSYclone22 said:
A couple bat houses
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I didn't realize how badly the derecho hurt the bat population around me until I built one and none showed up.

There used to be hundreds of bats around my house at night, but after the derecho I see very few at night. I put one up on a tall tree last spring and it's still empty.
 
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