Round Rock Mosquitoes (Austin, Cedar Park, Brushy Creek: live, backyard, areas)

[the_grimace]

I moved to Round Rock from out of state in July. I'm a shirt and shorts kind of guy, and since I've gotten here I've been getting TONS of mosquito bites (well, at least what I assume to be mosquito bites). The truth is I don't think I've ever seen a bug on me, but I'll go outside, come in, and feel itchy which is when I notice the red bug bites in a few areas of my legs.

Seems like every time I head out to run an errand, or even just go into my backyard with the dog, I come in with 4-5 bites at least.

The worst part is these bites are by far the most itchy bug bites I think I've ever experienced, and they last for around 2 weeks before going away!!!

Are mosquitoes really that bad in the Austin, TX areas? Does anyone have an anti itch solution as well? I've always used Benedryll sprays or creams in other places I lived and it worked great. Here it's been completely useless, it doesn't stop the itch at all for these bites!

[ScoPro]

Do you have Bermuda grass in your back yard?

Chiggers love that stuff.

I wear shorts & a T-shirt 11 months out of the year and rarely get any skeeter bites.

[mark311]

We had quite a few mosquitoes in our yard in NW Round Rock and as ScoPro mentions, we had chiggers for a while as well. We never figured out how to get rid of the mosquitoes this year, but the chiggers (bites on your legs below the knees that itch bad) went away after applying one of those Scott's turfguard fertilizer/insect killer bags to the entire lawn (make sure that you get the right one for the type of grass that you have). The mosquitoes are a lot tougher to get rid of, but getting rid of the obvious things like standing water will help.

[centralaustinite]

Sounds like chiggers! They have been very heavy this year. Keep the grass cut short, eliminate standing water. Good news is that chiggers do not transmit anything (no Lyme disease or anything else) they just itch!

[Trainwreck20]

^^Yup, sounds like chiggers.

[the_grimace]

Several people keep mentioning that my bites sound like Chiggers, but I've been skeptical because wouldn't you be able to see them on you? Sometimes I'm also only outside for 1-2 minutes as well to get my dogs and I'll come in and notice a couple bites. I figured if it were a chigger I would probably see it, but then again I have no previous dealing with them before!

[Trainwreck20]

Trombiculidae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

These relatives of ticks are nearly microscopic, measuring 0.4 mm (1/60 of an inch) and have a chrome-orange hue.

And

For humans, itching usually occurs after the larvae detach from the skin.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by the_grimace

I moved to Round Rock from out of state in July. I'm a shirt and shorts kind of guy, and since I've gotten here I've been getting TONS of mosquito bites (well, at least what I assume to be mosquito bites). The truth is I don't think I've ever seen a bug on me, but I'll go outside, come in, and feel itchy which is when I notice the red bug bites in a few areas of my legs.

Seems like every time I head out to run an errand, or even just go into my backyard with the dog, I come in with 4-5 bites at least.

The worst part is these bites are by far the most itchy bug bites I think I've ever experienced, and they last for around 2 weeks before going away!!!

Are mosquitoes really that bad in the Austin, TX areas? Does anyone have an anti itch solution as well? I've always used Benedryll sprays or creams in other places I lived and it worked great. Here it's been completely useless, it doesn't stop the itch at all for these bites!

This is a very unusual year because it has rained very often. In years where there isnt much rain or it comes all at once, we get the mosquitos for a short time then they are gone.

The mosquitos are the worst I can remember in 15 years in austin.

[RooCeleste]

Mosquitos have been bad to me this year, yet they rarely bite my husband, even when we're sitting side by side. We are outside (in Cedar Park) a lot and so I'm always spraying myself down with some sort of Off or Avon bug spray. The "natural" suggestions never seem to work on me, so I have to put chemicals on myself and I'm okay with that in order to avoid the bites! When we know we're going to be on the porch for a few hours at a time, or when we have a party, we use one of those aerosol yard foggers that seem to be quite effective.

As for after the bite, I use straight alcohol and sometimes an antihistamine cream.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by RooCeleste

Mosquitos have been bad to me this year, yet they rarely bite my husband, even when we're sitting side by side. We are outside (in Cedar Park) a lot and so I'm always spraying myself down with some sort of Off or Avon bug spray. The "natural" suggestions never seem to work on me, so I have to put chemicals on myself and I'm okay with that in order to avoid the bites! When we know we're going to be on the porch for a few hours at a time, or when we have a party, we use one of those aerosol yard foggers that seem to be quite effective.

As for after the bite, I use straight alcohol and sometimes an antihistamine cream.

For five years, we had the bugs blown across Brushy Creek to celeste's yard...very little wind this year, so they might be hanging around instead of continuing their trek up IH35 Sorry celeste

I haven't been bitten since we moved one whole mile west...with a pond about 30ft from the front door! Now, if you want to talk about those gnat-looking things...