Mosquitoes have taken over! (Waupun, Lake Wissota: houses, buy, allergies)

[Dea13]

I'm assuming everyone is in the same predicament. All that rain and standing water was just too good of a breeding ground for those nasty, blood-sucking fiends! We literally cannot take a step into our backyard without getting swarmed. My poor dogs are having a heck of a time doing their business while protecting their noses.

Any non-chemical ideas for dealing with vampire insects? Small child and dogs so I don't want to do anything that could make any of them sick. I really don't want to spend the whole summer in the house. I haven't seen it this bad in years.

Dea

[Marshpodin]

We were at Lake Wissota State Park last week, and there were mosquitos that were more than a half an inch long, and already looked engorged. I was afraid they were going to fly off with our three year old.

We use Deep Woods Off on the kids (us,too). Even though it contains DEET, I think it's more safe than not using it. It also repels ticks. We use citronella oil torches on our deck, but usually the Off is enough. I don't know about the dog because we don't have any pets, but I've heard other people have put citronella oil (not the citronella oil for the torches, lol) on them, right behind their heads, kind of the back of the neck area. That way, it still protects them, but they can't lick it off.

[golfgal]

Honestly, no, there aren't any non-chemical applications that work very well when the mosquitoes are this bad. We have been very spoiled the past few summers with basically no mosquitoes since it has been so dry.

I like using the Cutter Advanced with picardin. There is NO odor. It works well enough for backyard play. You have to reapply it more frequently though. It comes in a blue bottle with an orange top.

You could try building bat houses in your backyard to attract bats. They eat mosquitoes.

[nanannie]

Try Listerine. You can buy a large bottle and put it in a spary bottle. It does work.

[escapetacoma]

Originally Posted by Dea13

I'm assuming everyone is in the same predicament. All that rain and standing water was just too good of a breeding ground for those nasty, blood-sucking fiends! We literally cannot take a step into our backyard without getting swarmed.

At least not yet in Waupun. I've been spending some time outdoors and my wife has been spending a 3 or 4 hours a day out there - neither of us has noticed any of the little vampires. She doesn't usually suffer too much from them but I've always been a target.

[Dea13]

one of my dogs had 15 mosquitoes are her nose alone yesterday! It was horrible. Anything I can put on my dogs noses to help keep them safe? Nothing but scabs on her nose from getting bit. I really hate mosquitoes. We do have bats but obviously not enough of them! If there were a magical place that didn't have mosquitoes I think I'd be sorely tempted right about now.

Thanks.

Dea

[hckplyers]

Avon skin so soft in the bottle and there is a spray is safe for pets and kids. It can make them a bit oily so use sparingly and you will need to reapply.
Of course there are some safe products, deet free, for kids now but not sure how long it lasts.
Yes they do make summer miserable don't they. Just when we could finally go out and enjoy the summer.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Dea13

one of my dogs had 15 mosquitoes are her nose alone yesterday! It was horrible. Anything I can put on my dogs noses to help keep them safe? Nothing but scabs on her nose from getting bit. I really hate mosquitoes. We do have bats but obviously not enough of them! If there were a magical place that didn't have mosquitoes I think I'd be sorely tempted right about now.

Thanks.

Dea

Mosquitoes are pretty rare in the interior west (Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, Utah, etc.) and they are non-existent in England. Start packin'!

As for mosquito repellent... there's just no substitute for DEET. I use a formula that is at least 80% DEET because it lasts a lot longer than the spray-on stuff like Off and Cutters which is typically about 15-20%. High-concentration DEET can usually be found at outfitters like Dick's Sporting Goods and Gander Mountain and the like.

[Dea13]

Drover, we've actually looked into moving out west because of my allergies. Hard to leave WI though and the drought situation is scary out there. There are pros/cons to living everywhere.

We generally use Deep Woods Off. It's the dogs I have a problem with. Especially around the nose. Hate to put anything on their noses. And because my two are a team, the will lick/bite off whatever I put on the other (like bandages, collars, cones - you get the idea). They sure are naughty but geez they're cute. Gotta love brittanys!

Dea

[Drover]

There is a Dogs sub-forum in the Pets forum here. Maybe you could get some suggestions over there.