Planning a trip to check out the area (Corpus Christi, Wichita Falls: homes, school)

[jbtx]

Where do you live jbtx that you haven't seen a mosquito?

Just south of Saratoga and a few blocks west of Airline. One reason I don't have a mosquito problem is that I have dogs and I spray my yard for fleas regularly. My back yard may just be too toxic for the little critters. ;-)

[DesertDog]

250 for A/C seems pretty reasonable considering I'm paying 200 and have swamp coolers. I'd totally forgot about fleas since we don't have them here. Does everyone have their yards sprayed or will Frontline every so often on the pets be enough? Also I will probably drive down in Oct. and was wondering if I can still wear my usual shorts, tank-top, and sandals or do I need to bring something a little warmer?

[Marlow]

Originally Posted by jbtx

Just south of Saratoga and a few blocks west of Airline. One reason I don't have a mosquito problem is that I have dogs and I spray my yard for fleas regularly. My back yard may just be too toxic for the little critters. ;-)

Guess that's it. Mosquitoes can be voracious in our area of town.

[Marlow]

Originally Posted by DesertDog

250 for A/C seems pretty reasonable considering I'm paying 200 and have swamp coolers. I'd totally forgot about fleas since we don't have them here. Does everyone have their yards sprayed or will Frontline every so often on the pets be enough? Also I will probably drive down in Oct. and was wondering if I can still wear my usual shorts, tank-top, and sandals or do I need to bring something a little warmer?

We use Revolution on our pets because it also protects against heartworms which are spread by mosquitos. It keeps the fleas under control too. A couple of years ago we had a tick problem, but the vet gave me Advantage and a tick collar in addition to the Revolution and it took care of it.

You should be fine with those clothes in October. Occasionally we get a cool front which might make it cool in the evenings, but it'll be warm during the day. We've spent many a sweat Halloween trick-or-treating.

Be warned though, October is probably the prettiest month in CC--you might feel betrayed next August when walking outside feels like you're walking into a dog's mouth.

[jbtx]

I'd totally forgot about fleas since we don't have them here. Does everyone have their yards sprayed or will Frontline every so often on the pets be enough?

I wish,,, One of my neighbors has a cat, which goes everywhere, and they don't seem to mind that the cat has fleas. Thus my extra lawn care. Since you don't live in a flea area you may not know that fleas are extremely difficult to control once you have an infestation. Fleas can only be killed during the "Adult" stage of their life, nothing you can do during the egg and larvae stage will touch them, so it is necessary to reapply the cocktail of insecticide every other week for about 8 weeks to make sure you interrupt the life cycle as you will probably have several generations of fleas all at different stages at the same time.

What I do is buy the large economy size jug of Spectacide and apply with a Ortho hose end sprayer with the dial setting @ 4 tbls per gallon wetting down the grass and the lower half of the fence. It seems to work best if I do this in the evening so it doesn't evaporate quite so quickly. It also helps to keep the grass cut and well trimmed.

Frontline and Advantage are effective, but that only kills the fleas on the animal, it doesn't treat the source. Unless you fix the infested yard, in 2-3 weeks your dog will have fleas again.

[Marlow]

Originally Posted by jbtx

I wish,,, One of my neighbors has a cat, which goes everywhere, and they don't seem to mind that the cat has fleas. Thus my extra lawn care. Since you don't live in a flea area you may not know that fleas are extremely difficult to control once you have an infestation. Fleas can only be killed during the "Adult" stage of their life, nothing you can do during the egg and larvae stage will touch them, so it is necessary to reapply the cocktail of insecticide every other week for about 8 weeks to make sure you interrupt the life cycle as you will probably have several generations of fleas all at different stages at the same time.

What I do is buy the large economy size jug of Spectacide and apply with a Ortho hose end sprayer with the dial setting @ 4 tbls per gallon wetting down the grass and the lower half of the fence. It seems to work best if I do this in the evening so it doesn't evaporate quite so quickly. It also helps to keep the grass cut and well trimmed.

Frontline and Advantage are effective, but that only kills the fleas on the animal, it doesn't treat the source. Unless you fix the infested yard, in 2-3 weeks your dog will have fleas again.

I know we're off topic here, but I'm going to respectfully disagree. We have a dog and 3 cats, all of which are inside/outside pets and we live in a neighborhood with an amazing number of feral cats. Even so, the flea situation is under control with the Revolution. I haven't seen a flea in years. I guess because it kills the fleas that bite the pets and a dead flea can't breed.

Anyway, just my 2 cents on the flea question.

[DesertDog]

Is the flea problem seasonal or year around? And is it worse near the beach or inland?

[jbtx]

Marlow; A dead flea is a good flea.

DD, I agree with Marlow that October is a lovely time here, the absolute best. Better than April/May because the wind isn't howling. Spring time winds make for miserably bad fishing conditions. It would be good if you have the chance to visit in July/August to see the other side of the coin.

Otherwise, real winter tend to last 2-3 weeks sometime in Jan/Feb, and then we are back to shirt sleeve weather again by March 1st. You should have been here 5 years ago when we had a white Christmas,,, it was awesome! It was the 1st time that happened in recorded history. Two days later the temp was 65 and the snow was gone.

[jbtx]

Or was that 6 years ago??? I'm old, I tend to forget this stuff...

[txsizzler]

I would also suggest to DesertDog that he look at areas like Portland, Ingleside, and Aransas Pass. I know here in Portland, where I am at, we benefit strongly from the sea breeze... its almost all that we feel here during the year. Further, Portland is about 7 minutes from downtown Corpus, and then its another 10-12 minutes down Ocean Drive to the University, which is quite a scenic drive! Lots of good fishing very near by as well... Indian Point Pier, Sunset Lake Park, very close proximity to the excellent fishing grounds between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas, etc. Consider the lower property taxes here, a decent school system, and you have a place that is hard to beat!

As far as the mosquitoes go, I know here in Portland we have an excellent Vector Control that is always spraying from their trucks, in particular after a heavy rainfall. I work out in western Corpus Christi, in the Calallen/5 Points area, and the mosquitoes darn near carry you away after a big rainfall (especially up near the River/Labonte Park/Sharpsburg Rd area... those are some big 'uns!!!).


Ian