What mosquito trap/attractant/killer is most efficient? (Houston, San Antonio: houses, neighborhood)

[behtypa]

Can you share your experience: what mosquito removal solution would be the most economical and effective?

Here is what I have found so far:

Commercial:

1. Various mosquito gadgets, using a combination of CO2 release and octenol/lurex.
Megacatch - Mosquito Traps by Mega-Catch™ | The Ultimate Mosquito Trap
Mosquito Magnet - Mosquito Magnet® Traps | Mosquito Traps | Mosquito Control | Mosquitoes Killing Machine | Mosquitoes Control Products

2. Chemical repellants for large areas:
Mosquito Bits - Mosquito Bits 30 oz.
Mosquito Barrier (uses garlic concentrate) - Mosquito Repellent | Insect Repellent | Natural Mosquito Control by Mosquito Barrier
Mosquito Dunks - http://www.amazon.com/Mosquito-Dunks...m_cr_pr_sims_t

3. Bug Zapper, Black Flag, Stinger, etc. insect killers - they are not really effective on mosquitos, because mosquitos are attracted to CO2 and body heat/sweat (octenol for North and Lurex for South).

4. Misters and foggers of any sort.
They are as good as the repellent liquid you use in them. And they just repel for about 8hrs and not kill the mosquito population.

5. Mosquito traps
http://www.springstar.net/mosquitotrap.html
http://www.mosquitoscience.net/
Low ratings on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Springstar-MOS...=mosquito+trap

DIY (Do It Yourself), and inexpensive:

1. Mosquito trap
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/naruwan/151675034/
Mosquito Trap Mysteries - Revealed - YouTube

2. Fan used to catch mosquitos
DIY MOSQUITO CONTROL pesticide FREE mosquito control Solar Powered Fan West Nile Virus - YouTube

3. Treated water used to catch larvae. (unverified if it works)
Get a bunch of five-gallon buckets, put three gallons of water in them, add some dish soap, and finally spray some WD-40 on the water. Mosquitos will try to lay their eggs in the water, and will get stuck because the WD-40 breaks the surface tension on the water. The dish soap will take care of any larvae that do manage to hatch. Place the buckets around your property (high enough so that your dog doesn't drink the water - won't hurt the dog, but will give it diarrhea from the soap) and check them from time to time. You'll be amazed at the number of mosquitos that get caught.

4. Ovitrap - http://youtu.be/nUO0UFoIxtA

5. Listerine/Lysol, etc. as a repellent. Reviews say it is not really effective and more of a hoax.

What else?

Conclusion:
Any commercial product that uses CO2 release should work. But they are expensive.

Is there are any DIY solution that works? I like the idea of using a bucket of water and WD-40 but does it really work (meaning reducing female mosquito/larvae population)?

[HoustonRonnie]

Nothing really works.

Ronnie

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by HoustonRonnie

Nothing really works.

Ronnie

Negative. There are a few solutions that work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_control

The question is : what works better, cheaper and easier.

[deckhanddavy]

We tried EVERYTHING over the past year. Foggers, zappers, donuts, expensive pest control services (3 different companies). We live off a water front property...had we known insects would be as bad as they are, we wouldn't have done this. Mosquito's are bad, as expected, but our biggest problem is our May Fly infestation. We have them seriously bad. So bad that we couldn't walk through the front or back door without a swarm of them entering the house. We pretty much gave up on trying to kill them until a couple friends swore by their insecticide misting systems. They both used systems from Houston Mosquito Control Systems.

We ended up biting the bullet and had a misting system installed about 3 weeks ago. I can honestly say that there are absolutely no flying bugs outside of our house any longer. There may be a couple here and there that just happen to be flying through, but the massive carpet of insects that would hang out under our eaves waiting to attack us are completely gone. No mosquito's, may flies, spiders, loud crickets...nada. They are completely gone!!! Our friends don't have to dash through our front door any longer...was pretty sad.

Anyways, the misting system was our last resort. And thankfully, it works wonderfully. I'm not BSing here nor am I trying to promote anything...just want to share my experiences. If ya'll have any questions, please feel free to ask/message me.

[cla]

I use the mosquito dunks when necessary in my bird bath and water fountain - they work very well. I used to occasionally use mosquito coils on the patio - I found them to me more effective than the lamps, citronella torches, etc, but I read the fumes are equivalent to smoking over 100 cigarettes - until I do more research, the coils are out of commission.

I do not use a yard spray now because I have a 500 sf garden filled with perennials to attract butterflies and hummers, but I used to use a hose-end spray from time to time if having guests over. I found that worked well enough.

A couple of months ago the mosquitos were very bad in my neighborhood and a family of bats moved in and took care of the situation. If mosquitos were a constant problem I would probably buy/build bat houses.

More information on mosquito control

Mosquito Control | Pesticides | US EPA

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Principles | Fact Sheets | About Pesticides | Pesticides | US EPA

FAQ

Outdoor residential misting systems (including mosquito misting systems) | Fact Sheets | About Pesticides | Pesticides | US EPA

Homemade mosquito trap (I haven't tried this myself)

Home Made Mosquito Trap

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by cla

I use the mosquito dunks when necessary in my bird bath and water fountain - they work very well. I used to occasionally use mosquito coils on the patio - I found them to me more effective than the lamps, citronella torches, etc, but I read the fumes are equivalent to smoking over 100 cigarettes - until I do more research, the coils are out of commission.

I do not use a yard spray now because I have a 500 sf garden filled with perennials to attract butterflies and hummers, but I used to use a hose-end spray from time to time if having guests over. I found that worked well enough.

A couple of months ago the mosquitos were very bad in my neighborhood and a family of bats moved in and took care of the situation. If mosquitos were a constant problem I would probably buy/build bat houses.

More information on mosquito control

Mosquito Control | Pesticides | US EPA

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Principles | Fact Sheets | About Pesticides | Pesticides | US EPA

FAQ

Outdoor residential misting systems (including mosquito misting systems) | Fact Sheets | About Pesticides | Pesticides | US EPA

Homemade mosquito trap (I haven't tried this myself)

Home Made Mosquito Trap

Thanks.

>>>What can be safely stated, though, is that ingestion of garlic, vitamin B12 and other systemics has been proven in controlled laboratory studies to have no impact on mosquito biting. Conversely, eating bananas did not attract mosquitoes as the myth suggests, but wearing perfumes does. People drinking beer have been shown to be more attractive to mosquitoes. Limburger cheese has also been found to be attractive. Scientists have theorized that this may explain the attractancy some mosquitoes find for human feet.

LMAO. ))

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by cla

I use the mosquito dunks when necessary in my bird bath and water fountain -

Which state has the fewest mosquitoes?
West Virginia has the fewest species (26), while Texas has the most species (85).

FAQ

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by cla

If mosquitos were a constant problem I would probably buy/build bat houses.

Do bats serve as an effective mosquito control?
Recently the public has shown increased interest in the value of insectivorous species of bats in controlling mosquitoes. Although untested lately, this is not a new idea. During the 1920's several bat towers were constructed near San Antonio, Texas, in order to help control malarial mosquitoes. Mosquito populations were not affected and the project was discontinued. Bats in temperate areas of the world are almost exclusively insectivorous. Food items identified in their diet are primarily beetles, wasps, and moths. Mosquitoes have comprised less than 1% of gut contents of wild caught bats in all studies to date. Bats tend to be opportunistic feeders. They do not appear to specialize on particular types of insects, but will feed on whatever food source presents itself. Large, concentrated populations of mosquitoes could provide adequate nutrition in the absence of alternative food. However, a moth provides much more nutritional value per capture than a mosquito. M.D.
...

FAQ

[HoustonRonnie]

Originally Posted by behtypa

Negative. There are a few solutions that work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_control

The question is : what works better, cheaper and easier.

No they don't.

[behtypa]

Originally Posted by HoustonRonnie

No they don't.

Maybe you are right. I however tend to trust the research, that shows (links above) that:
- there are 85 species of mosquitos in Texas. They feed, breed and behave differently. Each mosquito population needs to be treated individually.
- therefore one chemical or a trap or zapper alone will not be a solution. A combination of them will.

Mosquitoes have their cycle. At each point of cycle something can be done to reduce their population.



Now, mosquitoes are not alone. There are flies, fruit flies, gnats, ants, spiders, etc etc. that bother us. So far there is no single remedy for all of them (except for a DDT and a thermonuclear reaction, LOL).

And on top of those that bother us, there is two-fold of other insects that don't. We don't need to kill them. They are a nature's balance.