[amomoffour]

Hello,
Just wondering if a house on a lake means more mosquitoes? or does the City spray (northville, novi area). thanks

[michmoldman]

Originally Posted by amomoffour

Hello,
Just wondering if a house on a lake means more mosquitoes? or does the City spray (northville, novi area). thanks

mosquitoes really dont like lakes as much as they do ponds, swamps, and stagnant small streams. If there is a swampy area around the lake...it will be nasty.

[animatedmartian]

I think Michigan gets mosquitoes all over the place (or maybe I'm just thinking of some really humid summers). But yea if it's wet with a lot of trees or tall grass, typically that means more of them. I think I've heard of Novi spraying, but only in like major parks or other major public areas. Nothing too widespread though.

[Coldjensens]

To the best of my knowlege, There are no small lakes in Novi/Northville except man made lakes in condo/subdivision complexes. Spraying would be up to the HOA not the city.

The Rouge River runs through Northville and feeds the Mill Pond, but spraying there for mosquitoes will not help. It is running water and there are loads of trees, puddles, etc. Michigan is a wet place and there is no avoiding mosquitoes. We were really worried about this when we moved back here and did a lot of research. What we learned:

1. Most of the trendy Moquitoe killing devices do nothing to reduce your personal mosquitoe attack (CO2 devices (Mosquite Vacuums), Bug Zappers, bats, purple martins). Fogging will work if you fog a huge area or dropMalathion from a helicopter (Michigna does nto do this). If you fog, you need to use certain chemicals at certain times of the year. We used to fog our woods and our neighbors woods. It makes a difference but it is expensive and bad for birds. We love the lightening bugs more than we love the slight improvement in mosquito attacks, so we do not fog the woods anymore.

2. Only two kinds of repellants work DEET and catnip oil. You need pretty strong DEET for much effect. Those new things that you stick on your belt and blow out repellant with a little fan work if there is no wind. Citronella candles aree paartially effective if there is no wind and you are close engouh to several of them to be shielded by the smell/gas/whatever they give off.

3. Certain people are much more attractive to mosquitoes. Hang out with one of those people and they will mostly bit that person nstead of you (unless like me, you are once of those people that mosquitoes prefer).

4. Stay inside from 7.p.m. to 9.p.m. during mosquitoe season unless you are Deet soaked. (If you like 12 Oaks, that is a good time to go there I have never been bitten by mosquitoes inside 12 Oaks mall).

5. You cna reduce the mosquitoes on your property by eliminating ponded water empty buckets etc. Put those larvae killer tabs in any standing water that you cannto eliminate. However this will nto help much if your neighbors do not do the same.

6. Mosquitoes will travel as far as three miles to bite you. However if you can eliminate them within 100 yeards or so, you will greatly reduce the numbers that come after you.

7. Woods and long grass = mosquitoes. Stay away unless you are soaked in DEET, you have one of those little personal fan thingys, or it is sunny out.

8. Mosquitoes do not come out when it is really windy or really sunny.

9. If you cna stand it, you are better off letting a moquito finish sucking your blood and leave than you are slapping them dead. When they leave normally, they such out most of their itchy juice. When you kill them, it all stays in you and the bite is worse. I have never succeeded in following this advice. I want them dead!

Those are your sollutions. It makes no difference where you choose to live unless you choose a very urban area (not many mosquitoes in downtown Detroit).

Those fan things are really great and make life better. I hate to be soaked in DEET, but it really works. However we have bonefires regularly during the summer and if 8-10 people around the fire have those fan thingies, mosquitoes are not really a problem even without spray. I have gone hiking in the woods, chopped logs, mowed, all kinds of things using one of those little fan thingies (sometimes two of them) and the mosquitoes do nto really bother me.

[amomoffour]

What is the Fan thingy??? sorry...but I have NO CLUE. can you send me a link..or picture. We don't have any Mosquitoes in California:-)))

[Coldjensens]

Clip-On

Expensive, but worth it. It only does not work when it is mildly windy. If it is very windy, you do not need it.

There are mosquitos in CA. But there is not much water around. They need water. You get them in the mountain areas, near streams when there is water in them, and homes near storm drains will get some. But they are few and far between.

[Giesela]

Most of those neighborhood, mall etc. small decorative (drainage) ponds have those small fountain things to keep the water moving which prevents mosquito larvae from breeding.

Seems like last spring/fall here in southern Ohio I noticed a new mosquito. A non native its been in the US awhile but I think its been spreading. One thing I read is that it will breed in the tiniest bits of water in your yard (toys etc.) It also tends to be more active all day vs. dawn/dusk. And the bite HURTS

The Asian Tiger Mosquito or Forest Day Mosquito (Aedes albopictus), native to southern and eastern Asia, is about a quarter inch long, with striped black and white legs and many white spots on its body. Its aggressive biting makes its presence known, especially in the early morning and late afternoon.

tigermos.jpg (60250 bytes) This mosquito was first found in North America near Houston, Texas, in 1985, and is thought to have entered the country with a shipment of used tires.2 Since that time it has spread widely throughout the United States, especially through the southeast of the country. By 1992 it was considered to be established as far north as Delaware and Minnesota, and a 1999 survey showed that it was established in 25 states.

[detwahDJ]

If the water is moving, even slowly, there shouldn't be a problem. Those lakes are Rouge River-fed I believe.
If there is standing water around the edges somewhere, those areas could be problematic.

[sweetpea3]

Originally Posted by Giesela

Most of those neighborhood, mall etc. small decorative (drainage) ponds have those small fountain things to keep the water moving which prevents mosquito larvae from breeding.

Seems like last spring/fall here in southern Ohio I noticed a new mosquito. A non native its been in the US awhile but I think its been spreading. One thing I read is that it will breed in the tiniest bits of water in your yard (toys etc.) It also tends to be more active all day vs. dawn/dusk. And the bite HURTS

The Asian Tiger Mosquito or Forest Day Mosquito (Aedes albopictus), native to southern and eastern Asia, is about a quarter inch long, with striped black and white legs and many white spots on its body. Its aggressive biting makes its presence known, especially in the early morning and late afternoon.

tigermos.jpg (60250 bytes) This mosquito was first found in North America near Houston, Texas, in 1985, and is thought to have entered the country with a shipment of used tires.2 Since that time it has spread widely throughout the United States, especially through the southeast of the country. By 1992 it was considered to be established as far north as Delaware and Minnesota, and a 1999 survey showed that it was established in 25 states.

As a Michigan native but now living in San Diego, I'm trying to decide which is worse! This new breed of mosquito or the newest breed of widow spider (brown widow)! LOL hmmmm, I think I'm missing Michigan!

[mash potato]

Originally Posted by amomoffour

Hello,
Just wondering if a house on a lake means more mosquitoes? or does the City spray (northville, novi area). thanks

If there's any sand or a beach around the lake, fleas might like it there.