see'n'spots
north central Florida
MH
Posts:334
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| 07/06/2012 11:55 AM |
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After prolonged drought & virtually no mosquitos since Fall spoiled us, FL is buzzing w/the blood suckers after Debby. We got over 16" of rain almost perfectly timed after Beryl jump started mosquito season. Don't think I've ever seen so many & such viscious mosquitos. Normally if you keep moving you're safe, but these SOB's see you coming & ambush you. Walking you can hear dozens trailing you, can't get thru a door w/o admitting a mess, no matter how fast.
There are some relatively new & effective weapons in the war, countermeasures to the threat of West Nile, encephalitis, dengue fever & heartworm.
While I hesitate to recommend specific products & am sure there are able competitors, will post names as key words to assist readers who want to search.
Favorite is badmitten racket like device, has 2 AA batteries & power supply in handle & wire grid to electrocute & BBQ mozzies. Push button & have at'em, high voltage produces satisfying crackle pop when you nail them. Have grown to enjoy smell of toasted mozzie! Very rewarding to hunt them down inside before bedtime. Also great for thinning the herd via wholesale slaughter of mozzies mobbing screen door w/o poison spray. Mine has sticker: www.bugzapper.info phone 888 609-2449.
Mosquito repellants took a step forward from DEET when metofluthrin emanators hit the market. Unlike sprays or lotions there's nothing nasty wetting your skin. Works kind of like an 'Airwick' driven by tiny fan, essentially the scent is enough to deter mozzies within your Comfort Zone. As individual situations vary widely, reviews run hot & cold. However in some conditions it works almost magically. Most EZ to find & under $10 is the SC Johnson OFF! Clip-On.
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weerubbertummy
Ayrshire, Scotland
MH
Posts:726
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| 07/06/2012 12:22 PM |
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Lucky enough not to have experienced mozzies except when holidaying in the med years ago in my twenties - woke up with 51 bites on my legs despite practically bathing in a deet product. Legs swelled up to almost double size (yep, didnt get lucky on that holiday  ).
Midges, although not carriers of disease, can deter the most determined of walkers, campers, party-goers, - and i've heard many kids on campsites screaming and greetin' "i hhaaaattte scotland", and witnessed their parents (quite happily) packing up and leaving (probably returning to their warmer, drier, midge-free climate) and cutting their stay short.
I hear you on the zapper (although midge clouds are despersed simply from the air pressure in advance of a bad-tempered swipe of said gadget). Swatting/grilling a bluebottle, however, is right up there in the disgusting-but-pleasing-hobbies stakes along with picking up a frozen all-in-one dog poo on a frosty morning 
So thankful to not have mozzies here (yet  )! |
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Miss you forever Kintra baby xxx |
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smatulewicz
Michigan
MH
Posts:1191
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| 07/06/2012 8:45 PM |
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oooo, I've seen the racket zappers and thought, even if it didn't work perfectly it would feel great just wacking the evil things anyway  Maybe I'll have to try one out now! |
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everbell
Kanata, ON
MH
Posts:3166
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| 07/07/2012 6:57 AM |
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| Would the racket work on horseflies and deer flies? We seem to have mammoth ones here ... they drive the dogs NUTS and when they bite, they take a chunk with them. |
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Joce and Rich
Bogart and Shiraz (GSPs)
Roxane (RIP: 1995-2009) and Tiger Lily (Cats)
The Everbell Adventures |
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Smylinacha
Connecticut
MH
Posts:1208
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| 07/07/2012 1:17 PM |
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| Those rackets totally work! We were out laughing hysterically the other night zapping bugs one was so big it stuck to the racket and got toasted! I put some silly youtube video of my cousin and I with the racket....on my FB page. For the dogs I sprinkle garlic powder in their dinner and the skeeters, fleas and bugs stay off of them. |
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Smylinacha
Connecticut
MH
Posts:1208
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| 07/07/2012 1:38 PM |
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My cousin and I are being silly w/ the zapper racket but it really works! We decided, after a few beers and watching Turtleman, we'd go out into the yard to fight off the bugs. My cousin freaks out at ANYTHING that flys and hates bugs but the zapper gave her confidence - I didn't get many, I was too busy acting stupid but she was on the hunt for them!
www.youtube.com/watch
This next one you can hear the little zaps with my cousin doing it, then my son did it as it got darker out and we turned on the porch light and he couldn't stop - he was addicted.
www.youtube.com/watch |
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see'n'spots
north central Florida
MH
Posts:334
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| 07/07/2012 1:49 PM |
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The better Q? How good is your tennis game?
Posted By everbell on 07/07/2012 6:57 AM
Would the racket work on horseflies and deer flies?
Mozzies are pretty slow & EZ to pick off. If your "deer flies" are like sweat flies in NY or yellow flies in FL the racket has enough power to zap them. These bastages also tend to have persistent predictable flight paths, making it fairly EZ to zap them. However, these outside pests usually come at me 1 at a time & I've got a nack at swatting them by hand.
As to horseflies they're big fast SOB's & seem to posess an ability to land biting. Don't have experience zapping them, but suspect the increased speed needed might end up batting them thru the air w/o electrocuting them.
Just came in from mile walk to/from mailbox. Kal was trailing a swarm of hungry mozzies & no exaggeration, must've had 50 siphoning blood on him! Had him stay outside, went in for racket zapper & let Rayovac have a whack. It rained mozzies on the deck, they hit the grid & fall. By hand was able to mush dozens more that refused to give up a good thing. |
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Smylinacha
Connecticut
MH
Posts:1208
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| 07/07/2012 1:55 PM |
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I suck at tennis LOL!
The big bugs that my son got were two huge horseflies stuck together and they were zapping, sparking and you could smell burning bugs and they burnt so bad they "melted" onto the racket and we had to clean it off - it really works.
I hate horseflies - last year I had some bites on my leg that didn't go away for months and they itched worse at night! |
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see'n'spots
north central Florida
MH
Posts:334
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| 07/08/2012 3:52 PM |
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Mozzie Misery Maxxing out! Wore batterys out in racket zapper. Never seen anything like it. Literally thousands of mosquitos struggling to get in thru window screens! Last night found hundreds inside. Discovered small gap in porch screen that was leaking mozzies like the Titanic!
How about some more suggestions for safe effective repellants that work on dogs? Never had much luck w/garlic or mystery powder on dog food. |
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see'n'spots
north central Florida
MH
Posts:334
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| 07/13/2012 10:36 PM |
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More Mozzie Misery. Consider the plight of wildlife. The Deer just have to take it. Own 17 acres of North FL jungle adjoining 23,000 acre Wildlife Refuge, State Park & 3 large lakes. Does had rough season between early killing frost & extended drought. When rains, then new growth came it was late for most & there couldn't have been much milk for many fawns. Won't pretend to be a Medical Examiner, but if I had to bet, the dead fawn by my wood pile died of Mozzie bites.
The environment is so screwed up it's no wonder there are so many Mozzies. The drought knocked back all the amphibians/fish etc that gorge on Mozzie larva. As conditions remain wet, b/c of daily rains, the Mozzie population BOOM is going to keep on BOOMING!
Which brings me back to the Q of safe effective Mozzie repellants for dogs. Kal get 50-100 Mozzies on him just walking to 1/2 mile to mailbox. The Dog Park is inside the city limits & benefits from military style Mosquito Control efforts. Out here Mother Nature is in control.
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MelB
MH
Posts:1217
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| 07/21/2012 10:22 AM |
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| a mix of a spray with some tea tree oil would be effective, but would have to be sprayed on daily to work consistantly. Tea Tree oil is NOT safe around cats, so you would be wise not to use it if you have cats who would groom a dog or lick this off them |
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