I am SO fed up with mosquitoes in our yard this summer!! I know they are breeding in the damp, cool areas of our wooded property. I have questioned everyone I know in hopes of a "fix" for my problem. Then I thought... those husky owners know a little bit about everything!!!

I am concerned for Sabaka because I can spray Off all over myself and he cannot. I watch 10-12 mosquitoes hovering around and landing all over his ears and his private areas whenever I take him out to the potty. Without Off I would also have 2-3 on each leg just in the few minutes I'm out there! It is crazy!

I have researched enough to know that they are the Asian Tiger Mosquito that inadvertantly arrived in the US in loads of used automobile tires from Asia. They are able to breed in the tiny amounts of water found in an upturned leaf. They bite all day and not just at dusk. They are hideous, nasty creatures!!

....and as you all know mosquitoes carry heartworm....

I have Bt tablets in all standing water that I cannot easily get rid of. Places like the base of the kids basketball hoop, the down spouts and the planters.

I am contemplating purchasing a CO2 mosquito trap, but that requires me sinking probably $300 into the unit and then continually supplying it with propane and octenol or some other such attractant. That's alot of money IF it doesn't work!

Does anyone have any recommendations for me?!?

Do you use a heartworm preventative? The mosquitoes were terrible in WY. We bought a couple of those tiki lamps and put a bug repellent oil in it and we bought a couple of OFF! mosquito coils and they seemed to help a lot. Other than that, stay inside? lol.

There's this too, but not sure how well it would work on mosquitoes: http://www.happytailsspa.com/Flea-the-Scene

Oh yes! We definitely use HW preventative! I still just think it's terrible to see so many mosquitoes swarming him...

I've wondered it they make a topical solution that is safe for dogs. I can tell they bite him and irritate him because he starts spinning in circles trying to lick or bite his bottom area. I'll have to read more about this product and see if it might work for more than just fleas...

I have used the brand cutter and I spray it in my hand and rub it on the dogs, I only do that while camping.

When we were in island park last month they were so bad Appa couldn't go to the bathroom. I counted 30 on his face before he got so frustrated he burrowed his snout in a hole he dug. Then I remembered a trick I used in GA while on my mission. I took two scented dryer sheets and wrapped them around his collar (one on top, one down under his chin). It worked wonders. It doesn't cover much distance from the sheet, bit at least it kept them off his face. and Appa could poop happily the rest of the week. I don't know if there's some reason I shouldn't have done it, but he seems to have survived amd I didn't have to cover him in DEET and/or risk him licking it.

Try clipping a Thermacell to the collar. People swear by these things.


http://www.thermacell.com/mosquito-repellent

I love the Thermacell. Just make sure you are in a ventilated space. If you have it on you it should work for him if he is on a leash.

Thermacells do work. My friends have one since they live by a creek the problem is the refills are pricey and don't last very long at all. Too expensive at least for me as a daily use deterrent. I have used the dryer sheet trick with fairly good success for short periods.

I TOO HATE MOSQUITOES!!!!!!!!!!! They are horrible in my yard this summer also! I mean, they're always pretty bad in Miami, but holy moly they are out of hand this year! I have off right by the door before I got outside. They swarm around Mya more than Kody though

I was awake all last night with bites on my feet They are so bad this year! Makes me not want to wear flipflops

I have seen the Thermacell in use and it does seem to be effective. I went to the store to get one and got a little wigged out by the warning to not breathe the vapors. Since it is clipped on one's belt, how can one avoid the vapors that waft up and into one's nostrils? I also could not find any local store that carries the replacement pads and cartridges. I guess using the Thermacell would involve online ordering for replacement parts.

I may go get one to try. I'm sure the Deet is killing me anyway... and if not Deet, then something else...

Sara, that Flea the Scene 3-in-1 insect repellent for dogs states that the "3" in the "3-in-1" are fleas, ticks and mosquitos! Amazon sells it for just over $10 a bottle. I think I'll be trying that. Riley and Brian, I also like the dryer sheet idea. It would be cheaper and easier to pop on his collar for quick trips to the potty.

So no one has used the Carbon Dioxide emitting Mosquito traps? I like the idea of luring those suckers and trapping them, therefore getting rid of them and not just repelling them!!

There are many organic sprays you an make for mosquitoes that use essential oils that you can spritz on your dog. Just be cautious sine they cannot be used on cats. Google for the recipes.....many there.
Here is one spritzer blend:

2 drops of cedar wood, lemon grass, and rose geranium essential oils
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vodka
1 - 2 cups water

Add essential oils and vodka and water in spray bottle, tighten lid, and shake well. Once mixture is blended add apple cider vinegar. Spray on dog and massage into fur, avoiding eyes.

Update: I'm still researching the mosquito traps, hoping to find an end of season deal. In the mean time I got a Thermacell. I bought the ugly hand-held unit hoping it could clip on us while we took the dog to pee. Well, you are not supposed to clip it on yourself since it is a heated unit flamed by butane. I could have bought the cute, cheaper lantern-looking unit to sit on my deck since that's where I am using it. The other reason this Thermacell would not work clipped on you, is that the instuctions tell you to sit it in one given place for at least 30 minutes in order for it to get its repellant in the air around you.

This may fix the problem on my deck but I'm still searching for something else...

i am in the same boat as you. the mosquitoes here are HOOOOORRIBLE. i live right next to the roanoke river at a low flowing spot and they are just miserable. i used the "off" fans with much success last year. this year i got a bug zapper with mosquito repellent which works semi ok but all my neighbors have them too so it helps some. i really liked the off fan, i took it to the dog park and people would sit next to me for the relief. pretty good stuff. i cannot reiterate how much i hate these stupid tiger mosquitoes. there is one part of my yard that they are worse for some reason. its the side of my house that doesnt get much sun..weird.

This makes me oh so happy I'm in CO.

They aren't bad in CO? They were terrible in WY. Way worse than FL even!

Demon&Dakota wrote:

This makes me oh so happy I'm in CO.

Maybe I just taste good or something, but if I go out at 8PM I wake up with at least 15 bites here but it was the same in AZ if I was near grass.

lol maybe Fort Carson is the mosquito capital of Colorado?

Heatherlee wrote:

Demon&Dakota wrote:

This makes me oh so happy I'm in CO.

Maybe I just taste good or something, but if I go out at 8PM I wake up with at least 15 bites here but it was the same in AZ if I was near grass.

Your attraction to them or should I say them to you could just be caused by your levels of carbon dioxide and other chemical releases. I've been a mosquito magnet all my life and gotten to the point where I avoid being outside after dark because of it.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/mosquito.htm

mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 100 feet (36 meters) away. Mammals and birds gives off these gases as part of their normal breathing. Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to attract mosquitoes (people who don't sweat much don't get nearly as many mosquito bites).

[quote="Here4thePics"] I've been a mosquito magnet all my life and gotten to the point where I avoid being outside after dark because of it.

[quote]

The wonderful Asian Tiger Mosquito feeds all day. I think that's why its population is exploding. One of the mosquito's greatest preditors is the bat, of course, which feeds at dusk and after dark. These buggers are finished eating at that time and home for a nap! They also hid in cool, dark areas (like Shannon noticed), so are not a huge food source for the purple marlin. Purple marlins feed higher in the air than these mosquitoes tend to swarm.

Just like the stupid stink bug (and kudsu), these Asian pests are annoying me!

does anyone really know WHAT purpose mosquitoes serve in the ecosystem? i've never bothered to research it. luckily we have a lot of bats around here but as you said they don't feed on the stupid tiger mosquitoes because they're out during the day. i put my bug zapper on the side of the house with the mosquitoes and it has a mosquito lure in it. it seems to work pretty well seeing as i'm blowing dead, fried mosquitoes out of it daily.

Do garlic plants help repel mosquitoes? While she was visiting me for a week this summer, my mom told me that I should plant some garlic plants in the yard to repel the mosquitoes. She said the plants smell awful so not to plant them too close to the house but that she's done it at her house and it's helped. I've not done any research on the idea so I have no idea if it would work but who knows...

Garlic repels vampires...Vampires = blood suckers... Therefore, garlic repels blood suckers...

Mosquitoes = blood suckers... Therefore, garlic repels mosquitoes!!!

If the logic from my high school math classes still works, then your mom's theory may be correct! I wonder if garlic grows in the shade?

Here4thePics wrote:

Heatherlee wrote:

Demon&Dakota wrote:

This makes me oh so happy I'm in CO.

Maybe I just taste good or something, but if I go out at 8PM I wake up with at least 15 bites here but it was the same in AZ if I was near grass.

Your attraction to them or should I say them to you could just be caused by your levels of carbon dioxide and other chemical releases. I've been a mosquito magnet all my life and gotten to the point where I avoid being outside after dark because of it.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/mosquito.htm

mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 100 feet (36 meters) away. Mammals and birds gives off these gases as part of their normal breathing. Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to attract mosquitoes (people who don't sweat much don't get nearly as many mosquito bites).

Hm I've never thought I had high levels of carbon dioxide.. and I never sweat! But God the blood suckers love me. I don't go outside hardly either, but a friend wanted to meet up with the dogs at 8PM and I got killed.. that was 2 weeks ago and I still have some of them.