Getting Rid of Mosquitoes!

Check your gutters and downspouts for clogs. That's a common spot for standing water thus making it prime breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Plant herbs. The more fragrant the better. Our skeeters are HUGE here and I've had minimal to zero problems since I've lived here and I contribute it all to the herbs around my yard. I never even bother spraying on bug spray when we go out into our backyard b/c skeeters, again, have never been a problem for us. Herbs can be very low maintenance and we had a 9 month drought in Houston last year but it didn't affect any of my herb plants and bushes.

Basil is the best. Try to get your hands on "purple globe basil" plants because they'll double in size within a few months (the size of soccer balls). You can even pick the leaves and rub them on your skin as a direct repellent.

I've always had rosemary, oregano and lavender - they'll grow into 3-4 ft bushes if you let them become overgrown. Over the years I've had other herbs grow here and there all over my yard, in the grass and in pots.

It's really hard to control standing water - people usually look for stagnant ponds/pools, but the mosquitoes don't need much to lay eggs - an upside down bottle cap, a little water in the watering can, even the husks of nuts from the trees - if it's humid and the little bit of water doesn't evaporate, then it's breeding time.

Bug zappers don't work because mosquitoes aren't attracted to light. Although I have to say the post about using 'delicacies' from the butcher was fascinating - but she used something else to attract them.

Bats are voracious mosquito eaters, and you can buy bat houses in most bird feeding stores, large home garden centers, and on line. Martins are also mosquito eaters - those are the birds who live in "apartment-style" bird houses. You have to put the house up long before the first birds appear in the spring though - at least that's what people do here in the north. The "scouts" come looking for appropriate housing for the community, and then the other birds follow. You also need an open area for the bird house - not a lot of trees or they don't find it.

I'm one who watches our for pesticides, but with mosquitoes carrying a variety of series diseases (EEE, West Nile), our neighborhood has taken to having the state mosquito control commission come and spray. Neighbors who don't want it can opt out, but the rest of us register as a group so the state can do an area spraying. We did it in early June, but now they've found EEE in mosquitoes in our town and the next one, so I think it's going to be done again. There are about 15 towns in southeastern Masschusetts that are getting aerial spraying because the threat is so bad.

So you have to evaluate your risk and figure health vs. nuisance.

But they won't "go away" - they have to be killed one way or another, and then the breeding has to be curtailed. Your state mosquito control commission can give you some ideas.

GRRRRR I have the SAME problem - it is to the point where I am stopping the kids from playing out there, which I feel terrible about. Some people have told me it is because we have alot of plants in our yard (blackberry bushes, raspberry bushes, mint, as well as flowers and trees.)

Let me know the advice you get! I'll keep an eye on this question because I don't know the right answer either.

We have a mega catch mosquito trap. Well and bats. That is about the only thing I have found that works.

We don't have much of a problem out here, but we live very close to a large bat colony, so I would definitely look into a bat house.

Also, we keep any other mosquitoes away with live citronella plants. You can get them at garden centers - sometimes labeled as "mosquito bushes." They aren't beautiful, but they help. They can only "protect" the area around the plant, so you'll probably need two or three, to make a sort of "wall," depending on how much area you want to cover. They're perfect for protecting small areas, like a porch - my front porch is sort of nestled into the house, so I've only ever kept one out there, on the corner furthest away from the house, and that has worked. I've read that you can also use lemongrass, too - and that it smells better than citronella plants. Haven't tried that one myself, though.

I don't know if it's mattered at all, though, but we have a gallon baggie filled with water, hanging on our back porch roof (to keep the flies away). I haven't noticed many mosquitoes out there, either, so it might be affecting them as well as the flies. I HAVE noticed some out in the yard, but not the porch area. It's possible that it's just coincidence, but at least it's a cheap, non-toxic thing to try.