Repel
The first method of controlling the mosquito population in your yard,
the use of repellents, is the least violent — gently persuading the
marauding insects to hunt for blood elsewhere. Spray-on repellents like Off or Aeroguard, all of which utilise the
chemical DEET, are very effective — so long as you don’t minds smelling
like a camp site. If you’re going for a dinner party with less of a
backwoods feel, try a mosquito coil instead. Mosquito coils burn Citronella oil. This yellow liquid is derived
from a species of lemongrass, is a proven insect repellent — it’s been
listed by the FDA in the US as a Generally recognised as Safe
biofungicide since 1948. It works because the smell of citronella masks
the CO2 we exhale that mosquitoes find attractive.
Mosquito coils,
however, are generally not as effective as sprays and dissipate quickly
if there is any amount of wind. Over in the US, the CDC also recommends
any product containing Picaridin, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus,
p-Mentane-3,8-diol (a synthetic form of Lemon Eucalyptus oil), and
IR3535 (a biopesticide used in Europe for the last two decades) if you
insist on going the spray route.
Another option is to install bug lights. These opaque, yellow bulbs
work because humans and insects perceive different wavelengths of light —
humans see longer wavelengths from blue to red, while insects tend to
see shorter the wavelengths from ultraviolet to blue. This is why bugs
congregate around both conventional light sources and black lights as
well. By coating a bulb in an opaque yellow finish, the light it emits
is essentially invisible to insects. And if they can’t see a light
source, they can’t swarm there. The problem of course is that everything
in your yard is now tinted yellow.
Kill
If your yard is drowned in yellow light, everything reeks of
Citronella, and you’re still getting bit, well, you’ve only got one
option — all-out war. Now you just need to make sure you bring a big
enough weapon. If you prefer chemical warfare, misters are the way to go.These
devices release an ultra-fine mist of insecticide that kills insects on
contact (and/or a fog of repellent) over a set coverage area. Fancier
models like the All Clear 4000 can cover up to 3000 square feet with effects typically lasting a few hours.
If the thought of dousing your back yard wholesale with the insect
equivalent of mustard gas makes you uneasy, you’ll want to take a more
targeted approach — trapping. Mosquito traps perform the opposite
function as Citronella candles — instead of masking the CO2 we breath
out, traps duplicate it. These devices work either by converting propane
into a stream of CO2, heat, and water vapor to attract the biting
insects — though some use chemical or visual attractants as well.
Mosquitoes are lured into a trapping bag where they eventually dehydrate
and die. Traps are an effective long-term solution to controlling the local
mosquito population, but they certainly aren’t very satisfying — unless
you count occasionally throwing away bags of dead insects as satisfying.
What you want is something that electrocutes the vicious little
bastards and lets you know it’s working with a with satisfying ker-
ZAP. You want a bug zapper. Bug Zappers have been around since the 1930s. They use a fluorescent
light to attract insects and an electrified grid surrounding the lights
to kill them. Now, while listening to mosquitoes meet their demise at
2000 volts makes for a great summer evening, zappers also attract and
kill a number of beneficial insects as well.
Prevent
Now that you’ve got them on the run, it’s time to take a page out of
General Sherman’s playbook and start your own scorched earth policy. An operative once said, “If your quarry goes to ground, leave no ground to go to” and that’s exactly what you need to do. Mosquitoes actually begin their lives under water. Females will lay
their eggs in just about an standing pool of water they can find, so
that’s where you strike first. Keep your rain gutters clear and your
unused bird baths empty to reduce their breeding grounds. If you keep a
rain barrel, install a drip oil can. These devices maintain a thin sheen
across the top of the water — drowning the larvae already in there and
preventing more from being deposited.
