We are having a large evening gathering this weekend and I’m worried about mosquitoes, we usually do afternoon get togethers for this very reason. Most of us will be in the backyard either swimming or watching the kids swim. So, tried and true remedies for keeping those blood sucking pests away?
I got some stuff we sprayed in the yard and some granules we sprinkled. Tiki torches help. We also set up a fan. That keeps all flying insects away.
Typical repellent is tough when people are swimming, and it's something people don't want on their hands if they are eating snacks.
Tiki torches with citronella help. By mid-summer, they aren't too expensive. You might even borrow a few from neighbors for the one night. You just have to watch the kids around them of course, but they also provide light for an evening get-together.
One really simple thing that people forget is that mosquitos are weak flyers. You don't see them on breezy days, right? So, although it looks odd, putting a few good sized fans outside to keep the air moving can make a huge difference. Oscillating ones cover more area. Just keep them away from the pool of course, and if the cords go across the area where people are walking (or kids are running), you can duct tape them (even to the grass) for the evening. We do that when we cover cords for our Halloween lights so little kids don't trip (especially in the dark). Works great. You can use a brightly colored duct tape for extra visibility. Make it cute and choose a color to match your plates & napkins - LOL!
I have a heavily wooded lot with lots of wildlife and insects.
Each year I have a couple of mosquito plants around my deck area as well as mint and spearmint in pots. The plants are in close proximity for where people would be when we are outside.
We haven't had any trouble but then... we are hitting 105 today and have been in the 100's a while so maybe our weather is scaring them off, not my plants.
I do keep Off spray handy with DEET
We used to swim at night when I had a house with a pool and the saving grace for us was garlic applied to the yard. We got granules, which we sprinkled over the lawn and in flower beds, etc. with a seed spreader as well as a concentrated oil, which we diluted and applied to shrubs and trees with a garden sprayer. We would do this a few days before an event and would reapply every three weeks and were able to really enjoy the pool in the evening with few mosquitoes.
I would also use tiki torches and candles with citronella. Off makes some lantern things that I find work pretty well - they look like a lantern and you put a tea light in the bottom and there is a "wick" like thing suspended from the top that has repellent and the heat of the candle spreads the scent out (but it's not an unpleasant or overwhelming scent).
Top all of this off with a basket of bug lotion and sprays for people to use if they want and you should be good to go. If you can't get the garlic stuff at a nearby store, you could probably order online today and have it by Friday, apply Friday night and be good for the weekend. It makes your yard smell like an Italian restaurant for a few hours after you apply but the smell goes away overnight.
Our mosquitoes can be terrible, depending on the year. So much so at times, that you literally have to run to your car or garage from the house because you can get bit so much. While not super environmentally friendly, we do fog our yard when they get that bad. I am very allergic to the bites so I guess it is a trade off. Additionally, we do tiki torches to help and at the cabin (where they are actually not as bad as at home - and we live in town!) we have a mosquito zapper/sucker machine, which catches them by the thousands.
Good luck!
Anything with a high percentage of DEET should work. Re-apply after swimming.
Living in South Florida, land of the mutant fist-sized mosquitoes (okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration) and Zika virus, the only thing that has worked for me has been OFF Deep Woods Sportsmen. Not even the regular version of OFF works for those bloodsuckers, they have bitten me when hiking in The Everglades. I have tried eating garlic, still get attacked. Tried Avon's "Skin So Soft" which supposedly is a repellent, nothing, same with the dryer sheets in the pocket.
I heard they LOVE people with O+ blood type, and that's me, so I guess I will always be a treat for the mosquitoes. A co-worker found a military-grade mosquito repellent with close to 99% DEET on Amazon, that stuff is even more powerful than OFF and would probably be a great thing to pack for a camping trip! It's called Repel and lasts 10 hours, here it is: https://www.amazon.com/Repel-Insect-Repellent-Spray-Bottl...
We have citronella candles - we have Off ones I think (quite large) and then we just use the spray for people - they make ones that are actually quite effective we find, and nice smelling this year. The candles are table top variety and then you can also place them on Adirondack seating areas, etc. Some people have those bug zappers that are quite effective or you could sit inside a tent with screen/net if really bad.
Large fans will definitely help. If you want to stay away from products with DEET (harmful to environment and to you) you may want to try neem oil. You would mix it 50 50 with coconut oil and apply to your skin. It has a funny smell kind of like roasted garlic. If you don't like it as a repellent it has many other uses from insect control in the garden, to cosmetic uses.
