Hello everyone! Mosquitoes could be a real health threat to people because of the diseases and viruses they carry. I usually protect my family by using mosquito repellents of all kind such as lotions, sprays, patches, and plants. I have just recently learned about a project from students in our locality using recycled plastic bottles as mosquito larvae traps. They painted the bottles with black paint because mosquitoes are attracted to dark places. You just put regular tap water inside the painted bottle then you put it anywhere outside your house. Once the mosquitoes lay their eggs inside these containers and they become larvae, you can now throw them in the brightest area of your yard so the larvae will die from the bright ray of the sun.
Sounds like an ingenious way of getting rid of mosquitoes. Another relatively easy and cheap way to get rid of mosquitoes is by growing some garlic either in your backyard or anywhere else you've got some space. The smell of garlic is a mosquito repellent. So you'll be killing two birds with one stone — repel mosquitoes and spend less money on garlic
@Denis Hard I too heard about garlic being a potent mosquito repellant. I have actually just planted some in my backyard together with some citronella too because mosquitoes in our are right now have significantly increased due to continuous rains. I want to have a lot of defense against these virus carrying insects. Just like what you said, planting garlics can also save me a lot on garlic since it is one of the basic things in my kitchen.
Wow, that's fantastic @gracer! I live in a country where we get a lot of mosquitoes in the summer. I'm actually dreading it because summer's just coming up. Not only does it get very sticky, we also have to contend with these pesky mosquitoes. We mainly use these citronella infused wrist bands, sprays and plug-in repellents. But this sounds like a good one to try. I also like your idea, @Denis Hard. Sadly, I don't get much garden space to plant anything
I have bought mosquito coils in the past which one leaves burning at night. These have proved extremely effective in the part save for the noxious smoke which I believe has health implications. There are also lotions which one can apply on the body overnight with no side effects. Mosquitoes have a particularly rapacious appetite for me and I am usually plagued by swarms of the same. I suppose the cheapest way to deal with mosquitoes is to be vaccinated but no effective and scalable vaccine has been produced so far.
If you are diligent about emptying all standing water from every location you can find, you will have basically, no mosquitoes. They can't breed without water and so touring your property and making sure there is no standing water anywhere outdoors is the best deterrent I know for quelling the mosquito population.
What of doing some "container-gardening?" You don't need much space for that. Just get some containers plant the garlic, and place them where there'll get some sunshine during the day. Place them elsewhere at night This may not work for everyone though.
That's a good idea! We just mostly spray Baygon to mosquito prone areas, so I guess this is a "free" way to get rid of mosquitos. Over here, I don't see any students doing such projects. I also have seen and killed dengue mosquitos while biting me in real time, with blood to boot, but I never got ill, so I wonder if I just got lucky.
I suppose that's an idea, @Denis Hard....it could actually work! Thanks for that, I'll definitely be giving it a try in the next few weeks. We do have a small outside area in the back, where we sometimes hang out, so I'll just have to place them there. Our communal pool is currently neglected and looks like a swamp! Because our outside space backs onto the communal area, I think we'll receive the brunt of the attacks if we don't seriously protect ourselves. -and mosquitos here can get big!!
In our former house, we would be using insecticides to eradicate mosquitoes. I am a magnet for mosquitoes so that is a big problem for us. We had no dogs yet at that time so we had this insect repellent spray aside from the insecticide that we use to spray the surroundings plus the lighted coil that exudes an odor to drive away mosquitoes. But when we acquired dogs, we cannot use insecticides anymore. What we do is to make sure of the screen door working properly and the surroundings is clean and has no stagnant water. Even just a puddle of water can be a breeding place for mosquitoes. So now even without insecticides, our home is clean of pesky mosquitoes.
@Lushlala We also have the citronella infused wristbands here but lately they have been out of stock in my favorite store so we just had to make do with lotions and patches. @sidney I have also been killing more mosquitoes lately while they are biting me so I'm actually feeling lucky that I haven't been infected by a Dengue virus out of all the bites I have received.
Here in my region you can't take any risks with mosquitos. We have Yellow fever, Dengue, Chikunguña and Zika. So, to protect myself, I have mosquito wire protection over all my windows, and I sleep under a big mosquito net which is installed above my bed. I also light citronella mosquito coils during the night, which last 8 hours. During the day I use an allergy-free repellent on my skin. All these measures work very well. Recently, when 5 neighbors in my street got struck down with Dengue, I was oblivious of it until several weeks later. I simply believe that prevention is better than cure.
I'm not surprised the store's run out, @gracer! The wrist bands are very effective, and naturally very popular. I'm lucky because I can get them from a few pharmacies where I live, and whenever I buy them, I stock up. Before they run out, I'm out again stocking up. I don't know if I'm imagining it or not, but the mosquitoes in my area just seem to get bigger and more aggressive with each year LOL
I think this would be pretty cool if it could be automated. I hate dealing with mosquitoes, and it would be nice to come up with a solution that would keep them from flying around my house. It gets pretty boring doing this everyday I would assume, but if maybe there was a system that would attract them, and during the day it would move itself into the sun, I would definitely make the investment.
@venusflytrap I definitely agree with you especially when it comes to Dengue which is a common occurrence here in my area during the rainy season. Prevention is definitely better than cure in our city's latest condition because hospitals are now full of Dengue virus patients and there seems to be a scarce supply of blood plasma for those who badly need transfusion. @Lushlala Seems like mosquitoes are mutating every year right? Lol They carry more viruses with them as time goes by and they do multiply quickly so I really think it's a good idea to stock up on anything that would help you repel them. @hades_leae Your idea is really brilliant! If this project continues and gets to receive some form of innovation, I think that your idea could become a reality soon. Who knows right?
