mosquito problem

[cornytheclown]

Having a bad problem with mosquitos this year. My yard has no standing water but a lot of ornamental vegetation, terraced walls and fruit trees. With all the heavy rains we have been having this year certain areas of my yard have held puddles of water but not for long and there are many damp areas around the terraced walls.

I am wondering if I could safely use something like malathion to spray in around the heavy vegetation and along the bottoms of the terraced walls where the ground remains damp. I also have squirrels, rabbits, and the occasional groundhog who hang around here...along with the birds and I would not want to harm them. No children or other humans to worry about.

Is this malathion safe to us under my conditions and is it effective.

Any replies or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Art Todesco]

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) I am wondering if I could safely use something like malathion to spray :) in around the heavy vegetation and along the bottoms of the terraced :) walls where the ground remains damp. I also have squirrels, rabbits, :) and the occasional groundhog who hang around here...along with the :) birds and I would not want to harm them. No children or other humans :) to worry about. :) :) Is this malathion safe to us under my conditions and is it effective. :) :) Any general insecticide would work for what you are wanting. Malathion would not be first choice do to it will kill what is there and and maybe help for just a couple of more days. The pyrethroids will have more of a repellency to them. The most common one you will find is permethrin. Will last longer than the malathion but not more than a couple of days longer. Bifenthrin will last even longer and still be easy enough to find. Cypermethrin will be the best. I am using it now and getting enough positive feedback that I will probably come up with a mosquito plan with a warranty next year. The amounts of cypermethrin that you get can only be mixed in the hand sprayers while the others you are able to put out more with a hose end applicator. But the cypermethrin is strong enough repellant that you can have success in an average sized yard with just a couple of gallons. The mixture you find at hardware stores will make two gallons at .1%. You can dilute it down to .025% (same bottle will make 8 gallons) and see results, but the strength that I am using now for mosquitos is .05% (4 gallons). I am getting reports of three to four weeks of relief in yards the customer said they were unable to use this Summer because of the mosquitos. Try to wet the underside of the plants and shady areas of fences and walls. No matter what you use cover any flowers with a cheap drop cloth to not poison the butterflies and bees. You will see no harm in the reptile/bird populations and just wait for the spray to dry if your pets or kids will be prone to get into the treated zones.

[Phisherman]

We have a pond and a stream in the backyard. The pond is loaded with goldfish and rosy reds which feed on the mosquito larvae. The stream has shiner minnows, but it runs too fast for mosquitoes. When ground is soggy-damp for two weeks you have to expect mosquitoes. We use DEET, and you'll quickly find out where you missed spraying your skin. The nasty buggers bite in full sunlight. Clogged gutters can breed lots of mosquitoes. They don't seem to bother me when I'm running a lawn mower, string trimmer, or other gasoline-powered engine (not sure why).