What do you do about bugs on your patio or deck?

[Pilsy]

Now that I have patio furniture, I'd like to spend more time using it, but the bugs are terrible! Does anyone have a bug-repelling contraption to recommend? Or do you find a barrage of citronella candles are the best bet? 


A friend of mine has a Radius Zone Mosquito Repeller from Thermacell and likes it, but the reviews aren't great, so her success with it sounds like an anomaly. 


smile.amazon.com/Mosquito-Thermacell-Repellent-Rechargeable-DEET-Free/dp/B07KSK7DQM/ref=pd_ybh_a_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RSTMMF0088YYQBA6291B

[TR]

Mostly mosquitoes? We had these tube things that hung from trees. I think you put water in them that reacts with some powder inside and you hang them away from where you hang out. They seemed to work pretty well because I usually get eaten alive. I'll have to check the brand, but I bet if you google you could find them.

ETA: I think it was these: www.amazon.com/SPARTAN-MOSQUITO-ERADICATOR-Effective-ShortTerm/dp/B07NLJ3G99#:~:text=The%20ideal%20place%20to%20hang,some%20water%20replenishment%20from%20rain.

[bears]

Fans are a really effective at shooing away insects.

[Pilsy]

I am planning to go to a friend's house for a lawn visit on Friday night and would love to be able to take something with me, so portable is a real plus, but not completely necessary.

[Violet]

We spray our yard every few months. The spray is by Cutter and hooks to the gardenhose, costs like $10 at home depot. It makes a big difference. Our neighbors have their yards professionally sprayed which I think just makes the mosquitos move to our yard.

[gummybear]

Sadly I think this is a battle with no real solution. I know that we use the Cutter and our township sprays but considering how hot and humid it is here and how close we are to wooded areas, it's inevitable. We have found that out tiki torches and (wood buring) fire pit help. If the fire pit is burning we def. have fewer mosquitos, even though it is relatively smokeless. Other than that, the only real solution is for me to have my skin covered (esp ankles, they love my ankles)

[twilightmv]

I get my yard sprayed by mosquito squad every other week. Really cuts down in the mosquitos. I have woods and a pond at the end of my yard so they’re usually terrible.

[waverly]

Our village sprays for free, but I think you have to live in certain areas, so it doesn't help rural residents. Otherwise, nothing really works. You can get the powerful bug spray with Deet for your body and cover up. Citronella candles are more of a gentle persuasion rather than a guarantee.

[penguingrrl]

I get my yard sprayed. I hemmed and hawed about it, but the risk of tick born illness (I live in an area where Lymes disease is rampant) swayed me into doing tick and mosquito spraying. It’s the first year in my life I’ve done it and the first year in my life I’ve been able to comfortably be in my yard.

[Deleted]

If we're going to be outside I usually light my Tiki Torches, they stuff I get has Citronella. I've also had good luck with just burning Citronella candles. Don't know if either of those are an option for you.

[dancingirl21]

Mosquitoes love me. I get eaten alive. We have a Thermacell that seems to help but the only thing that really works is to have a company spray for mosquitoes every 3 weeks during the summer.

[VillainV]

We screened in the porch. We did it for other reasons besides mosquitos (safety, privacy), but it’s the only way I’ve ever found to be outside comfortably, especially in the evenings. I’m the kind of person who can be outside for 10 minutes wearing bug spray and get 30 mosquito bites. Nothing else has ever worked.

[Patsy Baloney]

We light a lot of citronella candles. We also keep our yard mowed pretty short and have taken care of low-lying areas where water may stand after a rain by our patio.

If we're planning on being out for a time, I'll usually put bug spray on.

Bugs happen. It may not be super-comfortable when it's hot-hot, but once evenings become a little more tolerable (in the 70s) your best bet is to probably wear long pants/sleeves.

[icedcoffee]

I think there are some plants you can plant that help with mosquitoes. Someone smarter than me can come in here and tell you which ones they are. LOL  You can put them in pots on your deck?

Thankfully our deck is not bad on mosquitoes, but I think we're going to start spraying our yard next year. They're really bad and I am kind of tired of paying and maintaining a yard that we can't use because the mosquitoes are too bad. I don't love the environmental impact, but I want to be able to be out there. There's one company that says they're "green" so I may look there first.

[mommin]

I am being eaten alive this year by mosquitoes. We have a newer variety of mosquito in our area that is incredibly small, bites multiple times, and can travel up to three miles. Cool.  Our county has a mosquito abatement department and they will come to spray for free but when they checked our yard they couldn't identify any issues. They sprayed the drains for our sprinkler run-off and told us to older a trap. It's probably someone's pool in the 3-mile radius that hasn't been cared for that is causing the problem. Cool again. 

We ordered this trap and installed it last week. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083RBJ6F6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I haven't spent a ton of time out back (107 degrees out today) but the short time I have been out I haven't gotten bit once. Two weeks ago I spent about half an hour outside and my legs had 30+ bites so this was a big improvement. The dynatrap was recommended by the mosquito abatement but this was cheaper, covered more area, and had higher ratings.

[lessel]

The real answer is suffer.

We get mosquito treatment, use a fan on our patio, have a Dynacell near our patio, and then spray with bug spray. And we still get eaten alive this time of year.

Our backyard ends kind of in a point--our lot is kind of a triangle-ish. And there are 4 other yards meeting at the back point of the yard--where we have a lot of trees and the kids' swing set. So it's an unwinnable battle because who knows what kind of treatment our neighbors are or aren't doing.

[basilosaurus]

I'm a vegas sized dessert buffet for mozzies. Citronella does jackshit. I was just told today to use incense. Thanks, I'll pass. The coils are really big here, but they don't work for my nightly readings on the balcony, and they make me cough anyway. They also recommended a lemongrass oil thingie. Yeah, thanks, I don't care about natural and organic and shit. Give me toxic, please! I've been bitten so much in a short time period I was actually starting to have a systemic reaction. No thank you. I'm good with the permethrin.

Really, avoidance is my tool. Cover skin and avoid dusk. Hope and pray everyone around gets rid of every single bit of standing water no matter how small.

I will say, whatever magic they sell as a post bite salve here works. It has a bunch of chinese characters and smells of menthol, but there's probably something illicit given its efficacy. I can read the individual Thai letters on the container, but they don't make sense to me as words. I'm pretty sure one of the main ingredients translates to horsetail grass. IDK if that's helpful. It is a real herb, native to this area, but whether it's legit, who knows. And whether you can access it is a bigger who knows. Whatever it is, it makes tolerating the inevitable bites so much better. The bites are usually gone within minutes. If I can't prevent, at least I can fix. Maybe an Asian market can help you out. It's really out of character for me to recommend some herbal asian stuff, but I swear, this works.

[icedcoffee]

Aug 17, 2020 12:29:37 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

I will say, whatever magic they sell as a post bite salve here works. It has a bunch of chinese characters and smells of menthol, but there's probably something illicit given its efficacy. I can read the individual Thai letters on the container, but they don't make sense to me as words. I'm pretty sure one of the main ingredients translates to horsetail grass. IDK if that's helpful. It is a real herb, native to this area, but whether it's legit, who knows. And whether you can access it is a bigger who knows. Whatever it is, it makes tolerating the inevitable bites so much better. The bites are usually gone within minutes. If I can't prevent, at least I can fix. Maybe an Asian market can help you out. It's really out of character for me to recommend some herbal asian stuff, but I swear, this works.

Is it Tiger Balm?  My old boss bought me some in Thailand and one of the indications is for bug bites.

[stephm0188]

I feel like our Thermacell Radius does a decent job, but I'm least susceptible to mosquito bites in our family.

[TheSeaward]

Aug 17, 2020 12:55:05 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Aug 17, 2020 12:29:37 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

I will say, whatever magic they sell as a post bite salve here works. It has a bunch of chinese characters and smells of menthol, but there's probably something illicit given its efficacy. I can read the individual Thai letters on the container, but they don't make sense to me as words. I'm pretty sure one of the main ingredients translates to horsetail grass. IDK if that's helpful. It is a real herb, native to this area, but whether it's legit, who knows. And whether you can access it is a bigger who knows. Whatever it is, it makes tolerating the inevitable bites so much better. The bites are usually gone within minutes. If I can't prevent, at least I can fix. Maybe an Asian market can help you out. It's really out of character for me to recommend some herbal asian stuff, but I swear, this works.

Is it Tiger Balm?  My old boss bought me some in Thailand and one of the indications is for bug bites.

sounds like eagle balm

[dochas]

I've been putting tea tree oil on bites the last several years and it works wonders. Giant welts disappear and the itching goes away within a day.

[Pilsy]

mommin, I'm going to try that thing!

I never thought to try a fan. I'll do that, too - thanks, bears!

VillainV, I desperately want to screen in a section of the patio, but that might be a bigger project than I can convince my husband to take on (i.e., pay for) this summer. In May, I hired someone to install a sail shade that sags and looks awful. I wish I'd been focused on bugs then

[basilosaurus]

Not tiger balm or eagle balm. It looks a lot like this. Mine doesn't say hop headed barleria, though, whatever that is.

[jlt19]

We've had amazing luck with the green coil things you burn from Off. It smells good too.