Look on the bright side--you won't get heartworm.

They are nasty evil creatures from hades sent to torment us.
As if the heat and humidity weren't enough.

I can relate, I'm a skeeter magnet myself. I keep a bottle of both Off! and Yard Guard in the garage and another set right outside the back door. If I step outside, either the air or me gets sprayed first!
Lori

Oh good...more rain today. Whatever it is that eats mosquitos is slacking off on their job!

Wanda662: had not thought of heartworm!...good to know that even with skeeters, there's a 'bright side'!... ;)

There is always a bright side to every downside.
To bad we can't get the skeeter hawk or the bats to do more!
I know they can be a pain but they are short lived. I hope.

How in the world do you get all that rain and we don't get a drop? Of course, your mosquitos are coming south anyway :-) I didn't have much of a problem with them until tonight. I did a stupid, bought another trunkload of plants today and wanted to plant some this evening. I am now reeking of Eau de DWO (Deep Woods Off) and ready for a shower!

Terri

No swarms here but enough! I *think* I can sneak out w/o putting on bug spray...there's a joke! They do manage to find me in no time flat.
For some reason their stings didn't used to effect me, no itching. It was great!
But now? I'm scratchin'.
I think twice before going out.

Swarming mosquitos might indicate you live near a big mosquito nursery that the County Mosquito Control would be eager to address.

Our neighborhood association is working with (Pinellas) County to "spray" (I think it may be "fogging"). The county will come to our yards if invited, to check places that may be harboring mosquitos and advise... maybe you have some yards, bayous, ditches, near you, public or private, that they could get to to check and fog or spray. Perhaps you might check them out online & call.

I live in a different part of St Pete from you and my yard does not have mosquitos to speak of, YET. I do have many bromiliads. I have crushed "Dunk" sprinkled in some, but have to go buy more to fill them all. I think it is hot enough with enough dry days, that the bromiliads are not holding enough water YET. Just my guess.

That's great advice. I may do just that. I was outside around 6:30pm today for maybe 5 minutes before I became 'dinner'. I can't go outside between 5:30-8:30pm unless I marinate in Off!.

I 'think' the problem stems from the abandoned house that is ajacent to my property. Not kidding, one of the gutters has a mini-oak tree growing out of one of them.

A house flipper bought it right before the real-estate market tanked and essentially ignores the property. The grass gets to about 4 ft. high until the city finally gets around to writing a citation and them sends a county worker to mow. It's at about 3 feet right now. I don't own a mower or I'd do it myself.

I've never had this much of a mosquito issue before that I can recall.

I gave up. I'm using the deet... Got a lot done today.

BTW, the big plastic blue button with the tiny fan and the repellent? A waste of money if you ask me. I bought two. The first one worked for about 6 hours only even though the indicator showed plenty left. The second one stopped working after about 4 hours. The package says they last for "up to" 14 hours.

I don't have too much trouble when working for short periods in the garden. But, when I visit a farm to pick fruits, it is unbearable!

Katkin told me to use ammonia the other day. And the ripe occasion arrived yesterday when we went to a farm. A lot of swamp and standing water does not help. After the bites, we run to the store and slather the ammonia on us. It worked!

Thank you Katkin for the tip, and I hope others suffering like I was, give it a try. It is a harmless and cheap product that we can use.

Silvia

How the world did you breath with the ammonia? I have to hold my breath when I use a little to clean my jewelry. Ofcouse I dilut it with water then it isn't too bad.

Wanda, I put the ammonia in a cotton ball and put it on the bites. It was so hot and muggy outdoors that I did not smell anything!
Maybe if I use it indoors, in a comfortable air conditioned room, I would think different.:o)
Silvia