All of the 'Mosquito Authority' franchises will use the same chemical, same brand, same everything. The 'norm' for other mosquito abatement programs would pretty much be the same...they will use a pyrethrum or synthetic pyrethroid (like the Befenthrin above). It's the lesser of all of the evils. If there are drainage ditches or ponds to think about, a company would probably use Bt-I (Bacillus thuringiensis var. Israelensis), which is a biological larvicide for many members of that particular insect order (Diptera). Some municipal agencies still use malathion, delivered with ULV (ultra low volume) systems. They also use pyrethroids. There is no scientific evidence that lemon or citronella scented plants repel mosquitoes. The REAL citronella does, but that plant won't grow where you live. It's a tropical grass, Cymbopogon nardus. That's the plant that real citronella oil comes from. Speaking of oils, there are many natural plant oils that have proven to have good results in keeping these pests from biting. I used one for a long time that contained many of the ingredients listed in the attached article. It worked great, for me. And without the problems associated with DEET repellents. Here is a link that might be useful: Just some interesting information

We used a garlic oil/citrus oil mix that was proprietary to Terminix for 3 years, it worked fantastic. It was applied to the trees/planting beds around the perimeter of our yard. Reportedly the citrus attracts mosquitoes, once ingested the garlic destroys their digestive system. Initially it took several weeks to really notice a difference but once it took effect, this stuff worked outstanding. We live in a heavily wooded lot with a small stream that tends to leave pockets of standing water here and there, as well as about 100 yards from a very large lake. It worked great and had no adverse effects on my dog. For whatever reason, Terminix discontinued it in favor of the "traditional" toxic chemical Deltamethrin, which is supposed to work much more effectively and much faster. We've had 2 applications this month so far and the mosquitoes are as bad as we've seen since before we hired Terminix the first time. I'm going to give it another month and if I do t see a reduction in activity, we're going to terminate Terminix in favor of a garlic oil...

Broadcast sprays with residual action (the only way they'd have any effect other than shortly after the actual spraying) are not benign. I know of nothing that targets only mosquitos so anything you use will also kill other, unintended, insects. (And potentially harm the birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and mammals that eat the poisoned, off-target insects.) Just because the company is owned by an entomologist doesn't necessarily mean he has much interest in live bugs, or a healthy environment. Indeed, one of the most lucrative career paths for entomologists is working for chemical companies devising new insecticides. I live (and work outdoors) in a buggy, ticky, rural area and there is no way I'd ever consider broad spectrum, residual sprays for my own comfort. Biting bugs can be miserable - you don't want to experience the sheer misery of black fly season on my northern NY farm - but there are ways to make them less annoying w/o adding to the chemical load in our world. Disrupting the environment by spraying makes it difficult for natural balance to exert itself and help mitigate the problem. More effective solutions such as neighborhood efforts to get rid of standing water everywhere make a bigger difference in the long run. I have lived in parts of the world where mosquitos carry deadly diseases and a huge difference happens when people change their behavior and discourage the conditions that promote mosquitos, even w/o sprays. Landscaping and environmental changes, protective clothing, head nets, screens, dumping water accumluations, fans, even the odious chemical-attractant mosquito killers (not ordinary bug zappers, which really don't work and kill many beneficial insects) are much better than insecticides which don't really work unless sprayed frequently at high levels. And at low levels are mostly ineffective but still extract a serious environmental cost on non-target organisms. Please consider some other remedies before the dubious, and enviromentally costly, quick fix of spraying. Your worries about your dog's safety are laudable, but what about the other animals that live on or near your property whose much-smaller body masses makes them even more vulnerable to the sprays. You not proposing to keep all the birds, squirrels, bunnies, turtles, snakes, fish, etc., safely inside your house on spray-days, are you? L.

Moisture barriers and vapor barriers are NOT the same thing. Moisture barriers are intended to stop the movement of liquid water. Vapor barriers are intended to slow the movement of water vapor. The bottom of wood floors is not normally finished so a barrier is used to try and slow the annual movement of water vapor in and out of the wood so it more closely matches the movement through the finished top surface. This helps control changes in shape and size of the strips, but cannot stop it completely. Chapter 3, Physical Properties and Moisture Relations of Wood from the Wood Handbook (USDA) is linked below. Figure 3-3, p. 8 shows how all wood changes shape and size as the moisture content varies. Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Handbook, Chapter 3