I saw that in the newspaper. I remember one summer in Illinois that we had a huge influx of mosquitoes that would bite right through your clothing. We moms would stand around our playing tots and swat mosquitoes that landed on anyone, and it was constant.

DD is vacationing with her in-laws in Destin in August. Hope they don't have them there.

Oh, they'll be here! I'm 25 miles from Destin, so what we get, they get. I hope the city of Destin does as good a job as our mosquito patrol does, and sprays daily. We have a few, but not too bad.

Thanks for the info, Kay. You would think with their tourist industry that Destin or the county would be very good at abatement.

Sheila, the only problem I have is: which is more harmful to us - the mosquito repellant or the mosquito?!

And what does the repellant do to the bee population which is severely declining?

Mosquito: A state Bird. A lot of shotgun amo has been used on them and they are not even good eating.

(If you believe this, let me tell you about a bridge in Brooklyn . . . .)

Abatement chemicals are not "repellents". Different kinds of chemicals are used....one is a larvacide, a biological agent used to kill the iittle larvae in ponds, puddles, saucers, and any other body of standing water in which mosquitoes can lay het eggs. This chemical has a very narrow spectrum of control.....the larvae of mosquitoes, fungus gnats, and a few other flies that begin their lives in aquatic or semi-aquatic environments.

The other kinds of pesticides used are broad spectrum chemicals.....they effect creatures of many kinds. Butterflies, beneficial parasitiods, most kinds of insects, reptiles and amphibians, and mammals can all have negative reactions. That includes us. The chemical people will tell you that what they use is safe and used in such small quantities that it's not harmful.....neither statement is completely true. Ask a beekeeper! Ask any gardener who relies on beneficials to help control pests.

If you have small children, are pregnant, take medications that effect the liver, imbibe on a daily basis, are recovering or suffering from illness, or are a senior citizen, you should take precautions. Call the agencies in charge of the abatement program and ask them to avoid your street for medical reasons. They are "supposed " to heed such requests. (They don't.) They are also supposed to avoid bee hives and gardens where butterfly raising is going on. Of course, if your community is one of those that does aerial spraying....batten the hatches.

Anyone should call their abatement agency to obtain the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) pertaining to the chemicals they use. They are required by law to do so. MSDS won't give you information pertaining to the damage to the environment, but will give you the exact chemical name of the active ingredients. Anyone can look up toxicity information from there.

By the way, abatement programs have not been proven to be as effective as community education and personal protection.

Completely OT: Destin? Isn't that the name of the ointment I used to put on our baby's bottom to prevent diaper rash?

Senior Sue

Thata Desitin

They call them Gallinippers? Hmmm. What we call gallinippers are the size of a quarter, but they don't bite. I wonder what those big things are that we have always called gallinippers? They look just like a mosquito. I've seen some around lately. If I see another one, I will take a picture. The worst mosquitoes I have seen here were after Hurricane Ike. They were in black swarms and they were tiny. I have never seen anything like them....awful.

Maybe you have Crane Flies, Marilyn. We have them, too. They never bite. If one gets in the house I try to save it. I usually succeed, but it's not easy as they're so fragile.

Marilyn, I suspect that you are thinking of crane flies, sometimes called mosquito hawks sometimes called gallinippers. They don't bite.

The Standard Hotel in Miami uses Firefly Safe & Green Fuel with Guardian in their tiki torches. They have NO mosquitoes or no-see-ums. Apparently, it works when not lit which is very cool because the stuff is expensive but they have a mosquito candle which is only about $18.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mosquito Candles

these are what we generically call Tiger Mosquitoes, we have had them for eons down south but not in Seminole Co (my county actually, burb of Orlando) and not this many. I actually became familiar w them back when I lived in Chicago I brought in tropicals from S FL for a chain of independent garden centers and got some in a shipment. I was a bit concerned as that store was on wetlands but it was end of summer going into fall and winter when they would have died. They were big, striped, nasty, mean mosquitoes but as soon as it was down in the 60's in the greenhouses they died off. ~ liz

I live in Seminole Co., FL too and haven't see any of these. Yet? But the regular old tiger mosquitoes are bad at my daughters house.

I had one of those mosquitoes in my house last week. I had never seen one so huge and the stinger was long. I was shocked at the size of it.

I'll be in the Florida keys and south marsh land kayaking the last part of July. If there are any giant Mosquitos eating us , I will report back here. Just the thought of it is making me itch! Need to pack anti itch spray for the noseeums, I keep hearing about.

We haven't seen any here. Maybe they're running late.