Patrick, did you know that you can get allergy shots for a mosquito allergy. Mine is a true allergy. I may get 6 or 7 mosquito bites on one day, then in 36 hours, one of the bites begins to swell. It swells to the point that I cannot cover it with my hand, it develops a purple knot the size of a quarter, and it begins an unusual itch that feels dangerous. When I was diagnosed the allergist even insisted that I carry adrenalin for 2 weeks until the shots had time to take effect. That was many many years ago, and after the two weeks or so, my mosquito bites are just annoying, but not dangerous. I still take the shots. I worry about the diseases that they carry and that ticks carry. Aren't you in the medical profession? You might ask to be skin tested. Thanks for your recommendation. I have been using Cutter from Lowes. like you, I put on sun block (Coppertone) then the spray. It doesn't take long to feel very dirty. When I first saw the ad of the new spray on TV, I thought it would be unsafe to breathe. But if the stuff is on your skin, you still breathe it. Sammy

You shouldn't put anything in the bird bath that could affect birds, who bathe AND drink the water. Having clean feathers is imperative to their well-being. The water in birds baths should be clean. If you do a quick rinse of the vessel with your hose and then refill it, say...every 2 or 3 days, you'll never have adult mosquitoes emerging from your bird bath again. It takes about a week for a newly deposited egg to emerge as an adult. If the water has been in their long enough to hatch crops of mosquitoes, it's dirty and unsafe for the birds. If you do keep the water clean and are still worried about mosquitoes, there's a nifty little device you can use in your bird baths that keeps the water vibrated (mosquitoes HAVE to have calm water). Mosquitoes hate it and birds love, love it. They're called water wigglers. Here is a link that might be useful: click here to see

Well, I hardly think any product knocks mosquitoes "dead from the sky" (they'd be millionaires if someone figured that one out!), which is what the snopes is disproving, but that doesn't mean the scent of listerine won't deter them. I will certainly give it a try. I'm thinking I might just try to spray it directly on me next time I'm camping. I refuse to use OFF or DEET containing products because I would prefer a few mosquito bites over putting toxic substances directly on to my skin. If I were to ever travel to a place where I had to worry about malaria, I would consider the poison. I currently use an all natural lotion that contains citronella and a few other things that works really well, but it bothers my asthma because it's so strong smelling. You also have to apply it quite often. I think it's called Buzz Off. So I'd be willing to give the Listerine a try.

Foggers don't work unless you can fog the whole neighborhood at once, or your entire back yard. Organic foggers ... standing in the smoke of smoldering cow manure or other material works very well. But if you can't smell it, it doesn't discourage the mosquitoes, I've seen various herbs suggested,but the same caveat applies - those rosemary bundles tossed onto the BBQ work only for the cook's upper body. Citronella lamps or candles reputedly work. Traps that attract them away with CO2 lures and a bit of warmth reputedly work. And most effective of all is the old-fashioned "screen house" or screen tent over the place you are sitting and chatting.