Windbreaks vs mosquitoes

We have a 25 acre plot. We're next to wetland and a beaver pond, with a forest for about 8 of our acres, with the rest being mostly open field with a few hedgerows. Zone 5ish in Ontario Canada.

We get tremendous wind here, especially in the spring.

It makes it unpleasant to be outside and threatens our greenhouse and infrastructure. I would love to plant some windbreaks. Deciduous trees have no leaves on here at the time when it's most windy, like now in march. But the windbreaks would have to be in areas where I'd much rather have fruit trees.

We also have lots of mosquitoes later in spring and summer. They can really suck too, for us and also they harass the rabbits we keep. It's very puddly, there's puddles everywhere throughout the forest.

So how do I handle it? Do I plant windbreaks and suck up having more mosquitoes? Can I make some windbreaks that don't increase mosquitoes? Like a wall/fence of some sort? How can I reduce the mosquitoes? Any ideas?

Hi JP

There are several threads here on mosquitos. Here are a couple that may have some tips for you:
https://permies.com/t/27184/Mosquitos
https://permies.com/t/7925/Mosquito-Control

I have a similar problem here too, with a balance between wind and midges rather than mosquitos. Although small, the Scottish midge is rightly notorious! They can't cope with wind either, and breed on damp vegetation so windbreaks are doubly beneficial for them. To grow anything much and to allow pollinators a chance too, then shelter is a necessity. My trees are starting to have an effect and increasing the range of plants I can grow, but picking soft fruit whilst the midges are biting is not pleasant!
I would love to have more windbreaks around the house to reduce the windchill factor, but unfortunately my house is too close to my boundary to have much planted on the side that would be most beneficial.

We had good mosquito reduction with the Mosquito Magnet. Its not cheap but can effectively protect a huge area when placed upwind on your property. There is a larger and a smaller version for more and less coverage area.

William Kellogg wrote:We had good mosquito reduction with the Mosquito Magnet. Its not cheap but can effectively protect a huge area when placed upwind on your property. There is a larger and a smaller version for more and less coverage area.

So this works by putting more CO2 in the atmosphere, which is a debatable help these days, but have you examined what it vacuums up? I'd want to be sure that it doesn't attract and kill all the other insects that are endangered by our changing weather and increasingly polluted environment.

We got some sort of zapper machine in my pre-permies day, and I was quite upset when I realized how many innocent bystander insects were being killed by it. Now I just try to encourage bats, damsel flies, and frogs!

Yes thank you, the manufacturer addressed these issues and you actually get to see exactly what the trap is catching when you empty the net periodically. So far I have only caught 100% mosquitos.

The CO2 emissions are also minimal. The 20lb propane tank and battery last all season, so the flame is very tiny, then there is a secondary pheromone attractant and a tiny suction/distribution fan to suck them in when they get too close.

When you start catching the breeding pairs the population goes way down.

There is also a probiotic culture you can add to your standing water that will consume the larva before it can hatch.

When we moved into our home there was a thick and tall red tipped photina hedge down one side of our front yard.  The yard was unusable due to mosquitoes. We cut that down and now have virtually no problems in the front yard.  There are two mature trees on that side of the yard and I think they are still serving as windbreaks during major storm but enough wind flows under them to discourage the bugs.  Unfortunately that can't be a short term solution, but I wonder if a staggered planting  could slow the airflow enough to help without creating significant shelter for the mosquito?

create bat habitat.. We actually keep buckets full of water to help breed more mosquitoes. Its fascinating to watch the bats zooming around at night..

Build a bat house!

Is it possible to grow plants that love the water enough to dry out the puddles?

I would plant windbreaks, and use this:  Mosquito Barrier

The stuff is amazing.