Miriam Brodersen

Thanks, Steve!

Steve Thorn wrote:I've had good luck so far this year with small ponds, just a few square feet, and letting some native plants grow up around them.

I'm guessing that the water attracts the nearby mosquitos to breed there, and the beneficial critters are ready and eagerly awaiting a snack.

That's good to hear! Do you have a pump in them or just leave them with standing water? What did you line the ponds with?

It's been a number of years since I used that garlic spray so I don;t know the brand anymore.  I'll try to find it in my old emails.

The CDC may have found the Cutter's one just as effective as DEET, but they must not have tried it in Wisconsin  My results were less than stellar.  I found it completely ineffective.

I found the one I used.  It's called Mosquito Barrier, found here:  Mosquito Barrier

Oh well, I'm sorry that spray didn't work for you. Mosquito Barrier was the one I tried too and it didn't work for me. It's disheartening to hear that nothing has worked for you. Do you have a pond?

Thanks, Trace. I didn’t have much luck with the garlic spray unfortunately . What kind did you use?
In terms of repellents, I found that repellents with oil of lemon eucalyptus (NOT lemon eucalyptus oil) work well. The one made by Cutters is not exactly natural, but doesn’t have DEET and has been found to be as effective as DEET by the CDC.

I live in an urban area in NC, with a small yard that is so infested with mosquitoes in the summer as to make just going out to tend the garden pretty unpleasant. My four year old gets eaten badly every time she goes outside, so it has become a priority for me to find a natural way to control the mosquitoes. I am considering building a bat house and/or building a small pond (with a solar-powered pump, and dragonfly larvae). I've heard bats need a water source close by, which I don't have or I'd start with the bat house. Before I go to the considerable work of building a pond, though, I would love to know if anyone has had luck using this method in an urban setting (since I have no control over what the neighbors are doing, including spraying)? Has anyone tried and either succeeded or failed? Any tips appreciated!