What's the most effective way to rid my (very rural) yard of mosquitoes?

Answer 1

lot's of ways. If you have a large area without close neighbors, guinea hens will eat ticks, skeeters, spiders etc.
One of those bug zappers will keep an area of about a1/4 acre bug free. put em on a timer so they come on late afternoon and go off mid morning. the type of bug killer that uses propane gas to heat it, works very well to get rid of skeeters too. Also, build some bat boards. Plans are online. This way bats will nest there. A single bat, during one night will eat a hundred skeeters.

Answer 2

You can do a few things but living in a rural area is tough. Make sure you keep area free of any standing water. If it's just a partial time outside and you want it free of them, try the "yard guard" spray. It works great with a lot of bugs. And everyone knows about citronella but that's only beneficial when you are out there trying to keep them at bay.

You might want to consider contacting your town or county, as most usually have a mosquitoe control department. If you have a severe problem, they can/will come out and spray or treat your area. This is probably your best move.

We can't get rid of them all but there are ways that local agencies do know about and can treat. If you are one of those......ohhh noooo I dont want any chemicals around people, then all I can say is, live with it. Just remember, a good fogging of "Yard Guard" will help on a temporary basis.

Answer 3

Definitely get rid of standing water. And (this will take some effort) attract some bats. Bats eat thousands of mosquitos a night.

Answer 4

Two remote possibility's first if any watter is standing in pools pour oil on the watter.and this will smother the larva, If you can entice purple martins or bats onto your property they will devour unbelievable amounts of mosquito's, and last of all spray oil of citronella about ,this 'short circuits mosquito's sense of smell and they can't locate you.

Answer 5

Citronella plants,citronella oil in the yard stake burners,cut back vegetation,they seem to hate smoke, have the health dept. come and spray your area at night,get rid of standing water or objects like tires where they can lay their eggs in a tiny accumulation of water.

Answer 6

first get rid of any potential breeding grounds...... empty buckets, tires, anything that will hold water that way the mosquitoes won't have anyplace to lay their eggs. then invest in, or build, purple martin and bat houses. both of them will eat thousands of skeeters in a night and are fun to watch.

Answer 7

get rid of all standing water! then have a bonfire! when we have a fire in our yard, it'll run em off for about 3 days...

Answer 8

From the American Mosquito Control Association
Recently the public has shown increased interest in the value of insectivorous species of bats in controlling mosquitoes. Although untested lately, this is not a new idea. During the 1920's several bat towers were constructed near San Antonio, Texas, in order to help control malarial mosquitoes. Mosquito populations were not affected and the project was discontinued. Bats in temperate areas of the world are almost exclusively insectivorous. Food items identified in their diet are primarily beetles, wasps, and moths. Mosquitoes have comprised less than 1% of gut contents of wild caught bats in all studies to date. Bats tend to be opportunistic feeders. They do not appear to specialize on particular types of insects, but will feed on whatever food source presents itself. Large, concentrated populations of mosquitoes could provide adequate nutrition in the absence of alternative food. However, a moth provides much more nutritional value per capture than a mosquito. M.D. Tuttle, a world authority on bats, is often quoted for his anecdotal report that bats effectively controlled mosquito populations at a popular resort in New York State. While there is no doubt that bats have probably played a visible, if not prominent, role in reducing the mosquito problems in many areas, the natural abatement of mosquito populations is an extremely complex process to study, comprising poorly known ecological relationships. Tuttle attempts to underscore the bats role by citing an experiment in which bats released into a laboratory room filled with mosquitoes caught up to 10 mosquitoes per minute. He extrapolated this value to 600 mosquitoes per hour. Thus, a colony of 500 bats could consume over a quarter of a million mosquitoes per hour. Impressive numbers indeed, but singularly unrealistic when based upon a study where bats were confined in a room with mosquitoes as their only food source. There is no question that bats eat mosquitoes, but to utilize them as the sole measure of control would be folly indeed, particularly considering the capacity of both mosquitoes and bats to transmit diseases.

It has been known for many years that bird species like purple martins consume large numbers of flying insects. Proponents of their use in mosquito control are quick to cite J. L. Wade, an amateur ornithologist, who reasoned that an average 4 oz. adult purple martin, due to its rapid metabolism, would have to consume its body weight (14,000 mosquitoes) per day in order to survive. Wade recognized that the purple martins diet includes many other types of insects, but this appears to have been lost on many individuals searching for a natural means of control. In fact, during daylight, purple martins often feed voraciously upon dragonflies, known predators of mosquitoes. At night, when mosquitoes are most active, purple martins tend to feed at treetop level, well above most mosquito flight paths. Ornithologist James Hill, founder of the Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA), writes, "The number of mosquitoes that martins eat is extremely insignificant, and they certainly don't control them. In-depth studies have shown that mosquitoes comprise no more than 0 to 3 percent of the diet of martins". They eat only flying insects, which they catch in flight. Their diet is diverse, including dragonflies, damselflies, flies, midges, mayflies, stinkbugs, leafhoppers, Japanese beetles, June bugs, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, cicadas, bees, wasps, flying ants, and ballooning spiders. Martins are not, however, prodigious consumers of mosquitoes as is so often claimed by companies that manufacture martin housing. An intensive 3-year diet study conducted at PMCA headquarters in Edinboro, PA, failed to find a single mosquito among the 350 diet samples collected from parent martins bringing beakfuls of insects to their young. The samples were collected from martins during all hours of the day, all season long, and in numerous habitats, including mosquito-infested ones. Purple Martins and freshwater mosquitoes rarely ever cross paths. Martins are daytime feeders, and feed high in the sky; mosquitoes, on the other hand, stay low in damp places during daylight hours, or only come out at night. Since Purple Martins feed only on flying insects, they are extremely vulnerable to starvation during extended periods of cool and/or rainy weather. Rather than erecting martin houses to specifically attract insect-eating birds for mosquito control, we should at least promote them for their aesthetic and educational value.