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Home
Home and Auto
Pests
Flies and Mosquitoes
Mosquito Control
Mosquito Control Do you have any hints on how to take back the backyard from the mosquitoes this summer? I would like to enjoy the great outdoors in my country home again. Batty Mosquito Control Buy a bat house! My co-operative extension has them at a reasonable price (they also sell birdhouses). Put the houses up according to the directions (for the correct height and amount of sunlight) and let the bats do the work. We camp all summer at a wooded lot and have almost no mosquitoes there. The bats come out each night. We can watch them as we sit around the campfire. If you are handy with tools, you can build your own bat house from scrap wood. Directions are available from the co-operative extension, on the net, or check out your local library. Mosquitos Hate Lemon Mosquitoes hate lemon scent. I spray my entire yard with equal parts of lemon dish soap, lemon ammonia, and lemon juice. Do this every two weeks with a 20-gallon sprayer, and you won't be on the mosquito menu this summer. Cut the Grass Short Keep the grass cut as short as possible and clear away any kinds of containers that might hold collected water (tubs, barrels, lids, etc.) in which mosquitoes love to breed. Grandma's Natural Mosquito Solution Lemongrass is a natural mosquito repellent and one that my grandmother swears by. Depending on the layout of the area you're trying to "de-mosquito," you may even be able to plant some directly into your gardens or borders. We are going to put pots of lemongrass around the deck area in our backyard. Try Garlic Barrier You should be able to go to your local nursery or plant store and ask for a product called Garlic Barrier. You spray it on with a fertilizer sprayer. There are certain guidelines that you must follow to get the best results. For example, you must spray it on a day with low winds and no rain in the forecast for a few days ahead. It's very successful when applied correctly and will not harm children or pets. It's Worth a Try Put a Bounce dryer sheet in the waistband of your clothes and it will ward off mosquitoes. Also make sure you don't have standing water in the yard. Nothing Beats Purple Martins For mosquito control, nothing beats purple martins and mud martins. Put up some purple martin houses. We got our 12 family birdhouse and the pole at Wal-Mart. These birds eat their weight in mosquitoes every day. When the little mud martins come and build their little mud houses in the eaves of your house, don't tear them down. They are very much worth the mess they make. We never have mosquitoes when they take up residence. Alas, we moved a block away last year and they didn't find us, but hopefully they will this year. Use Citronella Having lived in towns where mosquitoes and malaria were a problem I managed to control this by doing the following: Citronella! I had citronella plants all over my garden, burnt citronella oil in my candles and bought citronella candles for outdoors from the store, added citronella oil to my cream and shampoo, and sprinkled citronella oil around my house! When going outside, we used to either rub some cream around the exposed areas of our body or rub several drops of citronella oil in our hands and then wipe our hands on our clothes and especially our ankles. Do you have a time or money saving idea that wasn't included in this article? Please send it to tips @stretcher.com. We get the best ideas from our readers! If you liked this article why not sign up for our free money-saving email alerts? Your bonus? 209 ways to save on groceries. Follow The Dollar Stretcher on Twitter. |
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