It seems like every day we are hearing about more cases of the Zika virus here in the US. Zika is spread by mosquitos. And while all mosquito bites are annoying and give me the heebie jeebies, contracting the Zika virus is much scarier. It’s true that it usually only causes mild flu like symptoms in otherwise healthy adults, but it can also lead to Guillain–Barré syndrome in some people and Microcephaly when the virus is passed from a pregnant woman to her unborn child.
Even before we started learning about the Zika virus, I didn’t like going outdoors on my property in the summer months because I seem to be a mosquito magnet. This year I’m even more paranoid to be outside for an extended period of time without using bug repellant. But there are other methods of repelling these blood sucking insects from your outdoor living spaces and yard.
We’ve reviewed several different mosquitos repelling devices over the years that deserve a second look:
Mosquito Magnet Commander review by Dave Rees – Although expensive, he said it worked well.
Zapplight indoor bug zapper light bulb review by Julie Strietelmeier – This didn’t do much of anything indoors, but may work better outdoors on a porch. Of course, you’ll need a light socket to install it.
Thermacell Mosquito Repellent review by Kathleen Chapman – This worked well for Kathleen, but it does require butane cartridges, which means that you’ll continue to spend money to use it.
Thermacell Mosquito Repellent Lantern review by Bill Kuch – This is another product from Thermacell that we reviewed. Bill liked it but had the same concern about the ongoing price of using it.
Thermacell Repellent Camp Lantern review by Margaret Dornbusch – Wow, we sure have reviewed a lot of Thermacell products over the last couple of years. This is yet another positive review of their products.
What methods if any are you using to repell mosquitos around your home and yard?
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We make sure all possible places standing water can collect have mosquito dunks in them. These are non-poisonous bacteria “donuts” that kill any larvae that are laid in the water. Besides the bird bath and rainwater barrel, I also put pieces in the cup holder depressions on our grill table, and a tiny bit in the rain gauges. A friend with a large yard deliberately puts out dark-colored (light/clear doesn’t work) plastic recycled containers of water containing dunks at the corners of her property.
Not sure if any of this keeps existing mosquitoes away, but we are doing what we can to keep them from propagating!
I’ve never heard of dunks. Thanks for sharing that.
You know, I’ve never researched, but are mosquitos beneficial for anything other than being food for other animals like bats?
–I use a 80watt flowtron bug zapper with Octenol attractant. Replace the trap every 30 days or immediately after it rains and you should be able to wipe out most of the mosquito and gnat population in that area. This works pretty good in Austin texas. ~keith