this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2023
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To my knowledge there's no stagnant water on my property, I've run water through all my ptraps, and I'm careful to not leave doors open. Yet at any given time there's at least 3 in my house. I can't sleep, i can't sit on the couch, i can't exist in the fear of being sucked dry.

The breaking point is when i watched my dog get bit on her head. I'm ready to do whatever it takes and then some. I will kill a man if it saves me from these demons. Any ideas?

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[–] nekat_emanresu@lemmy.ml 53 points 1 year ago
[–] Heldenhirn@feddit.de 39 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)
  • Fly screens (Unrealistic solution but I wanted to mention it)
  • Get a Pet Frog that eats them
  • Get lots of Spiders making Webs. Be aware that the Pet frog might eat the spiders
  • Flood one of your rooms and make a little swamp where you can plant canivourus plants. The issue is that the swamp will breed more mosquito than it kills but the frog will feel right at home
  • Make a small campfire in your bedroom before you go to sleep. It is known that smoke scares them away. Make sure to keep the windows and door closed so no new mosquito get inside. This is probably the most effective as you won't get stung for the rest of you life
  • Catch some mosquitos and suck the blood out of them. The other mosquitos will see their wrongdoings and change their ways
[–] Marketsupreme@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago

Campfire solution worked for m-

[–] Faresh@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Fly screens (Unrealistic solution but I wanted to mention it)

Can I ask why you consider that an unrealistic solution? In my experience the plant based products (lotions/patches etc) are ineffective but I haven't tried fly screens yet.

[–] Heldenhirn@feddit.de 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It more of a joke because its the only real solution in my list. They are limited to your house but from my experience there's no way normal mosquitos can go through them. I think mosquitos don't really give a fuck about smells (at least not enough) and the problem is that they dont spread that well.

[–] Elw@lemmy.sdf.org 26 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Get a couple of buckets of water and place them around your yard. Drop a “Misquote Dunks” tablet in each bucket. Follow the package instructions for refreshing the dunks every so often.

Mosquito dunks work by “poisoning” what looks to the mosquito like an ideal spot to lay eggs; a pale of still water. But the mosquito dunk bacteria kills the mosquito larvae before they hatch.

It’s a more “long term” solution as it doesn’t actively take care of the current mosquito population but it prevents them from breeding.

There is also a type of fish called the misquitofish that you can put in a small pond, such as a wash basin or feeding trough. They feed on the mosquito larvae and are fairly self sufficient. I know people who use them to control mosquito populations in their gardens and they rarely have to do any kind of maintenance.

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[–] AlexWIWA@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nuclear weapons might work

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[–] Joe_0237@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Get a bug zapper with a UV bulb, even if its branded for outdoor use it'll work fine inside.

[–] oatscoop@midwest.social 6 points 1 year ago

I left my bedroom window open a few times in the summer and came back to a bedroom full of lacewings.

Put up a bug zapper, turned the lights off, and it was no longer a problem a couple hours later. Just had to vacuum up the dead bugs on the floor.

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[–] fluffman86@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Call an exterminator, preferably a small mom&pop shop and not a big Orkin or Terminex or whatever, and have them come and and do a mosquito treatment. They'll spray a chemical on the outside of your house, under the leaves of your trees/bushes, etc. Then they'll spray inside, but just the corners for other bugs. You'll need to keep your dog out of the chemical inside for about 10-20 minutes, and out of the chemical outside for probably an hour. After that it's dry and non-toxic to mammals but will get soaked up by insects. Be sure to double check that with the exterminator, times vary depending on the chemical used.

Good treatments should last a solid 2-3 months, which ought to be enough to get you through the worst of mosquito season, unless you're in Florida or something.

[–] ieatpillowtags@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’ve heard that those treatments are fairly indiscriminate and will kill most insects, not just mosquitoes. I worry about the effect on the local ecosystem such as birds that would eat them.

[–] fluffman86@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You're not wrong, it's kind of like nuking from orbit. But there are definitely things you can do to help, like only spraying the house and immediately surrounding areas. Focus on spraying thick, decorative shrubs and not flowers where bees are likely to congregate. Spray at times bees aren't out looking for food and mosquitoes are most likely hiding in shrubs during the heat of the day.

There are lots of other great suggestions in this thread, and I'd recommend the bait and zappers if OP only had the occasional mosquito in the house, or DEET if OP is temporarily outside, but bait doesn't work on a large scale and deet is really bad for synthetic clothing/fabrics and wearing it all day in the house is a terrible idea.

The biggest thing everyone can do is clear out any standing water (buckets, tools, etc... mosquitoes will even lay eggs in a teaspoon of water given a chance), but op has already done that.

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[–] fratermus@lemmy.sdf.org 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] fckreddit@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)
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[–] Doctormurder@lemm.ee 12 points 1 year ago

Imo the easiest option: fly screens everywhere. Especially in bedroom and keep this door closed so they won't get in (in case they come through other doors)

I no longer have issues with them and if I ever see one, I just use my electric fly swatter. I also can't sleep when there's one in the room.

Fly screens are totally worth it. Self made might be cheaper, but I'm not cerrain since I didn't do them myself.

[–] ours@lemmy.film 12 points 1 year ago

Capture 1000 mosquitoes, torture them and rip their heads. Mount these heads on needles and display them near windows and entrances as a warning to the others.

[–] niva@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

A lot of good suggestions already here. Try to eliminate the mosquitoes in your house as much as possible. I installed mosquito nets on my windows a few years ago. This helped a lot. I am now asking myself why I haven't done this before.

But I do still get bites like one or two a day, because I also like to be outside in my garden and sometimes a mosquito still finds a way into the house.

So there is no way you can prevent all bites. But the good thing is, you can treat them really well really easy with heat! I do this when I have a cup of tea. I just press the hot tea cup on the bite for a short while. But there are also special pen like devices called electronic insect bite healer or something similar. They are about 10-20 euros. They work as well and are probably safer and easier to handle.

Heat does disintegrate the anticoagulant that mosquitos inject and that makes the bites so itchy. The bites I get itch only ones. Then I treat them with heat and they are basically gone. Try to not scratch because you might spread the anticoagulant more. Just treat them right away!

[–] unknowing8343@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)
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[–] DeJaVuLXXXI@lemmy.one 10 points 1 year ago

I’m missing a solution in the replies. Create a last line of defence by using a mosquito net over your bed. They are available in quite large sizes so it shouldn’t be cramped inside.

Mosquitoes get in you house anyway. Use screens and so you keep the numbers down as low as possible. The chemicals are a possibility but sometimes also toxic for pets or even humans. The mosquito net over the bed keeps the last ones away while you sleep. I have mayby one mosquito a year that gets in.

[–] WhoRoger@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago
[–] 0x2d@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago

take apart a electric mosquito swatter and solder this inside:

https://www.amazon.com/AEDIKO-Voltage-Generator-400000V-Transformer/dp/B09L18GG2Z

Connect the switch between the batteries and the generator (NOT BETWEEN THE OUTPUT AND THE METAL GRID)

Then screw it back together.

Now you can get some revenge :)

[–] oessessnex@programming.dev 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I usually kill them with my phone with the screen turned on (the background needs to be blueish and the room needs to be completely dark). For some reason they don't see it, they just sit there until they get squashed.

This doesn't work for tiger mosquitoes.

[–] notenoughbutter@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago

pretty sure the blue turns into red after a while

[–] teft@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago (13 children)

Look up how to make a carbon dioxide trap for mosquitoes. They are strongly attracted to CO2.

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[–] aceospos@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

For those of us that live in the West African tropics, we just settle on how many bites we can tolerate per night lol. Some people apply agricultural pesticides (active ingredient Bifenthrin) down their waste water pipes once a month to ameliorate.

[–] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago

Dual wield those electric tennis rackets?

If you're talking about a particular area, using fans can help push mosquitoes away.

If you're mobile, use DEET on your skin and permethrin on your clothes and your dog's fur.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 1 year ago

So it sounds like you think your home is sealed already. I assume they're just coming in when you do? You could spray near the doors maybe. Insecticide probably isn't good for you but it's worth considering living in a cloud of DEET if you're that desperate.

[–] nekat_emanresu@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

Oh, i had a problem like this very recently. The house has an air-vent that i assumed had a screen, but it was just flat out exposed. Because of the house design it just massively funneled the wind and mosquitos inside. I opened the vent cover and put some tissue paper over the inside so that it'd get fixed in place somewhat to "filter" the mosquitos and just instantly went from 5 per night to 1 over the next month.

[–] wizzor@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 year ago

Here is what we have done

  • A three piece mosquito net AND a cloth hanging at the door. The combination of two barriers is very effective
  • Stainless steel mosquito netting in a removable frame on all windows (no maintenance abd easy to remove)
  • Same net for all ventilation holes
  • A mosquito magnet CO2 attractor outside
  • A UV bug zapper inside (I don't like them outside, as they will mostly kill butterflies and other non-annoying insects)
[–] Poiar@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Could a blue light trap work? Idk how mosquitoes work compared to flies.

I read somewhere that smelly cheese attracts the flying leeches. Maybe placing some bait, and swat them when they've fallen into your trap.

I better yet, zap them. Swatting mid-air is hard. I've begun catching them with my hands. Better success rate, as they then don't get blown out the way by the fly swatter's air current.

Ps. I've read about some people having invented an infrared light beam that will fry them mid air. Idk if it's safe, or even something to purchase - just throwing ideas out there.

Pps. If you wanna go totally bananas, you could paint your entire room white, and decorate like a minimalist. They'd have nowhere to hide.

[–] icepuncher69@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Flamethrower...

Now seriously, you could burn one of those cardboards that come with chicken eggs, i think other cardboards work but the egg one seems to be the most usefull for reppeling mosquitoes.

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[–] LoneBear@wirebase.org 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Just throwing this out there... flamethrowers are legal.

http://xm42.com/

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[–] unce@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 year ago

Window screens, fly ribbons, and a Bug-A-Salt gun lol. The bug-a-salt shoots salt very fast to kill bugs.

[–] FarFarAway@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

We hung one of those uv light Bug zapper lamps outside for use on during the evening hours, as it's too hot during the day for them to really come out. We also got a few of the smaller ones that plug into your regular outlets inside, from Amazon. This has cut down on the ones in the house drastically.

Of course remove standing water, and keep tall grasses trimmed. They actually make thier homes and can reproduce in tall grass esp when you have daily sprinklers (like our aerobic septic system) we have deer that stop by and trim our grass for us.

Our community was built on an endangered toad habitat, which is sad but also helpful. (We really try to keep everything as natural as we can around the house so as not to harm them)

But really the bug zapper were God send

[–] Kes@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 year ago

Serious answer: you have to kill the mosquito larvae. Mosquitos like breeding in standing water, so eliminate as much of it as you possibly can from around your home. Set up bucket traps as early into mosquito season as you can; with no nearby standing water mosquitos will lay larvae in there and the larvae will die. This will cause an exponential decrease in the local mosquito population over time. While bug traps, bat houses and pet frogs may help kill adult mosquitoes, setting up traps specifically to kill mosquito larvae early is the most effective thing you can do to reduce the population

[–] jemorgan@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

Love opening a thread all excited for some answers only to get 100 repeats of the same unfunny joke.

Here are some answers I’ve found by looking around:

basil, catnip, citronella, lavender, mint, etc. Most bugs don’t like fragrant plants because they can’t smell their prey or predators accurately anymore

If you can find where they’re breeding, establishing some frogs would make a buff difference. Tadpoles gobble the larva up from what I understand. I’ve also read that bats are way helpful, and you can apparently establish a small bar colony in a bat house.

Best of luck, mosquitos are evil.

[–] Imgonnatrythis@lemmy.fmhy.ml 4 points 1 year ago

Anything short of premetherin yard fogging once a month is dicking around.

I use one of those plug in repellents. Since they show up in the evening, I turn it on for an hour or two around that time, wait a bit to let the smell leave the room then close windows and doors. Before sleep I do a scoop around the room to find any fucker left.

[–] holmesandhoatzin@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 year ago

Normally, I would recommend citronella, either the grass or the candles, but I believe it is toxic to dogs.

I believe lavender, catnip and basil are safe, but they're all mints and may try to take over your garden or yard. They all grow very well in pots though.

You can also try setting a trap. Put out some soapy water. The females are the ones biting you and they need water to lay eggs. They'll fall in the water and the soap prevents them from escaping. I haven't actually tried this with mosquitos, just other pests, but I have friends who swear by it.

[–] KrisKao@feddit.uk 4 points 1 year ago

In the region where I leave it would be impossible to not have mosquitoes around, the conditions are just good for them, but I have an electric zapper that is shaped like a tennis racquet and I can zap them as soon as I see them inside the house. I also do the chemical fumigation now and then, but for the most part I use the electric zapper. It is very common in countries and regions where mosquitoes are a pest.

[–] lntl@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 year ago

CRISPr is what you need.

It's what we all need.

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I understand garlic repels them.

[–] Joe_0237@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

i understand that whatever repels them one year, if its used by enough people, attracts them after they get the chance to evolve, a couple years. Could be wrong, but my family in Maine said this happened first with the standard deep woods bug spray, then with a natural oil blend everyone started using.

[–] casio77@reddthat.com 4 points 1 year ago

Get like 5 pet frogs

[–] Blizzard@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 year ago

You haven't provided too much information about your location... but a common swift eats 20.000 insects a day and mosquitoes are one of their favourites. If they live in your area, look up online how to build a birdhouse that will suit their needs.

[–] Fantismal@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

How frequently do you change the dog's water?

[–] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago

Give them a perfect spot to breed, like a kiddie pool with standing water or a bucket or two. Then drop a mosquito dunk in each. The mosquitoes will be drawn to this perfect breeding ground but the dunks will kill the larvae. Once the adults die off, there will be no new ones to take their place.

Secondly, if you have a lawn, spray it thoroughly with insecticide. This will kill or repel the ones living in the grass.

[–] newguy208@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Before you go on an omnicide on the entire species, consider planting Neem tree. These naturally repel mosquitoes. You can also get their oil to burn in oil dispenser etc but be warned it stinks like hell. I prefer to have a small pot of it next to the window and once it grows big enough, put it in a permanent place in the ground.

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[–] wabafee@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Use a mosquito coil, manual way is to have huge pan put some oil then start swinging around the general area of the mosquitos you will eventually catch one. Put bleach on areas with possible mosquito larvae or where there is likely stagnant water in it. Introduce spiders and geckos in your home. Could also plant lavander/or any plant that is mosquito repellent lots online and introduce frogs in your garden.

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