Hostag in my own home due to mosquito's

Okay, I'm new to Florida. I can garden in the evenings, however, I have been literally eaten alive! Thirteen mosquito bites in 20 minutes, I finally had to go in the house. What do you Floridians do to keep the mosquito population down? I live in a country setting and the county doesn't spray. Then today, I was bitten by a horse fly. So, I sit in my house and stare out at my garden, make a mad dash to water it, and a mad dash to get back into the house while I still have an unbitten spot. Help, Help.

This is going to sound silly but plant some lemon grass in a few potted containers around your house and garden (lemon trees work well too) these plants give off an odor that mosquitos hate and they usualy stay away if you use any sort of bug spray pitch it the buggers down here see that as a dinner bell from my experience. also try not to have any standing water anywhere around your house those are havens to mosquitos to lay thier eggs and increase their ranks. Citronella candles/tiki torchs also work well to keep them away and are not nly for night time use. I know citronella is a plant but for the life of me i can find them anywhere if you could grow both lemon grass and citronella you would have a great deffense against them.

perfumes of any kind attract them
scented laundry soap and fabric softner attracts them
Scented showering products attracts them
Commericial bug sprays tell them pizza is here
i have heard of some people useing a lemon based skin conditioner/softner that seems to work well but i myslef have never tried it

Whatever you do, do not get suckered in to buying a mosquito plant they dont work as stated and everytime you want them to work you have to rub the leaves between your fingers in order to activate the plant scent.

This is gonna sound a little gross but ive noticed that when i work all day and do my gardening befor i take a shower and wash off all the stink they dont even come near me so in actuality BO has a use other then repelling family friends and neighbors. good luck to you.



Oh and btw welcome to florida be warned you just moved into a state that was originaly a swamp with nice beachs we have bad mosquitos here

great post, thanks

choksaw wrote:This is going to sound silly but plant some lemon grass in a few potted containers around your house and garden (lemon trees work well too) these plants give off an odor that mosquitos hate and they usualy stay away if you use any sort of bug spray pitch it the buggers down here see that as a dinner bell from my experience. also try not to have any standing water anywhere around your house those are havens to mosquitos to lay thier eggs and increase their ranks. Citronella candles/tiki torchs also work well to keep them away and are not nly for night time use. I know citronella is a plant but for the life of me i can find them anywhere if you could grow both lemon grass and citronella you would have a great deffense against them.

perfumes of any kind attract them
scented laundry soap and fabric softner attracts them
Scented showering products attracts them
Commericial bug sprays tell them pizza is here
i have heard of some people useing a lemon based skin conditioner/softner that seems to work well but i myslef have never tried it

Whatever you do, do not get suckered in to buying a mosquito plant they dont work as stated and everytime you want them to work you have to rub the leaves between your fingers in order to activate the plant scent.

This is gonna sound a little gross but ive noticed that when i work all day and do my gardening befor i take a shower and wash off all the stink they dont even come near me so in actuality BO has a use other then repelling family friends and neighbors. good luck to you.



Oh and btw welcome to florida be warned you just moved into a state that was originaly a swamp with nice beachs we have bad mosquitos here

An addendum to what chocksaw has said. Mosquitoes are at their peeks at dawn and dusk. So try to get out in your garden earlier. Also it is not exactly the BO that repels mosquitoes, it is most likely your diet. For some reason they hate the oder emitted when you take most all B vitamins. I don't know why.
And I guess just give it some time. I don't even notice the little buggers any more. And don't normally get bitten either. Maybe 43 years down here in south east Florida will have that effect on you.
If I were you I would be more afraid of the gators and crocs.

Some folks swear by garlic tabs -- you can get some that don't make you stinky to other people, but the skeeters hate it. (and it's good for you - helps regulate cardiovascular function, they say).

Others swear by brewer's yeast tablets.

I hate to say it, but Deep Woods Off (with a little bit of DEET) really is the best stuff -- just make sure you shower after you use it.

I also used to buy a citronella-based repellant at Babies R Us when my young'un was little -- I'm sorry, I don't remember the name of it, but it worked fairly well -- had to reapply about one an hour, but it worked.

Skin-So-Soft isn't all that great for mozzies -- but it's the bomb for no-see-ums. Nice part is that it leaves your skin soft (skin so soft?) AND smells nice. I found that the original bath oil, cut with water about 2 parts water to 1 part SSS and put into a spray bottle worked best. I tried all the special SSS for insects and sun protection...but none of them worked as well as the original formula.

If I were you I would be more afraid of the gators and crocs. [/quote]

Thanks, now I will be worried about the lake/swamp in the back yard. Florida is so beautiful, guess it had to have some draw backs so that EVERYONE wouldn't move here.

I'll try some of your suggestions.

I like to use my treadmill on the back porch in the evenings. I do use the skin-so-soft, and have a fan going which helps keep the mosquitos away. I have trouble with the fire ants and not a fan of the palmetto bugs. But if you go out a little earlier, as one of the others said, the mosquitos shouldn't be so bad. Welcome to Florida. I'm a native!

Memaku, you know why they're called palmetto bugs, I'm sure...!

Because Floridians just can't cope with the idea of a 6" cockroach.

(for the non-Floridians, I wish that weren't true!)

LOL! That is so true! They're just so disgusting - have never gotten used to them, and if I see one in the house, I can't go to sleep unless I've gotten it! Yuck!!!

I found citronella plants at Lowe's last year (in DE, not sure if you'll find them in FL). My plant works wonders in the yard and my littlest son and I rub our hands on the plants leaves, get the oils going, and then rub our exposed skin -- it really works!!

Original antiseptic Listerine (or generic) is supposed to work, too. I believe you mix it with water and spray your grass, etc. (not yourself).

Google it to get the correct directions.

choksaw wrote:I know citronella is a plant but for the life of me i can find them anywhere

I found a source for the elusive Nardus Grass, Citronella Grass, but it's on back order right now. Look at Top Tropicals Hopefully they'll have some in stock soon.