Skeeters Part Two

Skeeters. AKA mosquitoes. AKA blood sucking predators.

At the start of dusk, we had no choice but to retreat indoors. And those mosquitoes that followed us in, or found other ways to get into the coach, would feed on us throughout the night.

That annoying, high-pitched whine. Makes my skin tingle just writing about it.

I had posted about our encounters with the aggressive breed in our part of Canada over here. And now I will reveal what we are using to keep them away. These two devices seem to work well for us.

But before we decided to make a stand against these annoying insects, we did some research.

We began by asking our neighbours for insight. And, of course, we consulted with Google.

Here is the top ten list of how to deal with mosquitoes:

Garlic Water. Mix garlic with water and spray it near the outdoor lighting. As the outdoor lighting heats up, they will spread the scent across the yard and that will keep the bugs away. As we do not have any incandescent lighting outdoors, this did not work for us.

Egg cartons and coffee trays. Light them on fire, then blow the fire out and let them smolder. I think our fire pit is too far away for this one to work.

Rosemary and sage. Place a few springs on top of the coals of the BBQ. Unfortunately we do not have a BBQ and, if we did, it would be a propane BBQ.

Peppermint. Take a few drops of peppermint essential oil with a cup of water and spray onto your skin.

Repellants. The usual list, RAID, Skin-so-soft, etc.

Mosquito Swatters. They differ from fly swatters. More like a paddle with an adhesive on the surface. Mosquitoes are exceptionally difficult to swat with traditional fly swatters. I think they are difficult to swat period.

Hand clap. A technique that I have used frequently. I’m getting better at it but my average is about 2 squashes for every 10 attempts. And it is never fun to clean up after the hand clap.

Dog bowls. This one is interesting. Not much water is required for mosquitoes to reproduce. Mosquito eggs can hatch within 48 hours. Replace the water in your dog bowls every day. And eliminate any standing water in the vicinity. Doesn’t stop them from attacking you but it might reduce their numbers.

Netting. Use a mosquito net over the bed. You will get a better night’s rest. You just won’t want to get out of bed.

Traps. All sorts of potential traps for mosquitoes.

There are many more options to repel these little critters. We landed on two.

This one for the indoors.

A basic zapper. Made in Canada and sold in most home improvement stores. We picked ours up at Canadian Tire. It can be used indoors and outdoors. The UV light attracts the mosquito and electricity does the rest. Mixed reviews on this unit especially when used outdoors however it seems to have made the inside of our coach a mosquito free zone.

For outside relief we use Thermacell. This unit is amazing. The negative is that you have to periodically replenish the unit with fuel and mats. I can put the unit on our patio table and enjoy an evening without mosquitoes.