We pinpointed ten of our favorite reader suggestions for
altering your outdoor environment to keep those hungry
insects from turning us into the main course at our next
barbecue.
"I have a chiminea on my patio and when i do a campfire, I
throw in a few chunks of
pinion wood.
it works like a charm keeping the skeeters away." --
Rick L
"After noticing that flies and mosquitoes didn't seem to be
around our deck when the conditions were breezy,
I moved a
cyclone fan
onto the deck and kept it on low. The principle is
that the little critters can't get their bearings in the
moving air. It seems to work." -- Pathfinder
"I have geranium plants on front and
back porch and haven't seen mosquitoes in years." --
Jayne (Editor's note: Lemon-scented geranium,
also known as
Mosquito plant,
is the specific type of geranium to plant to repel
mosquitoes.)
"This solution always worked for me when I lived in Florida.
Take an old garden feeder
that attaches to your garden hose and fill with the
following solution: 1/3 stale beer (any kind), 1/3
epsom salt and 1/3 mouth wash (with alcohol). Put it in the
feeder, attach it to the hose and spray your entire yard
including shrubs, trees and even door ways. We did this
twice a year and never had to worry. The smell will be
strong at first but then in about an hour you won't be
able
to tell." -- Tracy
"ThermaCELL Portable Mosquito
Repellent Appliance.
Available in Home Depot or Lowes. THEY WORK." -- Charlie
"The most effective thing I have done is putting water on a
white paper plate, then adding a few drops on
lemon Joy
[dish detergent] on
either side of the place I'm sitting. The mosquitoes are
drawn to the Joy, not you." -- Tennwilliams
"Put used coffee grounds in standing water.
When the larvae hatches they float to the surface of the
water and get covered by the oils from the grounds and it
kills them. I think it cuts off their oxygen. Plus it's safe
for the environment." -- Kenny
"We have had a
Mosquito Magnet
on our acre forested property for several years. We are on
our second unit and we catch thousands of mosquitoes almost
every month." -- Michele
"Try using Red Cedar mulch or chips; you
find the big 25-50 pound bags at
Lowe's
or
The Home Depot.
Spread it in the yard and it will keep them away. Make a tea
out of the chips and put in a pump sprayer or bottle and
spray it on the patio or walkways where you can't spread the
chips because they will be tracked into the house. It really
works and it's on the cheap side." -- Brazztazz
"Mosquitoes find us by zeroing in on the
carbon dioxide we exhale. Put a chunk of dry ice,
which is solidified carbon dioxide, in a bucket 15
ft. or more away from the party area and they will flock to
it and not to you. As the dry ice "melts" the carbon dioxide
releases into a cloud of gas around the bucket, much denser
than what you'll be exhaling so much more enticing to the
mosquitoes." -- Argie
Lemon
Scented Geranium, a.k.a. Mosquito Plant. Photo:
