Mosquitos in brownstone gardens
Can any brownstone owners (or renters) let me know whether your gardens are actually usable in the summer months, or whether the mosquitos render them pretty unusable. I know this last summer was bad b/c we were house hunting and would get bitten like crazy just standing out there for a few mins. But is…
Can any brownstone owners (or renters) let me know whether your gardens are actually usable in the summer months, or whether the mosquitos render them pretty unusable. I know this last summer was bad b/c we were house hunting and would get bitten like crazy just standing out there for a few mins. But is that a perpetual situation? Or is it cyclical depending more on the mosquito population for the year?
I guess I’m just wondering how much brownstone gardens/patios/decks actually get used.
Additionally, does the location matter in terms of mosquito population? In other words, if you are surrounded by other gardens which are overgrown and not well cared for, does that dramatically increase the chance of a mosquito issue?
Hi everyone…I just joined this forum! Although I’m not exactly in the boroughs, I’m on the south shore in Nassau county, close in to Bklyn and Queens…I have lived a good part of my life in Bklyn (born there) and in Queens before ending up on the *Island*!
This mosquito thread is really pulling me in due to my severe mosquito problem that I’m experiencing this summer for the FIRST time in the 28 years I’m living in this house..
these little bastards are out in daylight hours and are making it almost impossible for me to garden or enjoy the birds that I feed and water…(6 different bird feeders and 4 birdbaths). I keep the feeders clean and change the water daily or close to it. I don’t think this is the cause of these millions of daylight biters….but…what could be going on here???
sharadacats
I’ve been gardening in Bed-Stuy since 1992. Mosquitos were always a minor nuisance. This year was terrible! I use a eucalyptus based spray to keep them at bay but I have only had limited success. Here it is September and I am still getting bitten.
Have a Liberty Mosquito Magnet and it catches thousands of mosquitos…but what’s a thousand when you have 10s or 100s of thousands, at least that’s what it feels like. I bought it last summer late and never had a chance to catch up on the population, and this summer got an early start and it was really good until a part in the Magnet broke and we were without it for 3 weeks. That gave the mosquito population time to build up again. I’ll report again in another 2 weeks as it’s been back up and operating for about 2-3 weeks.
Bats are good. In fact you’d be lucky to get them to nest in your yard–and they look for nesting sites in the spring. Keep in mind, the boxes need to be exposed to 6 hours of direct light a day and in NYC bat boxes need to be painted dark colors to retain heat.
You can read more about bat boxes here: http://www.citydirt.net/city_dirt/post_11.html
Sorry, the correct spelling is THERMACELL. Regards, EF
I have had suprisingly good success with a produce called Thermcell, which burns chemical pads and actually wards off the ravinous mosquitos. If is effective for about 15 ft around the device, which is adequate for our modest and narrow yard. Kmart sold the holder and refills for a while.
Good luck. EF
No, they are referring to this product: http://www.mosquitomagnet.com/
1:45: is this the product you used?
Has anyone else used this with success in Brooklyn?
I live in Boerum Hill. Over the past ten years, I think the mosquito problem has gotten worse. It starts earlier, and now we have them in the front of the house as well as the back.
To answer your specific question, we are able to use the backyard during the day without repellent through mid-July. During the evenings, especially at dusk, you need repellant starting in June. Starting in mid-July, repellant is needed for any outdoor activity. Since I hate repellant, I find the backyard basically unusable from August until we have a good freeze.
I think citronella candles are useless, but the fan is a good idea. There are definitely fewer mosquitoes when there’s a good breeze.
I AM TELLING YOU – THE BLUE ZAPPER (is that what a mosquito magnet is?) works wonders – mosquitos are territorial and eventually you can reduce their numbers by keeping your blue zapper on at night regardless of whether you are sitting outside. At least it worked very well for me last summer in Carroll Gardens.