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?
It’s a global warming issue because mosquitos used to be killed of in NYC’s cold cold winters. The warmer the winters get, the more mosquitos we will have.
I am plagued by these over in Victorian Flatbush, where there are lots of unkempt yards and clogged gutters. I have tried those garlic sprays, which definitely make my yard smell like garlic but I’m not sure about the effect on the mosquitoes. I also went so far as to buy one of those carbon dioxide-emitting machines that are supposed to attract mosquitoes, which then get stuck on sticky paper. I caught mosquitoes, flies, and many other flying insects but I’m not sure if it made an appreciable impact on our ability to use the yard. What did, I am sad to report, was yard fogger which enabled me to have a party that lasted well into the twilight hours without getting a single bite.
Part of the problem of course is not being able to do anything about what the neighbors are doing with their properties. There’s plenty of standing water, lots of tangled vines, and so on. Does anyone know if purple martins are willing to live in Brooklyn? I have been thinking about getting a purple martin house. I think they’d be better received than bats.
Put the bat house on the roof if you think the neighbors will hate you. I love that my neighbors have bats in their old chimney (I se them go in from my roof garden) because I have no mosquito problem.
Mosquitos are tyopically not that bad until the end of the summer i.e. Late July August and September, and even then they typically are more ferocious at dusk and evening time.
During the day is usually no problem and with a little repellant and citranella you should be fine.
PS – I am not sure how this is a global warming issue, but I think it is pretty to say that
I’ve been interested in a bat house! But my husband insists our neighbors would hate us, and bat houses are suitable only on large properties. Does anyone know if bat houses are being widely used in Brooklyn yards yet?
Mosquitos do bite some and others not at all. I doubt so highly you don’t have mosquitos, John Ife. You must be one of the lucky ones mosquitos don’t eat.
I grew up in Minnesota, where as they say the state bird is the mosquito. These are things that worked for us there:
Eat lots of garlic and take garlic capsules. Get the capsules that DO make you smell! Not the ones that claim not to have an odor. Mosquitos hate garlic-smelling skin.
Citronella candles – they do work.
Citrus-based plant-based repellents – they do work. But use chemicals freely if need be; it’s worse to get West Nile Virus.
I don’t care what people say, unkept gardens do contribute to more mosquitos. Our yard when we bought it was overgrown and when I got in there with my shears to cut everything out, hordes of mosquitos came out. We kept our yard green, I hate cement yards, but we just keep it groomed. Offer to mow a neighbor’s lawn and cut out vines and weeds if they’re neglecting it. Also put those floater things that kill mosquitos in any standing water in a neighbor’s yard like if they have old flower barrels sitting around or something. It’s safe, not poisonous to animals or people. Also check your roof for standing puddles of water that don’t dry within a few hours.
Use this and set up a bat house:
http://www.gardeners.com/Mosquito+Repelling+Granules/GardenPests_Mosquitoes,33-430,default,cp.html
I’ve never been too bothered, but my son gets bad allergic reactions from bugs, so it’s clear the mosquitos are there, particularly in the evenings. We’re at 5th Av and Carroll, and the surrounding yards are a mix of well-tended greenery and total junk. No water.
We use our deck a lot in summer, and just slather on repellent on the kid. The deck is better than the garden, though.
We do have a mosquito problem after mid-July in our Clinton Hill backyard. Friends of mine attribute it to mutant mosquitos from the spraying that was done during the West Nile fears of the Guiliani administration. Last summer we had success entertaining outside in the evenings by burning lots of citronella candles and torches — it also made a festive atmosphere. I would also say some people are far more bothered by mosquitos than others — my husband can be hounded by bites while I don’t notice a thing.
I haven’t experienced any problem with mosquitoes in my garden. I can’t say I’ve NEVER been bitten but, on the other hand, I wouldn’t be able say that that about any other temperate geographical location either.