The propane powered devices apparently do not work for us here in
Austin. The dominant mosquito here is the Asian Tiger, a very small
mosquito with white stripes on the legs. They are not attracted to
carbon dioxide (I think) which is what I believe the propane device
keys on. The larger, native coastal mosquitos are attracted to this
and therefore it works well there, just not here. Last I heard they
were trying to figure out how to attract the Asian Tigers, it just
isn't there yet.

I don't know that we are particularly "known" for mosquitos, but they
can be very bad here. Little *******s is a pretty good descriptor.

Be careful about just going out the way I do, my wife is ready to
throttle me when I come in from yard work covered in mosquito bites
(the bites don't bother me too much, 30 minutes and the bite is gone
for me- and I keep forgetting the DEET). West Nile Virus is around
and can be a serious problem if you get it.

andyd

On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 22:00:42 GMT, Minga
wrote:

I swear my whole yard is infested. There is no standing water anywhere
that I can find. But my yard is friggin infested with these little
biting *******s. I cant go outside for more than 10 minutes and not get
bit like crazy. I dont really feel like pouring on 8 lbs of 'deet' just
to grill a steak!

Does anyone own one of those new propane powered killer-things ? Does it
work? Are they worth 200 bucks? I've seen then for 350 too! Anyone know
a place to rent one for a week?

Or should I stick with buying the yard-spray stuff? (i'm sure its OOOH
so good for the water/soil/my dog).

Is Austin "known" for mosquito problems ? I'm "new" here.

-Minga

the propane-powered devices, the following URL will take you to an
article quoting a Texas A&M entomologist, Dr. Jimmy Olson, who discussed
these and other approaches to mosquito control:

http://overton.tamu.edu/news/news200...ntrol_2003.htm

The article states in part:

"Often, the manufacturer's game plan is to get in and make their
profits and get out within two years, because it takes two years at least
for the effectiveness of the devices to be researched," Olson said.
....
Another type of mosquito trap goes a step further. It uses propane to
produce carbon dioxide and heat to draw the mosquitoes close enough to be
sucked into a fan-driven trap. Though these propane-fueled devices may trap
thousands of mosquitoes in a few days, there are again generally hundreds of
thousands or even millions of mosquitoes an acre to deal with, thereby
overwhelming the trap and its ability to effectively limit bites.
A warning flag on these devices is that they come with the caveat that they
must be left on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and then the owner will
only realize a lowering of mosquito numbers in four to six weeks.
"With most mosquito species, weather conditions and the insect's breeding
patterns will result in a decline in four to six weeks without any
intervention," Olson said.
As with the bug zappers, the propane fueled devices may actually draw more
mosquitoes from long distances onto your property than can be collected by
these devices in time to prevent bites.
The question here is will these extra mosquitoes wait to be collected by the
trap or take the opportunity to feed upon the trap's owner?
"It's probably a toss up," Olson said. "Plus, with the fact that running the
propane burner 24/7 will draw more and more mosquitoes onto your property,
you're probably not going to lessen your chances of being bitten."

[end of quote]

My own experience has been that citronella oil works as well as DEET if you
are only going to be out for an hour or so. A bottle that lasts at least a
month can be bought at Whole Foods for $3.00. Mix a few drops with body
lotion and rub the mixture onto all of your exposed flesh. Wearing long
pants and a long-sleeved shirt is also a good idea. This is not as hot as
you might think provided you select lightweight fabrics in a very loose,
baggy style.

alternate


[I've deleted a few paragraphs from the following messages for brevity.]

"adng" wrote in message
...
The propane powered devices apparently do not work for us here in
Austin. The dominant mosquito here is the Asian Tiger, a very small
mosquito with white stripes on the legs. They are not attracted to
carbon dioxide (I think) which is what I believe the propane device
keys on. The larger, native coastal mosquitos are attracted to this
and therefore it works well there, just not here. Last I heard they
were trying to figure out how to attract the Asian Tigers, it just
isn't there yet.

andyd

On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 22:00:42 GMT, Minga
wrote:

Does anyone own one of those new propane powered killer-things ? Does it
work? Are they worth 200 bucks? I've seen then for 350 too! Anyone know
a place to rent one for a week?

-Minga

Buzz Away works like a charm. Can be found at Central Market and Whole
Foods.


Hombre

On Sat, 21 Jun 2003 07:51:34 -0500, John T. Jarrett wrote:


A year ago i spoted a plant for sell at pathmark that acted as a mosquito
repelent.

might be worth invetigating.



Neem oil is supposed to work against mosquitos -- either rubbing it on your
skin or clothes or spraying the yard.

And it ain't toxic. Well, what they sell at Lowes might be...but don't buy
that one for anything other than its approved use as an insecticide -- it is
supposed to be a concentrated form of the chemicals in Neem that most affect
bugs.

You can put it in torches like citronella at 1%.

It is kinda pricey tho...but then $200 then lots of propane ain't cheap
either. Gardens of the Ancients sells a rather large bottle (16 oz) for $25.

Right now I'm trying it as a non-toxic insecticide -- bugs hate the taste of
it. Watched a grasshopper walk all over a lemon tree trying to eat a leaf
the other day and he wouldn't take a single bite! Usually, this is their
most favorite tree in my yard!

You'll hate the smell for the first couple minutes...but then OFF doesn't
smell great either.

Out here in Leander, we are getting less than half the rain Cedar Park is --
only 5 miles away to my sister-in-law whom has mosquitos like crazy yet we
have almost none.

John Jarrett



"Minga" wrote in message
...
I swear my whole yard is infested. There is no standing water anywhere
that I can find. But my yard is friggin infested with these little
biting *******s. I cant go outside for more than 10 minutes and not get
bit like crazy. I dont really feel like pouring on 8 lbs of 'deet' just
to grill a steak!

Does anyone own one of those new propane powered killer-things ? Does it
work? Are they worth 200 bucks? I've seen then for 350 too! Anyone know
a place to rent one for a week?

Or should I stick with buying the yard-spray stuff? (i'm sure its OOOH
so good for the water/soil/my dog).

Is Austin "known" for mosquito problems ? I'm "new" here.

-Minga

Eh. You'd have to have quite the stand of any plant to repel mosquitoes, and
I'm not sure which plant they sold, but the world of horticulture has not truly
found anything to do the trick.

On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 02:51:30 GMT, Gon wrote:

On Sat, 21 Jun 2003 07:51:34 -0500, John T. Jarrett wrote:


A year ago i spoted a plant for sell at pathmark that acted as a mosquito
repelent.

might be worth invetigating.



Neem oil is supposed to work against mosquitos -- either rubbing it on your
skin or clothes or spraying the yard.

And it ain't toxic. Well, what they sell at Lowes might be...but don't buy
that one for anything other than its approved use as an insecticide -- it is
supposed to be a concentrated form of the chemicals in Neem that most affect
bugs.

You can put it in torches like citronella at 1%.

It is kinda pricey tho...but then $200 then lots of propane ain't cheap
either. Gardens of the Ancients sells a rather large bottle (16 oz) for $25.

Right now I'm trying it as a non-toxic insecticide -- bugs hate the taste of
it. Watched a grasshopper walk all over a lemon tree trying to eat a leaf
the other day and he wouldn't take a single bite! Usually, this is their
most favorite tree in my yard!

You'll hate the smell for the first couple minutes...but then OFF doesn't
smell great either.

Out here in Leander, we are getting less than half the rain Cedar Park is --
only 5 miles away to my sister-in-law whom has mosquitos like crazy yet we
have almost none.

John Jarrett



"Minga" wrote in message
...
I swear my whole yard is infested. There is no standing water anywhere
that I can find. But my yard is friggin infested with these little
biting *******s. I cant go outside for more than 10 minutes and not get
bit like crazy. I dont really feel like pouring on 8 lbs of 'deet' just
to grill a steak!

Does anyone own one of those new propane powered killer-things ? Does it
work? Are they worth 200 bucks? I've seen then for 350 too! Anyone know
a place to rent one for a week?

Or should I stick with buying the yard-spray stuff? (i'm sure its OOOH
so good for the water/soil/my dog).

Is Austin "known" for mosquito problems ? I'm "new" here.

-Minga

Howdy folks,
A plant breeder crossed lemon scented geranium with lemon grass
to get a patented line called "Citronella" plant. The idea was that
the scented geraniums give off their oils when jostled but the lemon
grass in the cross made for greater availability of the fragrance.
Being a patented cross, grown from plant tissue it was fairly
expensive, but there was a lot of demand, so growers started to sell
just the lemon scented geraniums as "Mosquito" plants ( or sometimes
just label them as "Citronela" and not concern themselves with patent
issues.
As a non-scientific experiment experiment about four years ago I
planted ten citronella plants ( 1 gal ) around a small probelem water
feature, and watched excitedly ( I'm easily entertained ) for a
reduction in mosquito population. No noticeable effect, but as one of
my more annoying friends pointed out " But, think how many mosquitoe's
you might have had if you hadn't planted those plants, hmm?"
I like any sort of fragrant plant so it wasn't a loss, but itr
confirmed my suspicion about the hype.
Over the years, I've seen a lot of folks looking for
'mosquito'plants to solve mosquito problems and my standard line is,
that in my opinion, if you have standing water, places for mosquitoes
to breed ( even a teaspoon of water will allow breeding ) you will
have mosquitoes. But if you like to garden, and like the fragrance
scented geraniums, lemon or otherwise are nice plants to have.
My concern has always been that a fair number of folks looking for
the plants don't seem to be gardeners, just folks looking for a
natural way to get rid of bugs, and aside from not doing the trick I
don't like to see plants go off with people who may not know how to
take care of them.

take care,
Steve Coyle
www.austingardencenter.com

On 11 Jul 2003 06:43:47 -0700, (Steve Coyle)
wrote:

Howdy folks,
A plant breeder crossed lemon scented geranium with lemon grass
to get a patented line called "Citronella" plant. The idea was that
the scented geraniums give off their oils when jostled but the lemon
grass in the cross made for greater availability of the fragrance.
Being a patented cross, grown from plant tissue it was fairly
expensive, but there was a lot of demand, so growers started to sell
just the lemon scented geraniums as "Mosquito" plants ( or sometimes
just label them as "Citronela" and not concern themselves with patent
issues.

Do you have a ref. or a wholesaler for this please. Obviously a GM
product (phylogenetically akin to crossing a horse with a chicken:-).

As a non-scientific experiment experiment about four years ago I
planted ten citronella plants ( 1 gal ) around a small probelem water
feature, and watched excitedly ( I'm easily entertained ) for a
reduction in mosquito population. No noticeable effect, but as one of
my more annoying friends pointed out " But, think how many mosquitoe's
you might have had if you hadn't planted those plants, hmm?"

Controlled studies on plain citrus-scented geranium (Pelargonium spp.)
yield pretty much the same result.

Howdy folks,
In regards to this message:
Do you have a ref. or a wholesaler for this please. Obviously a GM
product (phylogenetically akin to crossing a horse with a chicken:-).


If I remember correctly ( and I do hope so ) it was a 'gene plasma
cross', if I'm using the correct phrase. The plants were steep for a
wholesale cost and they had a patent number. The texture of the leaf
looked like a pelargonium but with a thinner, papery leaf.
I believe the lit I read was from TAMU so I'll do some digging and
see if I get more info. I did a cursory check but didn't see it among
the gazillion citronella referances. ( By the way it's fun to doa a
search and see the quick google blurbs ranging from "Excellant way to
repel mosquitoes" to "Hey, how come I still got mosquitoes?"
Will do a deeper search for the requested info tomorrow, short on
time, tonight is speed chess night at the Coyle's and I'm pumped.
take care
Steve Coyle