Use Mosquito Repellents For Temporary Relief
Mosquito season has started and backyard gardening after work is not as much fun as it used to be. I don’t enjoy feeding the mosquitoes!
Mosquito season has started and backyard gardening after work is not as much fun as it used to be. I don’t enjoy feeding the mosquitoes!
Lots of people are asking about backyard mosquito treatments all of a sudden. What a change from last year!
The preliminary steps we always mention to prevent mosquitoes are obvious – eliminate standing water, mow tall grass, check the bird bath, etc. But what about attempting to control the mosquitoes that are already here? Can I treat my yard and eliminate mosquitoes?
Yes. Sort of. Just don't get your hopes too high.
The mosquitoes this summer have hit all time highs and have been a real deterrent to working in the garden. Mosquito population trends for the summer have reached four times the number from last year. See Dr Bartholomay's ISU Mosquito Surveillance website for more information.
Accompanying the recent interest in mosquitoes and mosquito control is a dose of healthy curiosity concerning the widely advertised mosquito repellent plants. The following article, reprinted from the July/August, 1992 issue of Organic Gardening magazine (page 18), provides one of the clearest summaries of the subject I have seen. Enjoy.--D. R. Lewis