# Mosquitos



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

I figured that if Mary could post a query about moths that I could post one about mosquitos 

I don't know if anybody else has noticed this but where I live on the Costa Blanca I am still having mossie problems even though we are in December. as well as the potential problem for my dogs (and I know that there are now vaccinations but I'm a little bit sceptical to try them) I am fed up of finding the Tiger variety coming into my house at night and having to splat them on the walls. They certainly seem to be slowly fading away but I have never experienced these problems is late in the year as I am the issue. Has anybody else noticed this?

As well as the general moan about the problem I'm curious to know if anybody has any recommended home remedies the keeping them away? I have tried all of the following…


Citrus candles and sprays
Electronic blue lamps like the butchers use
Plug in deterrents
Leaving their dead bodies on the wall as a friendly warning to their friends and family that this is what will happen to them (and I am serious I did try that LOL)
Vinegar
The various chemicals in things which are available from the pharmacy

None of these things seem to deter the little ******s and although they are slowly fading away now I know that is only a matter of months before they come back and I must be a particularly juicy boy (please no comments) because they really do attack me.

So if anybody has any suggestions on something else that really does keep them away then I will personally recommend you to her Majesty the Queen for a knighthood (if it works of course LOL)


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

steve_in_spain said:


> I figured that if Mary could post a query about moths that I could post one about mosquitos
> 
> I don't know if anybody else has noticed this but where I live on the Costa Blanca I am still having mossie problems even though we are in December. as well as the potential problem for my dogs (and I know that there are now vaccinations but I'm a little bit sceptical to try them) I am fed up of finding the Tiger variety coming into my house at night and having to splat them on the walls. They certainly seem to be slowly fading away but I have never experienced these problems is late in the year as I am the issue. Has anybody else noticed this?
> 
> ...


yes - I've noticed them still around too, although we seem to have not seen as many in the summer as usual - it was flies that we were all complaining about this year 

I can't help with any suggestions that you haven't tried - I use candles as a rule - & although we get the occasional bite, we none of us react as badly as we used to


----------



## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

Yep, still got them here too... although over the course of three years, we don't seem to get bitten now, and don't seem to get the bad reaction we used to (do you build up an immunity? Has our diet changes so they're not so keen on us any more??)

Flies were a problem this autumn, ants ran riot as well.. the autumn before was wasps... It's a constant battle isn't it?!


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

A constant battle indeed... i had a lot of ants this year too - they sure can build big mountains lol

Flies too - I am glad i am not the only one - i was begining to think i was a smelly sausage! I am finding that all bugs are becoming more resistant to traditional means of torture and killing... the sprays are becoming less effective.

Still, the dogs love chasing the flies - and are getting quite good at it!


----------



## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Mosquitoes - after all the recent rains, make sure you don't have any pot/buckets/plant troughs, etc that have stagnant water in them - they are breeding grounds for mozzies!

Our problem is ants in the house - with all the hollow walls, it is a case that they can wander where they will and manage to get through the tiniest crack. We have been using the drops of gel that they take back to the nest and as fast as we seem to get rid of one community, there is another appearing from somewhere else.

We now have a new problem - mice/mouse/mices. SWMBO went out to the store-room and found a packet of rice broken into and some spread about. Rodenticide is a possibility provided we can keep the k9s away from it. Such is life in a rural area... 

At least the food moths have mostly died out until next year.


----------



## snorkeler (Aug 6, 2010)

Boric acid for ants mixed with sugar.
Mosquitos Avons Skin so soft.


----------



## Navas (Sep 2, 2012)

Apparently ants don't like crossing a line of talcum powder! 
As for mosquitoes, I quite like those plug-in things you can get and have found them to be effective. My mother and many of her Catalan friends, keep a pot of what I believe is Greek basil close by - not sure what it's called in Spain, even though that's where I've seen it!


----------



## wiggytheone (Dec 3, 2012)

Do you have mossy nets on the windows??


----------



## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

Navas said:


> Apparently ants don't like crossing a line of talcum powder!
> As for mosquitoes, I quite like those plug-in things you can get and have found them to be effective. My mother and many of her Catalan friends, keep a pot of what I believe is Greek basil close by - not sure what it's called in Spain, even though that's where I've seen it!


not just talcum powder, but any powder(even a thick line of chalk they follow a chemical or scent trail and this disrupts them)

As for basil... not sure but try here How to Grow a Pest Repellent Herb Garden - wikiHow


----------



## Navas (Sep 2, 2012)

dunmovin said:


> not just talcum powder, but any powder(even a thick line of chalk they follow a chemical or scent trail and this disrupts them)
> 
> As for basil... not sure but try here How to Grow a Pest Repellent Herb Garden - wikiHow


Basil is listed there as a mosquito and fly repellent 
The one I've seen used has a very small leaf and compact growing habit, not like the culinary basil we get in the UK. I'm sure it doesn't matter which and is probably only to do with what's available locally.


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

wiggytheone said:


> Do you have mossy nets on the windows??


yep but they sneak in when i open the door to let the dogs out - even if for just a few mins!


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

some interesting answers thanks guys - might give the avon lady a try lol


----------



## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

Second vote for Avon's Skin so soft - I took the stuff on a long three week holiday to Malaysia and never got bitten once. Much nicer smelling than DEET stuff too, which I found totally rubbish for my skin...it stinks, you need to shower it off, and for me just didn't work when I was on anther Caribbean holiday and got bitten to shreds. And I'm a bloke! 

Allegedly the US Army used to use the Avon stuff, so it can't be bad....


----------



## passiflora (Jun 28, 2012)

Living in the campo and having hens, rats visit in the winter. I've tried traps and cage traps but they are totally ignored by Mr. Rat so I use the little squares of pink or blue poison available in feed stores etc. Then, doing as I was told by a Spaniard, I thread a fairly stiff piece of wire through each square of bait then bend the wire round a brick or something heavy then place the bait where i know the rats run. Tying the bait in this way prevent the rats from running off with the squares and possibly dropping them where a dog can find them. It does work and the rats open up the bait bag,eat the delicious paste therein and are dead within 24 hours. I didn't ever want to use poison but after finding one of our guinea pigs with half her head removed one morning, after a rat had spent the night chewing through a thick plastic cage, I decided to be a softy no longer. Our rat problem is now negligable------there will always be rats----just like there will always be mozzies! As mentioned, clear away alll standing water. If you have a pool or pond for irrigation water, put some koi carp or goldfish in it to eat the larvae. We have about 300 koi in our irrigation pool and no mosquito problem. Good luck.


----------



## whitenoiz (Sep 18, 2012)

Tiger Mossy... Bit like this one then....


----------



## neddie (Jun 11, 2012)

.....there are window and door screens that are made of plastic gauze....in days of yore the gauze was made of metal. I'm sure if one Googled fly screens, mosquito gauze etc one could find something.

http://www.flyscreen.com/acatalog/Photo_Ali_hinged_door_dom_tn.jpg is an example of a screened door.


.....i have known people to use a fan near a bed at night to keep mosquitoes away.....they do not like a breeze or wind but that may be an expensive way to control them in Spain!!!


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

neddie said:


> .....there are window and door screens that are made of plastic gauze....in days of yore the gauze was made of metal. I'm sure if one Googled fly screens, mosquito gauze etc one could find something.
> 
> http://www.flyscreen.com/acatalog/Photo_Ali_hinged_door_dom_tn.jpg is an example of a screened door.
> 
> ...


of course there are mozzie screens & door screens - but you can bet as soon as you open a doorscreen to walk through it, at least one of the little blighters will sneak in


----------



## tonyinspain (Jul 18, 2011)

All my windows have a fine mesh on them from any hardware shop ferrateria i staple them to the frame of my windows and leave them in place permenantly in 9 yrs here never had problems with mossies now flys different matter 
Dont leave any contain around outside your property that can hold rainwater as the mossies love still water to lay their eggs empty them or bleach in will kill them 
Good luck


----------



## neilmac (Sep 10, 2008)

My wife takes Vit B1 with Thiamin all the time - the effect has been to reduce significantly the number of bites and the severity of the reaction - it is also apparently good for general heart health!


----------



## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

neilmac said:


> My wife takes Vit B1 with Thiamin all the time - the effect has been to reduce significantly the number of bites and the severity of the reaction - it is also apparently good for general heart health!


It is also very good for those on statins in helping to reduce joint and muscle aches


----------



## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

neilmac said:


> My wife takes Vit B1 with Thiamin all the time - the effect has been to reduce significantly the number of bites and the severity of the reaction - it is also apparently good for general heart health!


I have taken B1, and one garlic capsule a day-all seasons to avoid severe reactions, suggested in Australia many years ago when I was bitten by around 80 mozzies in one night, the reaction was horrible.


----------

