Heading into mid-May here in SE Ontario, we're starting to see the bugs come out. Including the $#@@$% Asian ladybug brought in by Quebec farmers for pest control. They quickly ate all the bugs, then all the native ladybugs, and now infest Quebec and SE Ontario, heading steadily west. The effing Asian ladybugs will probably meet the effing pine beetles chewing their way east from BC, somewhere in Saskatchewan. My money is on the ladybugs giving the pine beetle whatfor. Anyway, mosquitoes, don't get sidetracked, G!

Well, they'll arrive pretty soon too. I've collected a bunch of mosquito control ideas over the years and some may help you. All ideas free of charge with a money-back guarantee if'n they don't work. More below.

Here are the components of a comprehensive mosquito strategy:

1. Terrain
2. Plants
3. Animals
4. House
5. Personal

1. Terrain management

Drain swamps
Well, duh :=)
Mind your local authorities though. Some of them get quite stupid about swamps and wetlands and whatnot.
Create channels to keep the water moving on through the area.
If you can’t move the water, aerate it with a windmill or solar device (I have an instructable on one somewhere in my mac's guts. I'll go look for it, but only if someone asks :=)

Cedar Hedges
We have Yuge thick cedar hedges on the north and west side; that's where our weather comes from. They're great for wind and snow protection, but my goodness, it's mosquito central. (They are under Lovie's personal protection and I'm not allowed to say "chainsaw" and "hedge" in the same sentence :=) Just saying, is all.

2. Plants

Folks, I think most of these come from a blog called Joybilee Farm that I used to follow. I lost the links, but it's a great site for natural living, stuffed with resources and well worth following: http://joybileefarm.com/

Lantana
Note: poisonous to humans

Lantana camara L.
Check out the study from 2011: PLoS One. 2011; 6(10): e25927.

Several mosquito-repellent plants were considered for installation as "house screens," but lantana was ultimately selected because of its "size and vigor, year round growth, and known repellency towards the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae s.s.

Calendula marigold
Self-seeding annual
Note medicinal properties
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendula
Mosquitoes find their smell particularly offensive and tend not to go anywhere near them.

Citronella

The plant contains citronella oil, which is released when the leaves are crushed. The smell of citronella is so strong that mosquitoes find it impossible to sniff out their next target. So break a few leaves off the plant, rub them onto your skin and scatter them around whenever you’re working in the garden.

Horsemint

It gives off a strong odor and while mosquitoes may not mind the smell so much they can’t detect their hosts through it so move on.

Ageratum

Mosquitoes just can’t stand the smell of this plant, which secretes coumarin.
A chemical compound, which occurs naturally in some plants, coumarin is also produced synthetically and is found in many OTC mosquito repellents.

Catnip
Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a perennial in the mint family.

Nepetalactone, the essential oil that gives catnip its distinct smell, is more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes, according to laboratory research conducted by Chris Peterson, an entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, and Joel R. Coats, former chair of the Department of Entomology at Iowa State University.

Note: Some cats love catnip and some ignore it. If you have a catnip-lover, you may need to grow your catnip under a wire basket to keep your cat from killing the plant.

Basil
Smear fresh leaves on skin
Lime basil (Ocimum americanum, also called “hairy basil” and “hoary basil”) is a culinary and medicinal annual that’s an effective repellent when burned and when grown nearby.
Sacred basil (Ocimum sanctum, also called “holy basil” and “tulsi”), an annual, has been used medicinally in South Asia for thousands of years.
The leaf extract discourages mosquitoes from feeding, and the seeds, floated on water, kill mosquito larvae.

Rose-scented monarda
This is a colorful perennial especially rich in geraniol, a compound that smells like roses.

Turns out, geraniol is highly repellent to mosquitoes, according to an Israeli study published in the Journal of Vector Ecology.
Scientists at the Morden Research Station in Manitoba, Canada, have developed monarda hybrids for commercial essential oil production.

The extracted oil of their variety now sold as rose-scented monarda contains more than 90 percent geraniol.
Geraniol is the active ingredient in some commercial natural mosquito repellents.

Lemon grass

Lemon Grass essential oil is what I've been using as mosquito repellent for years now.
Dragonflies love lemon grass, and dragonflies eat mosquitoes, so growing some lemon grass near the patio and applying the oil to skin seems to work quite well.

Thyme
(Thymus vulgaris) is a low-growing perennial culinary herb.

Researchers at Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea, found that thyme volatiles repelled mosquitoes as well as or better than DEET, and that thyme volatiles lasted as long as DEET.

Exotic plants
These are not hardy in Canada, but let’s experiment.

• Butea frondosa
• Butea monosperma
• Palash

See more at:
http://www.rarexoticseeds.com/en/tree-seeds/butea-frondosa-seeds-butea-m...

Butea Frondosa or Butea Monosperma, also known as Flame of the Forest is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree that is native to India and Southeast Asia.

Butea Frondosa can grow to 15 m high.
Its flowers are amazing. There are 2.5 cm long and bright orange-red.
The fruit is a pod of 15 to 20 cm long.
The gum it produces it used for food dishes.
Regarding its flowers, they are used to dye fabric.
Butea Frondosa kills mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes are attracted by flower's color and smell. Eggs that are laid into the liquid within the flower will never hatch. Moreover, any mosquito that touches the liquid will never be able to escape.
Hardiness zone: 10 to 11
(Butea frondosa has been indicated in the Indian system of medicine as a plant augmenting memory and as a rejuvenator.)
Sow 25-30 cm apart in lines 3-5 m apart.
The taungya system is often used, as weeding during the 1st 1-2 years is essential to the proper development of the plants.
Root suckers and nursery seedlings can also be used for propagation.
Because of the good coppicing power of this species, it is also a reliable method of natural propagation. (Hah, hah)
Germination, which starts in about 10-12 days, is completed in 4 weeks.
Fresh seeds have a good germinative capacity (about 63%) at optimum germination temperature of about 30° C.

Orange osage

Make hedgeballs
Invasive, I think.

3. Animals

Guineas
For release on the farm.

Description
From Tilsonburgh:

Guinea Fowl are very social birds so it is usually a good idea to have more than one.
They are excellent foragers and they keep our property insect free. No mosquitoes around here. They love to eat insects and on a warm summer evening they often can be seen jumping several feet into the air to snatch a fly or mosquito for a snack.
They also like grain and we feed ours mainly corn and oats but one of their favorites is red milo.
Guinea Fowl originally come from Africa but despite of that they can handle our winters here in southern Ontario without a problem.
They are very hardy birds and aren’t prone to illnesses that affect chickens or turkeys.
Guards good
Kill snakes, mice

http://www.guineafarm.com
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/1/1-1/Jeannette_Ferguson.html
http://www.shadyhollowfarm.com/raisinggamebirds.html
Note that there exists many colour varieties

Canadian breeders
Prince Edward County, ON
http://www.performancepoultry.com/poultry2.php?Cat=11
Tilsonburgh ON
http://pacawijetechickens.weebly.com/guinea-fowl.html
Prices:
Large bird
French guinea fowl - large meat birds - 2012 hatch $25 each sexed - pearl only
guinea fowl - 2012 hatch - $15 each - sexed - pearl, lavender.
Day-old
French insect/rodent control pearl
$5.50 each
10 or more are $5.00 each

Poultry
Chickens
Ducks

Attract bats
See Bathouse construction instructable

Attract native birds
See planning guide 8: Air Force

4. House

Ingress
Entry air locks
See planning guide 4: House

Natural mosquito traps

Fermented fruit method
From Instructables

Materials
1/16-inch-diameter nail or drill bit

Quart-sized, large-mouth plastic container with lid

3 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp boric acid

1 cup smashed, fermented fruit with the fruit juice

Jasmine essential oil (optional)
Instructions
Set smashed fruit in the sun for a day or two before making the homemade mosquito traps to speed up fermenting.
Drill or punch several 1/16-inch holes in the container lid (the small holes will let mosquitoes in while excluding beneficial insects such as bees).
Next, mix the ingredients in the container.
Put the ventilated lid on the container.
Place the trap outside in a sheltered location where it won’t get rained on.
Mosquitoes will feed on the sugary, fermented fruit juice laced with boric acid, which will kill them.
We also found studies that showed that many mosquito species are attracted to the scent of jasmine, so try adding a couple of drops of jasmine essential oil to your mosquito traps.

Homebrew method

I have a great method for trapping Mosquitos, you cut the top off a 2-liter soda bottle and stick it into the base upside down secure the end with tape. Next you need a vigorous ferment inside the container, I'm a home brewer so I use the yeast sludge from the bottom of my fermenter mixed with fresh water with sugar added, if you're not a brewer just use baking yeast. This trap draws the Mosquitos to the carbon dioxide and when they enter the bottle they get trapped and drown in the liquid. My family has used this for years and it really reduces the mosquito population around our house. This trap also works great for wasps if you change the bait to apple juice or soda.

Forgot the source

5. Personal protection

Potions & Lotions

Homemade Bug-Off Spray
Joybilee recipe

This recipe makes 500 ml of herbal mosquito repellent:
1 – 500 ml (pint) amber glass bottle (you can upcycle a bottle that essential oils came in or use an olive oil bottle)
2 tbsp (30ml) Organic Tea Tree E.O.
2 tbsp (30 ml) Lemon Verbena E.O.
2 tsp (10ml) Cedarwood E.O.
2 tsp. (10 ml) Peppermint E.O.
2 tsp. (10 ml) Lavender E.O.
1 tbsp. (15 ml) Eucalyptus E.O.
2 tsp. (10ml) Rose Geranium E.O.
Fill up remaining space in bottle with Olive Oil or Sweet Almond Oil
By using an oil base for your bug-off spray, you preserve the essential oils, you make the repellent water proof, and you avoid rancidity.
If you don’t have some of the essential oils you can substitute or use more of one and less of another. As it is, it works perfectly, for the bugs we have around here. Lemon and tea tree are the basis. Its not just a repellent. It will actually kill the bug, if it bites you, so the bugs avoid it. It works for ticks and fleas, too.
You can use it to spray pets, livestock, and its safe for babies. (Omit the tea tree e.o. if you are using it on cats or rabbits)
Reapply as often as necessary.

Adapting a commercial spray mechanism to the glass bottle for more effective application:

The spray mechanism is the spritzer top from a spray bottle, sold for cleaning solutions.
It fits perfectly on the 500 ml amber bottles. It will also fit the screw-top olive oil green glass bottles.
To make it fit, you simply detach the plastic tube from the sprayer-top.
Measure the tube against the bottle that you want to use to hold your bug-off repellent.
Cut off the excess tube at the top (not the bottom).
Reinsert the cut edge into the sprayertop. And screw onto the top of your bottle.
You can shut off the spray, so the bottle doesn’t dribble during transport.
And you can control the fineness of the spray for application.

Geranium Base Spray

I made a tincture using scented geranium (grows like crazy in my So Calif backyard), basil, and cinnamon (both from the pantry), in a vodka base.
Seems to be working so far. Repels mosquitoes, gnats, and flies.
Let the mixture sit for 2 weeks, strain it and put it in a little spray bottle.
I spray it on my skin, or even on the table when I'm eating fruit.
Vanilla extract
Mix 1Tbsp vanilla extract and 1 cup of water in a spray bottle and spray on your skin.
It repels mosquitoes, black flies and ticks.
It is not scientifically proven but it works great for us and it smells good and no chemicals.

Source?

Clothing
Wear zebra stripes; that’s why they have them, I was told as a kid.
(I don't want to look like an NFL ref, you go first :=)

Anyway, that's all I got. All comments welcome: debunk away, add your favourites, tell your mosquito stories!

Peace be with us, if we can keep the danged mozzies away!
gerrit