Mosquito yard spraying

[Northbound]

A buddy of mine has a mosquito squad that sprays his 2 acre home lot for bugs 4 times a summer and it's amazing how well it works. I'd like this done at my cottage property but unfortunately no franchise exists in that area. Anyone have a diy method that works? A fogger only works so long not to mention it's a pain to do

 

[bjseiler]

I tried Bifin XT about 3 weeks ago and am just starting to see some bugs again (none in those 3 weeks). So, probably going to spray again this weekend. XT is the concentrated which was a mistake for me because I have a Chapin "mix on exit" that only dials down to 1 ounce per gallon and XT is .3 so I had to use a hand pump sprayer. There is Bifin IT (I think it is IT) that isn't concentrated and what I will get next.

Lots of mosquitos here and they generally love me.

 

[Bill]

Don’t know how big of an area your talking about. But if it’s small enough I use cutter from Home Depot. Hooks to the hose and you spray the lawn, underside of trees and shrubs etc. it knocks them back pretty good.

I also put those chlorine pucks for toilets anywhere there is water, like under a window ac unit.

 

[Northbound]

I need to do about a acre of lawn and surrounding trees. Then also about 3 acres of woods for this season as we have a bunch of people camping on the property for our wedding in July. Future years id just be doing that acre ish of lawn. My buddy who hired the spray company for his 2 acres said they spray their magic potion with what looks like a gas powered backpack leaf blower

 

[MRBB]

I have about an acre i treat every yr, I typically don't treat till things start to show up and get annoying, as I don;t like using chemicals if I don't have to
but over the yrs, I have tried many things, from natural things(heavy strong garlic solutions and such)
with very poor luck on many.
so I went looking for better chemical options, went to a fogger, then , some stronger than local hardware store chemicals fort them
however
and still wasn't that good at any control, and more work that worth it!
I tried a few other chemicals you mix and spray with so so lick, and then went to Bifen IT
So, I will second the use of Bifen IT , (this is where I get mine from, there a very friendly and informative company, you can ask a lot of questions and get a lot of options if you ask them anything )
https://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/bifen-it-and-pivot-10-combo


however , its not been perfect, but I am more than happy enough,
BUT, I do find that I have to re treat things, pending on how much rain I get
but ion some super bad yrs, its been a MUST have stuff and I have no problems recommending it
just be aware that you might have to re spray more often, based on weather
and that its not a 100% keep em away, but is a good 80-90% deal
and its pretty nasty stuff, I know I get a sore throat almost every time I spray within a few minutes and I wear a very good breathing regulator, but I only got one lung left and its a little over sensitive to things, so, might just be me

but after spray, I am always heading to a shower and changing out of clothes I had on while spraying, better safe than sorry, and I cover up, long sleeves and pants while spraying too! same deal, better safe than sorry!

I use a 2.5 gallon back pack sprayer fully dedicated to just this stuff too!

NOW<
IF I spent a LOT of time say at a back yard deck a or just always outside in yard in a high skeeter area, and was with more $$ to invest in something else!
, I think I would invest in a real good large mosquito trap, and either just use that, or maybe even both
some of them traps do amazing things, but the real good one's are far from cheap, and they do require more up keep and things to keep them going
spraying is more a do every so often and forget about it!

 

[Peeps]

This thread has good info. With this Bifin stuff are you mixing 1 or 2 ounces or more per gallon of water? Also do you spray it on everything like house, lawn, ect? I have dogs and cats so I’m a bit worried about spraying this stuff.

 

[MRBB]

I am mixing it at 1 oz per gallon of water
when I was looking for something to spray, I was also very worried about pets and animals eating things or just being about area;'s I sprayed
I was told at this rate it will work and be safe on animals
its actually can be used on foods or near them or something , forget exact info,
but I do tend to NOT spray area's , like fruit tree's, near any of my water for pets'wildlife is
and or anything that gets a lot of handling or likes
So, I basically spray things I don;t touch a lot or, or thing I will eat or my pets will
but to be honest most of these things are not places mosquito's hang out at, so, I haven't noticed any issue's with me skipping some places

the main key area's to make sure you get IMO, as places they like to be in the day time resting,
and then a good perimeter around area's I will be out in the most!

my one acre lot where I am at most times, is surrounded by either a privacy 6 ft tall wood fence or mostly thick rows of pine tree's
so I spray all that very well
and then any area where I think they will be
like under deck and so on

but its according to label, pretty safe stuff to use, has a short period of time when you will want to NOT handle touch, or let pets out,
but for me, any risks of using, are better than getting eaten alive when things get bad
and past few yrs, we had some extremely thick out breaks of them
so its been a god send to have this stuff , to treat area's and be able to be outside

I'll add this, just in case anyone cares
but I used to spend a lot of time in swamps in some unreal thick mosquito amounts, I mean millions of em would cover me
I spent a bunch of $$ on several so called bug suits
and IMO the very best one I found, has been the shannon bug tamer plus bug suit, I have a few of them , in there hooded jacket/parka and pants and gloves
they have been worth every penny I paid for them
there basically just a double layer of mesh, too thick for them to be able to reach you to bite you, very cool in summer time to wear
my only complaint with them is I WISH they made them in more colors, rather than only option of being camo or olive green
I even asked and talked to the owner a few times, as I think he is missing a ton of sales, as if he made them in lighter colors, I think many more folks would buy and use them, in summer time, for camping or sitting about the Bay and such
as you can wear shorts under them and stay cool and NOT get crewed up and be a pint low doing so! and not have to look like Rambo or, a hunter

 

[Bill]

An acre would be tough with cutter from Home Depot. It’s only like 5000 sq foot per bottle. I get a bigger refill but still with an acre I’d go another route.

Bifin sounds interesting, I may have to give it a try. I like the porch in the summer. Wired the porch roof for ceiling fans but haven’t installed them yet. A fan on high speed would hopefully make a straight flight path hard to achieve for the little buggers

 

[breddick]

We put in a big pool last year so mosquito eradication was essential. Aside from the pool we also have lots of other ticks, ants, spiders, etc. you know, the usual stuff out in the country.

bought a gas powered backpack mister and a gallon of Biden- IT. I mix it heavy at 2oz / gallon.
My only regret is not doing this setup years ago. Wiping out basically all those unwanted critters for weeks at a time I can fog / mist my entire home and surrounding acre(s) in literally 15 minutes.

a good insect fogger setup makes country life so much more enjoyable.

 

[Tree Spud]

Build a screened in deck ...

 

[blueglass]

We use Mosquito Barrier, mix 2 ounces in a gallon yard sprayer and spray in the evening (but not directly before a rain), we use it maybe once every couple of weeks depending on how much rain we've had. Seems to help at our place, it doesn't hurt our dogs and it seems to keep the ticks away as well. (garlic... very strong)

 

[Da U.P. 'eh]

We use Bi-Fen 1oz./gal. in a hose sprayer. We spray house, deck, grass and trees w/in about 40 ft of the cabin. We have had great success with nary a mosquito for at least a month. It is probably rain dependent but it always lasts more than one rain event. We are very happy with the results. Bi-Fen is available at farm store etc.

 

[Peeps]

Anyone try the Bifen on your fruit trees or have any thoughts on using it as a fruit tree spray? I currently use Imidan for my tree insecticide but going rate for 5 lbs is getting close to $100 and the powder is dusty and smelly when mixing. I’m going to get some Bifen for yard mosquitoes and was wondering if it would work just as well or better than the Imidan.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I went to order some of the Bifen IT kit, and the pro suggestions said the new better stuff was Proflex, and it worked a lot better then the Bifen. Has anyone used the Proflex stuff? I know the Proflex says it will kill bees, not sure about Bifen, so that is a concern being I have Apple trees.

https://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/proflex

 

[Northbound]

I ordered the bifen last week and the proflex was not suggested at that time. Using your link I see it has zero reviews so far. Must be a very fresh offering

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I ordered the bifen last week and the proflex was not suggested at that time. Using your link I see it has zero reviews so far. Must be a very fresh offering

I ordered the Proflex, so I guess I will find out! Let me know how the Bifen works out for you.

 

[Peeps]

I used some Bifen on an ant nest a couple days ago and it smoked them.

 

[MRBB]

I been using bifen few yrs now, and very happy with it, however
I do NOT spray any of my fruit tree's with it, or really close to it
rather be safe than sorry

as in my area, I do have to spray it seems about every 5-6 weeks, due to so much rain anymore or last few yrs!

so, too many stages of apples and fruits, for me wishing to dose them with it!

it has not seemed to cause any less effect, I have lots of tree's close to house and deck, and it still keeps 95% or better of skeeters away, skipping the tree's, and there HUGE apple tree, 30+ ft tall and about as wide, 60+ yr old tree's left go more or less!
and its been great on treating ant's as well as skeeters from my experience
had some Carpenter ants invade a shed, and sprayed that, GONE in a few days (also sprayed house and other building's at same time, so they didn;t just re locate)

I also recommend wearing some sort of breathing protection when spraying, and appropriate clothing, as I have just one lung and super sensitive to things, and every time I spray, I can feel it within minutes of me spraying
I also shower right afterwards !
it does have some nasty things in it, so, again, better safe than sorry!

 

[jwill1776]

For you guys spraying with a misting backpack sprayer how many gallons of water per 1,000 square feet are you spraying?

1 gallon seems to the answer I'm getting while reading online.

Thanks to this post I just bought a Sthil sprayer and have Bifen on order, time for some chemical warfare targetting mosquitoes!

 

[MRBB]

I cannot say how much water exactly, bot for me to spray about a 1/2 acre I used about 4-5 gallons of water mixed in sprayer

a lot really will come down to how many things on the land your going to spray
as its good for more than just skeeters
so if your spraying every building profile and footing, and then about house, pool, deck, under deck, lots of shrubs abnd bushes, tree's and so on,
you can use more than someone just spraying a yard perimeter
so I doubt there is any real formula to how much water your going to use in total to do YOUR place or a piece of land, as all lands will have different lay outs and structures on them

the main goal is to just get the mixing ratio right per gallon of water

I typically use about 1 OZ of chemical per 1 gallon of water,
if conditions are REALLY bad, I might go a tad stronger to kick things back more, but then repeated spraying will go back to original dose of 1 oz per 1 gallon of water!


every chemical today has an official chart and information packet that comes with it to tell you how to mix for different things and the of course safety info

I again, always wear proper safety clothing and gear when spraying,a s this stuff is pretty powerful stuff, you really DON"T want to be inhaling or getting on you(even in mist)
so be safe if you use it

but used right, it does work very well and IMO is worth the risks to use it over being chewed up and blood sucked dry by skeeters,

which in them selves are dangerous
, there actually known to be the number ONE insect, that has killed MORE people than any other insect or animal in the world??
so, pro's and con;'s and risks both ways
pick your poison wisely! LOL