Simon Legree

Eating two oranges a day also helps.

Jukeboxwidow

I was listening to BBC Radio 4 the other day and a Dr Alison Blackwell says it comes down to our personal 'smell' ....this is why some people get bitten more then others...I listened intently as I am one of 'those' people...infact if you don't want to be bitten sit next to me I have heard that if you use Lavender based shampoo and showergel (but as close to pure lavender as possible).

G77

Me, you and Dave must stink then

Bellanova

I was told to use vinegar in a little bowl, covered with clingfilm with a few holes and again very effective!

Jukeboxwidow

Yep well atleast we have animal attraction

lancashirebird

i have just returned from a trip to the uk and was shocked to see how many bugs are there this year, never saw so many before..............
Before i went i got bite badly and my skin peeled away, nasty little things, never been bite in my life....now i use the deep wood stuff, if i see one..splat

we have a score board........we are winning

Simon Legree

Wine works well too !!

Dave+Jules

Anything in a little bowl on our deck is consumed at night by the Racoons (or big bowl)

They raid the hummingbird feeder if I forget to bring it in. They have even pulled open a mosquito repellent holder (just incase it had edibles in it)

G77

They'll drink vinegar? Sicko's

We're still yet to see a Raccoon - the wife is desperate to see one, 12 months in and still not seen one!

Dave+Jules

They can be a bit of a pest. here is a link to my photo album to the photos taken my daughter of wildlife in our backyard

Cookie

Arrrggggghhhh, was in Amhert yesterday to watch junior play soccer and have a bum full of mozzie bites. Sprayed my exposed flesh with bug spray and the wee blighters (on steriods) bit through my mesh chair and jeans, right through to my bahoochie .

It's not a pretty sight to see me scratch

Dave+Jules

Oh yes it is amazing as they get through the chair fabric and genes in one go!

I am sure in the spring they form a queue behind me and take turns drinking a fine '58 UK Claret (good year 58 apparently)

tracys

Might be a silly question, but here goes...

Is the problem with mozzies in NS really severe? Do things like electric garden equiptment used to collect the bugs really work? Also sprays and repellants, are there any organic as opposed to chemical ones that actually work?

Been to Canada three times and only encountered mozzies on a large scale on the north shore of NS. They literally waited for you to leave the house and then it was like an ambush. Never encountered anything like it before, like something out of a horror movie.

To make maters worse, my husband and little boys bites got really big and took ages to go down!

I presume that there is a season for these things two like in blighty, how long does it last?

Any feedback on this would be much appreciated,

Thanks

Tracy

G77

June till Late Aug/Sept - pretty much the whole summer They were supposed to be gone by now, but they're not, probably because the summer has been cooler and wetter than normal....

Dave+Jules

I have a mosquito mega-catcher and it works well. Started it early and had a pretty good mossie light summer. Then the bloody thing had to go and breakdown (transformer busted) in early August and I am still trying to source a replacement locally rather than pay twice to have one shipped from US.

I mistakenly expected the mossies population to be on the decline but they had a resurgence in Mid August (which is unusual). I would recommend purchasing a mosquito catcher to cover your garden where the deck/patio is. Ours is suppose to cover an acre but it actually covers the back garden only the front is the happy hunting ground for the mossies.

You will notice alot of older houses appear to be built in the middle of a field (well away from trees) to counter the mossie problem. Presumably they prefer to ambush from cover rather than fly across open grass (not to sure on the truth of that). There are noticably less mosquitos in cities too.

Mosquitos is another one of those things you learn to live with (like -30c and 6 feet of snow) as part of living in Canada.