Bats, bats and more bats. We have tons of water on our property so I presuming if we didn't have any bats we would be inundated with mosquitoes. But we have a lovely bat population and one bat can eat a 1,000 mosquitoes an hour.

Build a lovely bat box (Mother Earth Magazine has great plans for a bat box, they are so easy), put it in the sun and go out and enjoy your deck, patio or pool at dusk mosquito free! They work, they absolutely work.

badger anti-bug balm. seriously, works like a charm!

http://www.badgerbalm.com/pc-21-2-anti-bug-balm.aspx

I'm going to give Badger a try then. I live in Orlando and they are AWFUL here. I dread walking my dog in the evening because I always come home with welts.

They make something near me called "Bye Bye Black Fly" (http://www.rangeroutfitters.com/bye_bye_blackfly.htm) which works pretty well for all insects, mosquitoes included - and my job requires me to be in the woods all day! They also make some non-citronella insect repelling candles that help as well.

The orange-scented Body Shop soaps supposedly have an anti-mosquito affect.

Most of the time, though, I don't bother with anything. Only the first few mosquito bites of the year are actually itchy (your body develops a tolerance after a spell) so I don't care so much if they bite after that. (Yeah, I know, West Nile Virus and all that, but the probability of getting it is still very, very small.)

I had my contractor screen in a porch. Best outdoor living decision I ever made and it was really reasonable, under $1200 for a 200 sq.ft. porch with 9' ceilings. Couple of comfy lounge chairs and I've got a sleeping porch for hot nights. My indoor cats like it too.

I've always heard that Avon's Skin-So-Soft lotion keeps 'em away. Never tried it though. I have no affiliation with Avon by the way.

Kuri, I think that's just you. I've never experienced any sort of tolerance. Lucky!

As for repellants, I've made my own with vodka and lavender/rosemary oil, and they do work - for about 15 minutes. Beyond that I swear the little b*ggers figure out you're a human. You have to keep re-spraying.

I hate to say it, but when they're bad, the only think I find that works against mosquitos is deet. I don't need the high-test stuff, but it's gotta have deet to work, in my experience. And I'm an organic gardener!

Never underestimate the power of walking around your house or any public area you can get to and getting rid of any water sources. I made a huge dent in my bloodsucker infestation by tracking them down until I found a blocked drain that was teeming with baby mosquitoes.

I agree w/ violet, I've never had success w/ any "natural" or "organic" labeled product -- its gotta have deet in it to even make a dent!

take a B12 vitamin supplement for the summer. that is a natural way to repell mosquito during summer from inside . Also you can add to your body lotion some b12 capsules and you will be protected as well.

Enjoy the summer

Deet supporter, too, but only when it gets fierce. All the organic gardeners and green backpackers I know cave and use it from time to time, but sparingly, of course. Love these other suggestions and willing to give them a try. Beware citronella candles. Most of them have only the scent (artificial) not the real oil which is why they don't work. DIY recipe in earlier posts on AT.

mosquitos are attracted to either the O2 or CO2 that your skin gives off (can't remember which.) since childhood, i have had this in spades, and when out with friends not wearing bug repellant, i AM the bug repellant (for my friends, at least.)

when i get bites, they well up to pink circles about the size of a penny, and then linger on for a week and a half or so. so i have had incentive over the years to avoid being bitten, on top of just being plain itchy.

that said, i won't wear DEET - absorbing chemicals through to the bloodstream and internal organs? no thank you.

what has worked for me are the natural lotions with lots of essential oils like lemon something, citronella, eucalyptus, rosemary. basically i find a tube of lotion (Whole Foods is a good source) with as many essential oils as possible and slather that on before going outside. you will smell VERY fragrant to about a three-feet radius, but you will smell nice! :)

if i'm outside for a while, i usually reapply after two hours or so. basically, you are masking the smell of your skin with natural essential oils so the mosquitos go elsewhere. i've -never- gotten bitten using the lotion, and that's what works for me.

as an aside - if any of you have garden ponds or small bodies of water, mosquito fish (really small, silver, minnow-sized or smaller fish) are bred to eat the mosquito larvae and eggs.

I had a small bottle of repellant containing DEET and after using it, I placed it on my oak butcher-block table. 15 minutes later I picked it up and it had eaten through about 1/16th of an inch of the surface.

I threw out the repellant and took a shower.

I've used the Badger balm and it helps, but if they're really bad (hiking, mountains, forest, or all of Minnesota and its lakes) you have to resort to official bug spray. There's a kind (a couple of the major brands have versions) that doesn't smell bad and works quite well. Not sure if it uses deet or something else. Comes in small concentrated bottles - sorry to forget specifics... I've also read those machines that put out CO2 really work for backyard control, but they cost a couple hundred.

Other trick: put the hard core bug spray on long sleeve shirts and pants, not your skin.

I've had success with the Off Mosquito Coil this season. I light one and put it on the picnic table.

When we had my mother over for dinner, she was apprehensive about eating outside, but the table was pleasantly mosquito-free.

By the way, the terracotta container it came with broke pretty quickly. I just bought a $1.50 shallow flower pot and glued the little spike from the original container in the bottom. It works great!

If you're at home, the most effective solution is a small pond with some small fish. I know, I know - still water is a breeding ground for mosquito larvae, but that's the whole point - fish (like bats) eat a ton of mosquitoes.

Even if you live in an apartment with just a balcony, you can setup a small pond out of a 10-20 gallon bucket, put some water plants in it along with the fish - and if you balance it correctly, you won't even need to feed the fish with additional food.

Our first season trying this, we used just one small 20 gallon tub, and it kept the entire acre free of mosquitoes the entire season. You always hear about working with nature instead of against it - and this is the perfect example of this.

I was doing research about Malaria for a project I'm working on, and I came across and interesting (and effective) way to rid yourself of mosquitos. If you have standing water or a water source on your property that is a breeding ground for mosquitos, take a whole coconut, cut it in half, and place it in the water. Apparently, coconut oil is extremely effective in killing mosquito larvae. The coconut should work for an entire month at keeping mosquito populations under control.

None of the organic or non-toxic stuff will work very well or very long in an area heavily infested with mosquitos.

When you absolutely, positively, need an effective mosquito repellent... use high-concentration DEET or Picaradine. Sorry, probably not what you wanted to hear but I live in an area where Lyme is a serious concern and it will also repel tick bites as well. Nobody likes DEET but I think most people would prefer it over getting Lyme Disease or West Nile Virus.

If you adamantly refuse to use DEET on principle, then your next best option is to apply Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus. It's non-toxic and smells nice. Supposedly it works as well as a low-concentration DEET but that also means you have to keep re-applying very frequently.

Now if you are just sitting around on the porch or patio, you might want to consider hanging up mosquito netting, especially if you live within a mile of a lake or pond. Citronella torches and other candle gimmicks don't work when there are tons of mosquitos flying around but I suppose they look nice. I'd be wary of using those mosquito coils. Apparently they put out an amount of smoke equivalent to 75-100 cigarettes.

Somebody mentioned bats. I suppose that would work but I can't say I've seen anyone set up a working bat house around my neighborhood.

In my Philly neighborhood, we have Asian tiger mosquitos. They're different from the regular brown ones in that they breed in the tiniest bit of water -- the rim of an overturned plastic pot, a wet dimple in a trash bag, whatever. (They also feed all day long, not just at dusk; they're small & black ans they have little stripe on their rear legs, Wicked Witch of the East-style....) So we constantly check our little patio back yard and the adjoining alleyway and pick up/throw out anything that could possibly hold water. It makes a big difference.

We also just got one of those clip-on mosquito repellers, can't remember the brand. Jury's still out on those.

Neutrogena's body oil in light sesame oil. Smells light and divine, and really does keep the mosquitoes off. Reapplying might be necessary, but it does work.

For the surrounding area, unfortunately the only thing I have found to work are those coil things that you burn like incense.

off wipes - start with hands and feet then move to your face. it's a miracle - they avoid you like the plague.

and avon skin so soft - has no deet i think!

we're going to try a garlic spray on the yard this weekend.

Has anyone else seen this?

combine some chopped garlic and spicy peppers with oil, let sit. Fill the spray container with water and spray over the whole yard, flowers, etc. Supposedly it will kill mosquitos and the larvae. People say that the garlic smell goes away after a few hours. We'll see how it goes.

I have huge, awful allergic reactions to the skeeters on the east coast (being from CA). The only thing that helps me at all, is Zyrtec. It reduces my bites and inflammation if taken daily. I hate to take it, but it's seriously a lifesaver. California Baby makes an amazing citronella lotion, but of course, then you smell like citronella.

I use this green oil that they sell in Chinese pharmacies - it's mainly made with menthol, but contains a few other oils as well. Not only does it make the mosquitoes go away (just put a few drops in a few dishes and put them around the area wherever you are), but in case you do get bitten, you can dab a drop directly on your skin, and the bite will heal. I always forget to bring any kind of repellent with me when i go out, but a dab when I get home makes the bites literally disappear completely within a few hours (provided you dabbed it on within 24 hours of the bite appearing).

The green oil doesn't actually say it's a mosquito repellent - it says it's for headaches, stuffy nose, achy muscles, etc., all of which it works for as well. It's pretty much a cure-all.

After reading mjs7640's comment I'll never use DEET again. I guess that was the testimonial I needed to hear. I love funkia's solution. I'm making a list of all these great alternatives and will work my down the list until I find one that works for me. What great responses!

I am a mosquitoe magnet without serious intervention. I garden later in the day to avoid full sun exposure, however the air tends to be quieter which encourages the mosquitoes to come out and eat me up. I broke down and got Deep Woods Off with 25% deet, I spray down my hat, hair, clothing and the little bits of exposed skin. This works for me because I am minimalizing my exposure to the chemical and able to participate in an activity I enjoy.

Moderate garlic consumption works well for me - no need to overdo it.

Supposedly mosquitoes are more attracted to people who've recently eaten bananas (to which I am allergic anyway) and other fruits, so maybe watch your fruit intake as well?

Unfortunately I have to resort to DEET (I use scary effective 3M Ultrathon) but only when I'm hiking in the MN backwoods during mosquito season. If I'm organized I'll also use the Sawyer Permethrin treatment on my hiking clothes but permethrin comes with it own set of warnings and dangers too.

Nothing else has worked for me and I've tried everything else out there, both conventional and alternative.

I'll try that Badger Balm now but maybe at a picnic and not chance it for a hike.

@funkia -- any specific brands and scents to recommend? I'd love to know. Always still looking for a better solution to mosquitos!

Luckily, we don't have a huge problem (not too much standing water around here), but if we did have regularly visiting mosquitoes, I think I would just ignore them.

How?

Get bedbugs once in your life. LOL! We had bedbugs in one of our old apartments. Made my life such a living hell I couldn't even sleep anymore. My arms were so swollen with bites. And the itchiness of them! It was a million times worse than a mosquito bite, and they itched even after they healed! Never again.

So since then, when mosquitoes bite me, I don't think I even notice anymore. I take my mosquito bites with gratitude, now.

Agree with the banana comment. They tend to love me anyway, but bananas seem to amplify it.

I am very fair skinned and i discovered last year in turkey (*lots of mosquitos*) that if i only had an outdoor rinse at the end of a beach day and not a full soapy lather shower, I did not get bitten anywhere i had applied sunscreen earlier. My theory is that the sunscreen layer masks whatever on my skin attracts the mozzies. I wear coppertone waterbabies factor 50 or 75 for what its worth. Very unscientific and personal discovery, but seems to have held for 2 summers now!

I use Avon skin so soft spray. Pretty effective only down side is your skin is rather oily.

My border collie is mainly outdoors and we rub him down with a fabric softener sheets. Not very green, I know. But they don't buzz around him as much. :\

bagelpower- after reading your bat comment, I realized you're so right. My childhood home had a few HUGE palm trees that bats would sleep under the leaves and at night they would come flying out around us (scary as a child) but now that I think of I don't remember even getting mosquito bites when I lived there. We moved- no more bats but I have been bit profusely since '97!

An easy fix would be fans. Bugs split when it gets windy, so I find dragging a fan out back (or turning on the porch ceiling fan) not only provides a nice breeze in the hot weather, but clears those pests faster than any bug spray would.

If you are looking for a more long term project to cut down on mosquitoes over time I would suggest making some changes to your outdoor area in order to attract dragonflies. You can also purchase or breed dragonflies if you are really desperate. Here are a couple of links to help you out.
http://sagebug.com/howto/dragonflies.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_2216262_breed-dragonflies.html

Normally, I try to stay as green as I possibly can, but this is one of those times where I put my trust in DEET.

I use UltraThon, which is a bug repellent made by 3M. I sacrifice green-ness to support a local company (living in Minnesota and all). The stuff's got to be good - the US Military swears by it. It's 25% DEET, and 75% other stuff I can't pronounce, but it shoos away mosquitoes and deer flies - my biggest nemesises (nemesi?) around here. And it stays on in water. Currently, I only have the aerosol variety because that's what my dad keeps in his car for camping, but I hear they've come out with a non-aerosol.

Though a healthy population of bats is also a good call.

Lemon balm. Seriously. I have bunches of it planted around my yard and when I garden, I rub it on my skin. Just pull a few leaves from the plant and rub them on the exposed areas. No reactions, no bites. Lemon balm smells like citronella, and I have heard that the citonella plant works as well.

Thermacell - a pad (refills sold) gets warmed on a sealed lantern powered by butane (like in a lighter). I learned of it thru an astronomy forum, tried it, it works! We used one for a picnic concert.

i live in the swamps of texas and have had remarkable luck with Buzz Away Extreme. the active ingredients are soybean oil, geranium oil, castor oil, cedarwood oil, citronella oil, peppermint oil and lemongrass oil. NO DEET. we also have the zebra striped mosquito and ANY water is a breeding ground. they can even breed in wet dirt. had a deep pond for a number of years before the raccoons drove me crazy by trying to rip the shingles off my roof. i guess they were mad because they couldn't reach the fish. i stocked it w/pet store comet goldfish and never a larvae was seen.

Essential oils and other natural solutions would have to be applied every 15 minutes to be effective.

The solution : baby oil. Or any type of oil, olive, almond, etc. My mother-in-law has her PHD in botany. Oddly enough that thing layer of oil is an absolute deterrent that the little pests cannot penetrate through.

sorry, it is supposed to read thin, not thing.

I take Vitamin B12 and I use Burt's Bees Herbal Insect Repellant. I heard Lavender Oil repels mosquitoes, too.

@dwsmith1000 - I would love to know more about how you set up your pond. I would give it a try. Just a pond with no filters or pumps? And What type of fish and what plants did you use?

Thanks.

I've started taking Vitamin B1 every day during the summer. I read about this on the internet (a children's doctor mentioned it) before we went to Tahiti a couple of years ago, and it really worked there (only received 7 bites in 10 days). You have to start taking it 2 weeks in advance, @ 100 mg a day. So far this summer, I've only gotten 2 bites, and they haven't been big bites. I've seen the mosquitoes flying around, and I'm amazed that they've stayed away from me. Usually, I'm a magnet for any mosquito that's nearby. It's really made a difference because now I can enjoy being outside in the evening rather than being stressed that I'm going to get bitten any minute.

If the itching is really bad (sometimes my whole body reacts, not just the area where the bite is), I take Zyrtec and that really helps.

This has been a terrible year for mosquitoes in the Pacific Northwest because of our record-breaking rainy spring. Everyone is complaining, but last night my husband and I both realized we don't have any bites. AT ALL. And I am usually a magnet for mosquitoes. The only thing we are doing differently lately is eating a lot of brewers yeast. We just love it on popcorn, whatever. I believe it is very high in B vitamins.

I am a constant mosquito magnet; 30 seconds outside and I am covered in bites. The only thing that ever worked was DEET, then I accidentally stumbled on this product: All Terrain's Herbal Armor.

The stuff is awesome and it actually repels mosquitos. Just a blend of different essential oils, but it is truly outstanding. The guy who started the company decided it was time to try something new when DEET ate through his backpack (and items in it) when hiking. Excellent product; highly recommend!

Cutter's lemon eucalyptus repellent seems to have pretty good reviews. Target is supposed to carry it, but I couldn't find it when I went to my local stores, so I'm ordering it online. Fingers crossed!

I had one of those mosquito netting covers for my bed that was more decorative than necessary indoors. But after noting that it was a washable polyester, which is a good outdoor fabric anyway, I put it to use under my deck. I know it was meant for bed decor, but it is far more useful doing what it was originally meant to do. Mine is supposed to cover the whole bed, not on a circular ring, and so it covers a large enough part of my porch for me an two other people to sit with laptops. I am on medication that makes them love me, and I don't know why i didnt do this sooner!

I assume you could by this netting at joannes, and i have seen netting curtains for 4.99 a pair at IKEA, so if you use conduit piping (which is really cheap) you can put up curtains or build some sort of gazebo that holds curtains. make sure to spray the piping with some sort of outdoor anti-rust stuff.

I also recommend sewing a border along the bottom of any netting you buy, and stick a thin dowel rod or long stick in the border to weigh down the light netting that blows around easily.

And it looks fabulous by the way. I took out some outdoor Christmas lights and my deck is where all my friends come when they want to do some serious work on their laptops or chat the night away. i see the mosquitoes fly into the net to try to get to the lighting and I laugh maniacally.

if the trees emmit a sugary substance get that special gel froma department store and paint the trunks. the sugary substance can even attract bears.