Mosquitoes

[allan gould]

Can any of you out there give some sane practical advice about keeping mosquitoes at bay. So far Ive tried a sonic repellant from Anaconda (crap) and citronella candles but I'm getting wary about having some sort of burning incense in the observatory for fear of melted/burning fibreglass in the morning or coating optics with some sort of aerosol material.
The little blitters sucked me dry on Saturday and the only thing that kept them off was Rid which my wife is allergic to.
Help?

[M54]

Hi Allan,

Here is a link to some info that might be of some assistance.

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/a/aa050503a.htm


Mozzies love me too, so I might try some of the suggestions as well.

Hope this helps,

Molly.

[jjjnettie]

Mozzies love me too.
On really bad nights my only option is to cover up completely, socks, long pants and long sleeves. (insufferably hot to do this in summer) Then I spray my clothes, hands and wipe my face with repellent.
I also light a few mozzie coils and have them burning during dusk, hoping that they will all have left the area by the time I start working around the scope.

[toryglen-boy]

i find that not being born here, and exposed to them as a child, i have a really bad response to mozzy bites, they came up in huge welts, and last for weeks, alot longer and worse than resident Aussies!

i have noticed that its not so bad when i get bitten, although i have been here for 4 years, and must be getting a tollerance to them.

:thumbsup:

[telemarker]

Could try having the wife out with you. :P
Mozzies often go after my wife and leave me alone. :lol:
Seriously, I tend to cover up as much as possible but they still get me on the fingers and face.

[[1ponders]]

Drink Rum. If the fumes don't keep them away, at least you won't feel them biting. :)

[Liz]

I do what she does :D
They are a pain, we have them all year long, and I dont know what else to do either.
I bought one of those mozzie lanterns, which I think helped, but they emit quite a bit of light.
We get damn sandflies too!!

[Exfso]

I read an article that Listerine put in a spray bottle worked very well as a repellant, might be an urban myth though....

[jjjnettie]

I used a mix of 50/50 baby oil and dettol on my horse
worked a treat
but I wouldn't have it around my optics

[gary]

Hi Allan,

You may like to read this post by Scott for additional tips.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=548555&postcount=24

Best Regards

Gary

[allan gould]

Thanks guys and Gal - Ill try them all and report back to see what is the best. The wife didn't think strapping her to the outside of the observatory as a decoy was a real goer

[h0ughy]

when really bad i use the insecticutor, i cover the back of the camera and set it on the floor

[jjjnettie]

:lol:

[Karls48]

Aerogard Tropical Strength roll on works very well.
Otherwise I agree with 1ponders. Polish off bottle of French brandy (overproof rum will also work) before the observing session and the little suckers wont come near you. Added benefit is that you may observe the things you have never seen before. UFO, aliens, pink elephants and all those wonderful creatures that normally remains hidden.

[gary]

Note that Aeroguard Tropical Strength also contains DEET and Allan mentioned
his wife had an allergic reaction to Rid, which is also a product that uses DEET
as its active ingredient.

[lacad01]

I've heard mozzies hate cigar smoke :)

[Ric]

Hi Allen,

These might help if you plant them around your observatory.

http://gomestic.com/gardening/five-plants-that-repel-mosquitoes/

Cheers

[allan gould]

Again thanks to all that replied as I now have lots of options.

[troypiggo]

Close the dome roof so they can't get in... oh, wait... that could create another problem...

[bloodhound31]

RID roll-on works better than aerogard. Some middle eastern countries smoulder dried horse and cow manure to keep the little malaria carriers away.

I have tried this..it does work.

Baz.

[multiweb]

Aeroguard works for me. :thumbsup:

[Barrykgerdes]

I hide all the aeroguard then the mossies attack someone else.

Baz

[allan gould]

Well i tried a few solutions to the mosquito problem and found a simple solution. A small fan blowing past me keeps them all off and I haven't been bitten once tonight and NO rid or aerogard used. Go figure.

[M54]

That sounds like a reasonable idea. They are light and fragile little suckers so probably cannot deal with the air current from the fan.

Might get a bit cold though, coming into winter.:cold:

[DavidTrap]

I've taken to burning sandlewood sticks - seems to work. I also douse myself in Tropical Strength Aeroguard, but I don't hear them buzzing around with the sticks burning away.

DT

[rogerg]

On the weekend I got some Rosemary and Leptospermum 'Mozzie Blocker' to plant around my observatory in an attempt to keep the mozzie numbers down. Will be interesting to see if they improve the situation.

[supernova1965]

I have just heard that Listerine can repel even kill mosquitoes aparently it really works:question:


http://www.ehow.com/how_5086250_use-mouthwash-backyard-mosquito-control.html

[Wavytone]

Listerine doesn't work - tried it.

One thing I tried - and works well - are the old blue mozzie coils - at Mt Bowen I used to place about 6 or 8 in a circle around me, and light the lot. Several hours of pest free observing results.

What does work though - very well too - is the stuff that is sold in little refill bottles for electric Mozzie Zappers - about $5-6 a bottle.

Putting that stuff on your skin is another matter - I suspect there is a very good reason why its sold in a sealed bottle.

[peter_4059]

Allan - have you tried "OFF". That's all I use and it works well. Active ingredient is Picardin.

[GTB_an_Owl]

well you know that old story about how to keep the flies out of the kitchen ?
no you don't have to go that far

place a "blue" light some way away from where you want to be left alone

insects are attracted to blue light

yellow lights will not attract them

geoff

[Jen]

:lol::lol::lol: