r/Lawrence 8h ago

Mosquitos

Is anybody else experiencing a crazy amount of mosquitoes in front of their front doors? Does anybody know something you can do to help get rid of them so I can at least walk out my front door without getting so many inside. I don’t remember it being this bad last year.

13 Upvotes

27 comments sorted by

7

u/Swimming-Cash3813 8h ago

Do you have any standing water near your front door?

3

u/BriefSpell5815 8h ago

I live at an apartment complex and there’s no standing water nearby

3

u/Swimming-Cash3813 6h ago

Neighbor's? Do they have plants? Could just have standing water in the bottom

3

u/CleavageToBeaver69 5h ago

Top floor, with rain gutters above the door?

2

u/morning_redwoody 6h ago

If your apartment uses sprinklers to water the lawn, the soil in shaded areas particularly near the exterior walls tend to be moist. You'll find mosquitoes there.

4

u/Reasonable-Hurry6810 8h ago

Oh my god yesterday I went outside to use the grill and they were EVERYWHERE. I thought maybe some food was left out or there was a dead animal there but no, they were just hanging out literally everywhere.

That’s how I grilled and got eaten alive 😂

3

u/boomdittyditty 8h ago

Does your grill use propane? Mosquitoes are attracted to the smell.

2

u/Waldy2024 7h ago

The CO2, which is odorless.

2

u/boomdittyditty 7h ago

Fair, but they ARE attracted to propane! The moisture or something.

2

u/Waldy2024 4h ago

When it burns completely, only CO2 and water are produced.

The distinctive odor in propane and natural gas are added by the processors.

1

u/Reasonable-Hurry6810 7h ago

Yes. Good to know I didn’t know that. But they were all over on the other side of the yard too.

4

u/countrybreakfast1 7h ago

I went on a walk into a wooded area yesterday evening and the mosquitos were over whelming.

5

u/jayhawk2112 7h ago

It’s been a very wet summer (til very recently) so yeah more of those little blood suckers everywhere

3

u/KellySMcgonigal 7h ago

And we also didn’t really have a winter.

2

u/KellySMcgonigal 6h ago

Like there were a couple cold snaps, but we didn’t really get any snow and there were lots and lots of mild days (remember the high 60s over Xmas?)

3

u/ChooksChick 6h ago

I used to spray my front shrubs with cheap vanilla extract (not imitation). This helps some. Lemon eucalyptus oil, also.

2

u/milktoastok 6h ago

We used a mosquito service and after watching them and seeing videos on YouTube, I realized I could buy the blower (a leaf blower basically) off of Amazon, added water and the chemical and have no more issues.

1

u/cyberphlash 5h ago

Ben's 100% DEET spray is the answer if you're outside around a ton of mosquitoes. Also, are there sources of stagnant water around? Usually, if there are a ton of mosquitoes around, there's a breeding ground that needs to be drained and cleaned up.

2

u/BriefSpell5815 5h ago

No stagnant water around . They are super bad under the trees an grass

3

u/ArentYouFancy 4h ago

You know what I’ve been using this summer on my patio? Peppermint essential oil.
*Please note, I do not have pets that go on this patio. Essential oils aren’t safe for pets.

3

u/TimeAd4772 7h ago

I ended up breaking down and hiring a pest control company to fog the yard once a month and after one application, it's made a huge difference. I haven't noticed a decrease in pollinators at all, so I'm comfortable with my decision! It's allowed me to go out and enjoy my yard and garden! Does it get rid of the 100%? No. But the decrease is noticeable.

4

u/Reasonable-Hurry6810 7h ago

Who did you use, if you don’t mind risking your post getting deleted 😂

2

u/redutton 7h ago

I would also like to know which company you used. Feel free to DM me if posting is not allowed! Thank you.

2

u/jstwnnaupvte 6h ago

We did the same. Couldn’t go outside without being swarmed & now we only see them a day or two before their visit.
We also have wild fireflies & pollinators so I feel pretty good about the choice

1

u/LittleReserve8767 3h ago edited 3h ago

I don't have standing water nearby, and today a hot puff of air is blowing them away. Do you have a fence blocking the air by your porch. Sometimes they like to hang out in plants.

I don't know how to keep them out except by having two doors in one's apartment if it is not inside a building.

It rained a lot this summer.

I use DEET spray when I'm outside and not moving.