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Mosquito season is here


  •  Adam

    Joined: Mar 2005
    Posts: 15663
     Adam
    Joined: Mar 2005
    Posts: 15663
    Mosquito season is here  
    6/13/2016 at 10:47 PM
    Anyone hoping for only gradual buildup is disappointed tonight if my area of the city is any indication. Have worked outside each of the last few nights and only seen 2 or 3 of the little vampires on any given night, but they're out in full force tonight. Out comes the zapper!
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  •  Mamato3
    Joined: This month
    Posts: 481
     Mamato3
    Joined: This month
    Posts: 481
    well 
    6/14/2016 at 1:03 AM
    Haven't had a bite yet and I am outside atleast 6 hours or more a day
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  •  JoBeth

    Joined: May 2008
    Posts: 1310
     JoBeth
    Joined: May 2008
    Posts: 1310
    Oh no 
    6/14/2016 at 10:34 AM
    They are out. Have lots of tiny ones in my area. Not looking forward to yard work.  
    They are back.
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  •  trapper
    Joined: Apr 2008
    Posts: 511
     trapper
    Joined: Apr 2008
    Posts: 511
    Mosquito season is here  
    6/14/2016 at 11:13 AM
    How well does the zapper work
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  •  JustinfromMWC
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 61
     JustinfromMWC
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 61
    Yes, They're back!! :( 
    6/14/2016 at 11:14 AM
    Was having a nice bike ride yesterday evening around near the 1st street bridge at sunset and taking some photos but the mosquitoes made it unbearable so I had to head home early.  
     
    At one point I had 20-30 on me all at once!!  
     
     
    Hopefully the city looks into there Mosquito control program soon.
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  •  JustinfromMWC
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 61
     JustinfromMWC
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 61
    Long Grass 
    6/14/2016 at 11:19 AM
    Also,  
     
    With all the long grass around the mosquitoes love that. There's always so much Long Grass on CN/CP Railway property. The city needs to start getting after them to cut down and keep their land clean. Why are they so special that they don't have to keep the property they own in good condition?
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  •  pudds
    Joined: Jun 2010
    Posts: 247
     pudds
    Joined: Jun 2010
    Posts: 247
    . 
    6/14/2016 at 11:29 AM
      
    trapper said "How well does the zapper work "

    They don't, in fact, they are actually worse than no zapper at all:  
     
    http://news.ufl.edu/archive/1997/07/snap-crackle-pop-electric-bug-zappers-are-useless-for-controlling-mosquitoes-says-ufifas-pest-expert.php  
     
    [i]“They are a total waste of money. Bug zappers will not control mosquitoes or other biting insects such as horseflies, dogflies or deerflies,” said Jonathan Day, associate professor of entomology with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.  
     
    “They simply do not work as advertised. In fact, bug zappers actually make things worse by attracting more mosquitoes into your yard, and they end up killing thousands of beneficial insects that don’t bother people.”[/i]
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  •  Adam

    Joined: Mar 2005
    Posts: 15663
     Adam
    Joined: Mar 2005
    Posts: 15663
    Mosquitos 
    6/15/2016 at 7:50 AM

    The city does their weekly mosquito counts and posts the results at:  
    http://www.brandon.ca/mosquito-abatement/mosquito-abatement-program  
     
    On June 12 we were in the "Low" category. At my part of the city at least it was June 13 that I noticed the uptick... just under 2 weeks after the big rains we had at the end of last month.  
     
    From the City link,  
    [i]"Ultra Low Volume adult mosquito control (fogging) is provided for IF: the City of Brandon’s Adulticiding Factor Analysis Guidelines value falls into and remains in the high category for two consecutive trap counts; OR the average of any daily mosquito trap count is more than 1,000 nuisance mosquitoes; OR if any individual trap count is more than 2,000 nuisance mosquitoes."[/i]  
     
    As far as the zapper, all you have to do is look underneath it the morning after letting it run to see that it does take out a lot of them. There might be the odd moth (different story when tent caterpillars move onto next stage?) but very very high percentage is mosquitos. I wouldn't expect it to make your backyard a mosquito-free utopia but there's a certain satisfaction with every zap in knowing that you're decreasing the population by 1 every time

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  •  pudds
    Joined: Jun 2010
    Posts: 247
     pudds
    Joined: Jun 2010
    Posts: 247
    . 
    6/15/2016 at 8:47 AM
    They probably aren't mosquitoes that you are seeing. Here's another article:  
     
    http://insects.about.com/od/StingingBitingInsects/a/Do-Bug-Zappers-Kill-Mosquitoes.htm  
     
    [i][b]But My Bug Zapper Kills Mosquitoes![/b]  
     
    Despite all the research that proves otherwise, people who use bug zappers insist that they see "lots of mosquitoes" dead in their zapper's collection tray. And they hear that satisfying sizzle when bugs get fried – it must be working, right?  
     
    There is no doubt that your bug zapper kills a lot of insects, and that many of the insects you find lying dead in the zapper look like mosquitoes. The problem is, they're not mosquitoes. They're midges. The research shows that non-biting midges, which look very much like their mosquito cousins, are highly attracted to lights and will fry themselves in bug zappers in large numbers. Most homeowners can't differentiate midges from mosquitoes when examining the hundreds of dead carcasses piled up in the bug zapper.[/i]
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  •  Suenomi
    Joined: Feb 2014
    Posts: 86
     Suenomi
    Joined: Feb 2014
    Posts: 86
    Not sure if this works.... 
    6/15/2016 at 10:43 AM
    But I'M going to try it. It's not harmful to plants, birds or animals. It's supposed to work for up to 60 days.  
     
    Mix the following ingredients together, and your supposed to spray around your area...I would guess a deck or patio etc.  
     
    1 big bottle of cheap blue mouthwash  
    3 cups of Epsom salt  
    3 12oz bottles of stale beer  
     
    Worth a try
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  •  daisychain
    Joined: Aug 2007
    Posts: 2898
     daisychain
    Joined: Aug 2007
    Posts: 2898
    It would never work... 
    6/15/2016 at 6:31 PM
      
    Suenomi said "But I'M going to try it. It's not harmful to plants, birds or animals. It's supposed to work for up to 60 days.  
     
    Mix the following ingredients together, and your supposed to spray around your area...I would guess a deck or patio etc.  
     
    1 big bottle of cheap blue mouthwash  
    3 cups of Epsom salt  
    3 12oz bottles of stale beer  
     
    Worth a try "

    who ever has 3 bottles of stale beer?...LOL. I saw that they are starting to fog in Winnipeg, hopefully Brandon follows and we can all enjoy our short summer season.
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  •  fargobob

    Joined: Nov 2005
    Posts: 3711
     fargobob
    Joined: Nov 2005
    Posts: 3711
    Zapper 
    6/15/2016 at 11:14 PM
    I use a zapper and yes there is a huge collection of dead mosquito looking bugs after being on all evening and overnight. The zapper uses a mosquito attractant (I don't know if it's CO2 or something else) and I keep it about 40 feet from the patio / deck area, and we're generally pretty much mosquito free where we sit.  
     
    Besides, as has already been mentioned, there's almost zero chance that there will be any stale beer around during mosquito season. So it's either the zapper or spray with malathion.  
     
    I guess if the zapper is keeping us happy ...
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  •  Adam

    Joined: Mar 2005
    Posts: 15663
     Adam
    Joined: Mar 2005
    Posts: 15663
    Mosquitos 
    6/21/2016 at 12:42 PM

    Updated numbers from the city for this week are at the link below. Seems like there's a larger issue in the South part of the city. When an overall average is taken, we are at the Medium level (i.e. no fog at this time). 
    http://www.brandon.ca/mosquito-abatement/mosquito-abatement-program

    As far as what I've noticed personally, last night did seem to have noticably less than the few nights before. Will be interesting to see what we end up after the requisite days after the big rain we had on the weekend...

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  •  Happy_ Hour
    Joined: Mar 2009
    Posts: 918
     Happy_ Hour
    Joined: Mar 2009
    Posts: 918
    Has anyone seen 
    6/22/2016 at 6:33 AM
    Wood ticks in town yet?
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  •  JustinfromMWC
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 61
     JustinfromMWC
    Joined: Apr 2016
    Posts: 61
    Yes.. 
    6/22/2016 at 10:42 AM
    Wood Ticks ARE in town along with the "Medium" amount of mosquitoes.  
     
    Property owners (In my opinion) must do more like keep Grass cut and remove standing water to limit the amount of Ticks and Mosquitoes.
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  •  foxtrot11
    Joined: Feb 2009
    Posts: 2688
     foxtrot11
    Joined: Feb 2009
    Posts: 2688
    Yup 
    6/22/2016 at 12:05 PM
      
    Happy_ Hour said "Wood ticks in town yet? "

    I have not seen a woodtick in the 15 years I have lived here, and not only saw one the other day, it was BITING MY LEG.  
     
    I used to live in the country and we had lots of ticks, but never in my life have I been bit by one...how weird.  
     
    On another note, we had yet to get our fish in the pond for the year and went to do it this weekend. Found a ton of dragonfly larvae in the water.  
     
    I was all worried about mosquitos hatching in the pond, but was told dragonfly larvae actually eat mosquito larvae...not sure if that is true, but hey....I was good with it.  
     
    Edited by foxtrot11, 2016-06-22 12:07:44
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  •  Adam

    Joined: Mar 2005
    Posts: 15663
     Adam
    Joined: Mar 2005
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    Medium 
    6/29/2016 at 2:27 PM
    Levels were at medium in yesterday's update:  
    http://www.brandon.ca/mosquito-abatement/mosquito-abatement-program  
     
    It sounds like they haven't recently found high numbers of larvae in areas of standing water and seem to give an overall optimistic tone when describing larviciding as a method of keeping things under control. I'll just say that based on my backyard the jury's still out, but if numbers stay where they are it could certainly be worse!
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  •  Adam

    Joined: Mar 2005
    Posts: 15663
     Adam
    Joined: Mar 2005
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    Weekly count 
    7/5/2016 at 9:24 AM
    As if on cue from the big rains a couple weeks ago, big jump this week in particular for the cemetery trap in the South. Not clear on how the one trap noted as "bad count" effects everything in terms of averages and rating... But taking the city as a whole things are coming up as "medium" and there will be no fogging at the moment. Hopefully an improvement next week!  
    http://www.brandon.ca/mosquito-abatement/mosquito-abatement-program
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  •  Adam

    Joined: Mar 2005
    Posts: 15663
     Adam
    Joined: Mar 2005
    Posts: 15663
    Medium 
    7/19/2016 at 11:57 PM
    Medium again this week, though expectations for a rise with the heat that's set in
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  •  Brenda..
    Joined: Jul 2005
    Posts: 9544
     Brenda..
    Joined: Jul 2005
    Posts: 9544
    good old mosquito coils 
    7/20/2016 at 7:14 AM
    They still work the best and are cheap.  
     
    We get up in the morning at the lake, light two coils and never see a mosquito all day. They have nice holders for those coils also and you can move them around as the wind changes, etc.  
     
    I know they would maybe not be so good in a large area, but if you are working in the garden, etc., take one with you and see.
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  •  gekko
    Joined: Jul 2009
    Posts: 67
     gekko
    Joined: Jul 2009
    Posts: 67
    The count in south Brandon must be high 
    7/21/2016 at 11:38 PM
    Was out tonight and the mosquitoes are unreal!!! Brandon was really thinking when they made a mosquito pond just south of Crocus Plains High school. Get a plane an spray the city in one night!
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  •  Some_Guy
    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posts: 279
     Some_Guy
    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posts: 279
    new count? 
    7/25/2016 at 8:53 PM
    The trap counts haven't been posted for this week. If they come up as Medium again, something is not right. The mosquitoes are as bad as I have ever seen them. I attempted to spray my own yard tonight and was chased inside before I could even finish.
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  •  sammy
    Joined: Sep 2010
    Posts: 8749
     sammy
    Joined: Sep 2010
    Posts: 8749
    . 
    7/25/2016 at 9:00 PM
    We wait so long for summer, than the damn buggers ruin it!  
     
    We checked out Crows general store today and LOVED it but we all came home with bites  
     
    I hope the city sprays....crossing fingers!!
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  •  bigmoe
    Joined: Jul 2006
    Posts: 2181
     bigmoe
    Joined: Jul 2006
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    ! 
    7/25/2016 at 9:41 PM
    Mid afternoon and 29 degrees outside and I was hounded by mosquitos. I can't remember it being so bad.
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  •  daisychain
    Joined: Aug 2007
    Posts: 2898
     daisychain
    Joined: Aug 2007
    Posts: 2898
    Spray...please... 
    7/25/2016 at 9:47 PM
    just walked around the backyard and was eaten, if the count shows "medium" they need to re check. I would love to enjoy the rest of our short summer, sitting out in the evening, even taking precautions is impossible.
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  •  alight
    Joined: Jun 2005
    Posts: 1362
     alight
    Joined: Jun 2005
    Posts: 1362
    its summer 
    7/25/2016 at 9:52 PM
      
    fuzzy slippers said "just walked around the backyard and was eaten, if the count shows "medium" they need to re check. I would love to enjoy the rest of our short summer, sitting out in the evening, even taking precautions is impossible. "

    No offense but its Summer. Mosquitos come with the territory. There are a lot of towns in our province that don't spray. There's no provincial parks that spray. Just put the repellent on.
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  •  joseph
    Joined: Apr 2005
    Posts: 78
     joseph
    Joined: Apr 2005
    Posts: 78
    Absolutely Ridiculous 
    7/25/2016 at 10:32 PM
    Past few days have been really bad for mosquitos. As mentioned, they are even bad during the heat of the day which clearly is a red flag that numbers are extremely high. Don't worry about counting numbers in traps, spend a few minutes outdoors and that will tell you that spraying needs to occur. It's not rocket science!
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  •  Adam

    Joined: Mar 2005
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     Adam
    Joined: Mar 2005
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    Mosquitoes  
    7/25/2016 at 10:52 PM

    Would be real surprised if the numbers tomorrow didn't end up with fogging. That said would like to see the criteria for fogging revisited to see if it can be refined that much more. Improvements of a couple years ago definitely added a level of objectivity to the process but there has to be a better way to prevent it from getting to this point for too long even if it's saving one or two more days of our short summers. The statement last week indicated it was expected it could get much worse because of weather. Not completely familiar with how trap counts work but might there be a way to expedite those counts when there's a legit expectation things are about to explode?

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  •  sherf
    Joined: Sep 2011
    Posts: 8
     sherf
    Joined: Sep 2011
    Posts: 8
    swarms of bees 
    7/25/2016 at 11:22 PM
    I was sitting outside this afternoon and was looking at shadows on the back of my house...which I thought initially was heat waves. Then I heard a loud humming sound and shadows on the fascia. All of a sudden I looked above the house and could see a massive swam of hundreds of bees flying over! Like a cloud at least ten feet wide! I ran into the house quickly but they soon passed. Anyone else ever witnessed this? That was my first! Thank God they kept flying and didn't swarm downwards into the yard!
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  •  Mr.Nonsense
    Joined: Mar 2016
    Posts: 23
     Mr.Nonsense
    Joined: Mar 2016
    Posts: 23
    Gotta get mowin 
    7/26/2016 at 4:58 AM
    I dunno if it''s a summer budget thing or what, but the unmowed grass at linden lanes school is a breeding factory for mosquitos in the area. The grass is Almost up to my knees, sheltering mosquitos that are swarming everyone even in the raw heat of the afternoon. Kids in the sand or on cement are fine. moment they touch that grassy jungle though they''re nearly getting carried off. I can imagine it''s hard enough for people to pay soccer or frisbee or whatever on there with how tall it''s gotten, but the mosquitos make it unbearable and flood the whole area. Gotta mow that grass, they''re bad enough without letting them have the perfect habitat and infest the local neighbourhood  
     
    Edited by Mr.Nonsense, 2016-07-26 04:59:24
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