I'm about to go insane!!!!!!!!!

I HATE them!

And right now I am hating my dog. She is having one of her *roaming* nights - which means she is woofing every hour or 2 to either come in or go out. And as if that weren't enough, every time I open the *&#@!^% door another mosquito or 5 or 6 flies in!

So in addition to not getting any sleep because of the dog, when I *do* lie down, there's another mosquito buzzing around my ears. I hate that!!!!!!! Even covering my head doesn't work.

This promises to be a lovely day, considering it is just after 3 AM here and I have to work today!

By Ladypeacek on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 05:22 am:

Well man that seems to be one good thing here, we do have them but we also have these HUGE things that look like them and they eat mosquitos! Without screens you can imagine what bugs get in! I am amzed that these people have not gotten so tired of bugs they would have screens!!!!! We are about to make some though!

By Karen~moderator on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 07:25 am:

Kenna, we have those too. They seem to have disappeared the last couple weeks though. The mosquitoes are TERRIBLE after all the rains we've had - south Louisiana is just one huge mosquito breeding ground right now!

I can't imagine not having screens! We only have 3 or 4 weeks out of the entire year where it's comfortable enough to have open windows anyway. All mine need to be replaced - they are OLD and have little tears in them.

By Texannie on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 08:37 am:

Yep, skeeters are bad here too. Ah, the joys of living on the bayous, right Karen?! LOL
I got a dog door put in for our dogs and that has helped tremendously with the a/c bills, my sanity and the skeeters. It doesn't help at night, but I have found Yard Guard is good for when I want to be outside.
Alot of our friends have those mosquito trapper things and like them.
Hope you get some sleep tonite!!!

By Nanaoie on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 08:42 am:

I feel your pain, they are eating us alive in Kentucky.They make huge big welts on your skin.I wish there were a safe spray to take care of them, I am afraid to put out heavy stuff in the yard, it might hurt the dogs.I have heard of a mosquito plant,I wonder if it would help indoors/outdoors.?.

By Ilovetom on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 08:48 am:

We got lovebugs already really bad and not to mention the little weiners dogs next door were barking barking and barking yesterday so I walked out and there was a big ugly rattlesnake. Yuck.

By Ladypeacek on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 08:51 am:

LOL the love bugs are so funny, and impossible to get of your windshield!!!!!!!

By Fraggle on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 08:57 am:

Living, in Maine I can't imagine what they are like down south, but we have a Mosquito Magnet-we actually have two of them now (one for the front and one for the back). They work really well (for those of us in the Northeast they even trap the black flies). They are not cheap to buy or maintain, but it is great being able to take the girls outside without having to put on bug spray everytime. We tried having our lawn sprayed one time but the stink from the stuff stuck around for 4 days-we bought our Mosquito Magnet after that.

By Melana on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 09:11 am:

Merigolds!! Mosquitos HATE them, plant a lot of them around your front door and any where else you don't want them, they'll stay away.

By Kate on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 09:11 am:

YOU HAVE A MOSQUITO MAGNET???? I AM SO JEALOUS!!!! Tell me all about it!!! Why do you have two? I heard they are supposed to cover a full acre. Do you have more than an acre, or does it truly not cover that much area? It runs on propane, right? A regular tank like a gas grill uses? How long does that last you? Do you just turn it on each evening if you're going outside? I want one!!!! Where did you get it?? I've seen them for $400, is that normal? They've come down in price, as I believe they started out around $800. Thanks!!

By Fraggle on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 09:49 am:

Kate,
We have two because we have probably almost an acre in our front yard and our backyard including the woods is way over an acre. We just bought the second for the front yard this year. We have had one in the back yard for 3 years now. They have different models-the smallest covers a 1/2 acre up to the largest model which covers an acre and a half. The model we have in the front yard covers an acre-and it needs to be plugged into an outlet-it cost approx. $400 at Home Depot. The one in the backyard covers 1 1/4 acres and it uses a solar backup and does not need to be plugged into an outlet (costs over $1000-we bought ours at a store that sells swingsets). They run on propane-and need to be filled every three weeks. I can't remember how often, but they also need the octenol replaced (bug attractant), the bag that holds the dead Mosquitoes, and a new piece that I can't remember right now (DH does all of this). Thats why I said they can be expensive to maintain. We actually figured out that for the price that people in our neighborhood were paying for spraying-we were breaking even with the cost of the Mosquito Magnet (even with the cost of the propane) in just a couple of years. We start ours up as soon as the weather gets to be above freezing at night (around beginning of May) and we keep it running until the end of September or so. It runs constantly so you don't have to turn it on and off. You actually need to keep it running constantly to trap the female mosquitoes.
-Meredith

By Melanie on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 10:15 am:

We are heading back to NH in a couple weeks, and this is the one thing we are dreading!!! We have very few mosquitoes where we live, but remember well how horrible those things are. Last time we were there, poor Alec and Griffin were so upset by them. I feel for those of you dealing with them regularly!!! YUCK!!!

By Karen~moderator on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 10:28 am:

Where I live, the Parish sprays weekly, sometimes more often, during the summer months, but I've never really believed that a truck going down the middle of a road spraying a mist of toxins would really do much good.

It's amazing, sometimes you open the door at night and there are literally dozens of them swarming around just waiting for their chance to enter and feast! LOL

By Bea on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 11:32 am:

I'm surprised I'm still alive today. As kids we would follow those mosquito spray trucks, diving in and out of the fog. We had a summer house in Southern NJ and the mosquitoes there were horrible.

In Southern VA they can be pretty bad. They are telling us that this summer will be very bad because of all the water-filled-holes left after Isabel blew over so many trees. We now have the Oriental tiger mosquitoes too. They are out all day and the domestic mosquitoes all night.

By Momaroze on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 02:07 pm:

We have mosquito nets. You hang them from the ceiling, over your bed or where you want. They drape over a king sized bed. They work great. I hung a mosquito net up on the ceiling draped over my dd's play pen.

By Momaroze on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 02:08 pm:

BTW, they look nice too. Like a shear curtain.

By Janet on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 04:46 pm:

OK, what are "lovebugs?"

By Tink on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 08:19 pm:

No idea, Janet, but I was wondering, too

By Colette on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 08:24 pm:

Bea, we had one of those trucks too. We used to play hide and go seek in the "smoke".

By Pamt on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 09:19 pm:

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/2004/05/06/news/local/8599482.htm

http://home.satx.rr.com/txento/prob.htm#Lovebugs

Those are some "lovebug" links. The onslaught in the south is horrendous!!! We just finished lovebug season and this one wasn't so bad....last year was. They swarm all over in mating pairs and SPLAT on your windshield and all over the car. Their dead bodies turn corrosive and will eat your paint so you have to wash your car often. They are small, don't bite, but they just make a mess and will get all in your hair, stuck to your car, etc.

We have plenty of mosquitos too, but since they don't like me I don't think much about them. Poor DS though...his legs are covered with scabs.

By Tink on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 10:41 pm:

Wow, no skeeters or lovebugs, no monster spiders, or strange wildlife roaming through our yards! I'm glad I live in CA, gimme an earthquake anyday!

By Texannie on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 11:11 pm:

Don't forget the June bugs have arrived too!

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 07:45 am:

UGH! I know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are EVERYwhere!

Sometimes I feel like I live in Wild Kingdom for Bugs..............I guess that makes sense, since we practically live in the swamp..........

By Texannie on Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 08:29 am:

Don't they know it's still MAY!!! ;)
we prefer to call it the bayou.

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, May 26, 2004 - 01:21 pm:

Actually Annie, I call where I live *the armpit of the nation*..............