Aside from the obvious of eliminating any and all sources of egg hatching, open, still water, for a goodly distance there is little that will keep the adults from hanging around, without spraying such broad spectrum poisons that all the beneficial insects are also killed off. The best defense for you is to dress, long pants and shirt sleeves, to keep the adult female mosquitoes off you.
It was once thought that mosquitoes would not fly very far from the place they hatched, but recent research indicates tht was wrong and they will travel quite far to find some blood to keep the species going.

Abby,

Kimmsr's advice about dressing protectively is good. Also, mosquitoes don't like full sunshine, so if you gather your vegetables during full sunlight, the mosquitoes shouldn't be as much of a problem.

Here in Maine, black flies are a problem during the day and mosquitoes attack at night. During the evening, you can be attacked by both. Last year I used some Off PowerPad Lanterns to keep the mosquitoes at bay while I worked in the garden on cloudy days or in the evening. They worked fairly well, but they are fairly expensive to use, because the candles and the "power pads" last only a few hours. And, as your work moves around the garden, you need to move the lantern around with you, because the protected zone is only about 15 feet from the lantern.

MM

I usually do wear long sleeves and pants, but somehow they manage to get inside my clothing. I've tried going out in the midday heat to avoid the mosquitoes, but because the rows between my plants are so dense, it doesn't make much of a difference. I've heard that dragonflies eat mosquitoes, and I occasionally see them in my yard, but not in enough numbers to make much of an impact...

Have you tried mosquito repellants? Products containing DEET perform best in research studies.

Bats and some birds eat mosquitoes. However, evidence is poor that you can reduce your mosquito problem by encourging nesting of these insectivores.

if you don't go the chemical route, put up houses for Martins, they will decimate a mosquito population quickly.

as for me, i liberally apply Malathion to every tree, bush, plant, and shrub in my lawn and garden. i also spray down the sides of the house and anywhere else they congregate. since we have rice fields nearby, i cannot get rid of them, but i can at least fight them tooth and nail!

Hmmm... Martin houses sound like a good idea. I've been planning to put some up anyway. Thanks for the help everyone!

The misuse of an organophosphate pesticide in that manner is not only physically dangerous to you and anyone (and anything) that comes into contact with your environment, but is highly irresponsible.

Organophosphates have a serious affect on the nervous system. That can mean immediate health issues for someone who's liver function is compromised in any way. This list includes the very young and the aged, pregnant women, anyone taking one of the zillions of meds that affect the liver function, anyone exposed to cholinesterase inhibiting chemicals on a regular basis (pesticides), etc.

Misuse of this chemical (and others) can put you and your family into a situation where the body will reach that very fragile point in which it can no longer continue to recover from chemical exposure. Healthy liver function is what protects us....chronic exposure can result in a liver that no longer reacts the way we need it to.

It can happen in the blink of an eye, but the damage is incurred over a long period of time. Trust me, you don't want to live that way.

One of the major problems with mosquito control is the overuse of very broad spectrum poisons to control them. These things, malathion is one, kill every insect, good or bad, including those that would, if they were around, consume many mosquitoes. These poisons also adversly affect the life of the birds that use mosquitoes as food, and those bats too. As Rhizo points out so well the adverse affects on human health are also a good reason to not use them.

until you live in the MS delta, you have never SEEN mosquitos. chemicals are the ONLY way to control them. they literally come in clouds, wave after wave. the county and cities spray continuously, but that only helps for a day or two.

how the heck is spraying the areas that they congregate misuse? THAT IS USING AS DIRECTED. read the label. yes, i have mixed it strong before, but having seen no better results now it is used at the recommended rate.

there is a new system out that uses pyrethrum which is a natural bug repellant. i am not sure if it is an insecticide or just repels them, but i have been to several places that have the systems and they work for ALL bugs. for me it is cost prohibitive right now, at around 5k to put the system in and almost 200.00 a month for the pyrethrum. maybe in a couple years, but for now it is malathion and when i can find it, a mix of malathion and diazinon.

i do wear a mask when spraying, and NO ONE is allowed in the sprayed areas overnight. onc eit dries it is perfectly safe to enter the area. as to the fruits and veggies, read the label and do not spray them without waiting the proper amount of time before harvest as recommended.

I'm glad that you seem to be taking some proper care when using this very hazardous chemical. By the way, diazinon has been out of the market for some time.

yep, but you can still find it in places. last time i was able to get it was a couple years ago, but i have not looked since then either. The lowes store here only opened in 2004, and that is where i bought it. Walmart had it then as well. If i really want it, or something just as powerful, i can get it from any number of ag services around here.

I assume that you know that you would be breaking Federal law if you used diazinon in that manner. As would the 'any number of ag services' around there that would sell it to you.

see the link below, SALES had to stop at RETAILERS to CONSUMERS. it is STILL legal to use what you have. If someone gives you theirs, you CAN use it.

Here is a link that might be useful: direct to EPA.

I'm fully aware of that. You said that you could get it from any number of ag. services. That's what I meant to stress, NOT how you might spray it all over your property.

I see no positive value coming out of our difference of opinion. You'll continue to use the strongest chemicals you can get your hands on...and I will continue to think that it's a terrible thing to do! ;-) My motives go much deeper than you are aware of, but I can recognize that it's no point to try to do any convincing.

Let's agree that each other's opinions strikes the other's out and end this pointless dialog.

agreed.

and to clear the air, i did not mean i could purchase it, but i can get it.

There's a plant called the Peacock plant that's used in folk medicine to repell mosquitos. I used it for years. You can even rub it on your skin. I use to have four of them growing in pots. I would brush against them when I was in the yard and it deterred them pretty well. Of course I let others know and the plants dissapeared. Their in the Geranium family.

I will probably get at least one indignant response but I will attest to the mosquito repellant quality of citronella oil. I do not know from which plant it is extracted but when applied to exposed skin it made life bearable at twilight time. Long ago and far away, mosquitoes were so bad that individuals would walk around with their personal smoke pot for about an hour after the sun went down. Smoke is a good repellant. We wore light colored hats and clothes, long pants and long sleeved shirts so that it was necessary to apply the oil to hands and faces only: we slept under mosquito nets and many died from malaria. Citronella oil works or I might not be writing this today.

citronella works to an extent, but not always. we get them so bad around here that even with multiple citronella lamps and pots burning in a circle around us they will come in.

heaven forbid if we get a flooding rain in june, you cannot go outside at dark the rest of the summer.

the MOST effective way i have found, though not quite affordable yet, is a home spraying system which uses pyrethrium. the price is around 5k for my house, then 150-200 a month after that. but it works, not jus tfor mosquitos but ALL insects. and it is non toxic. the spray is just a natural extract from chrysanthemum or something, i can't remember exactly. you can turn the system off manually if you are going to be outside during a shcedule spray cycle, but even if you don't it won't hurt you.

And therein lies a problem! As far as I know, the Company sets up a system that disperses a fog automatically and regularly. Whatever chemical is used must have a label; and I find it hard to believe that the EPA would approve a labelling to allow such indiscriminate application of a product - no matter how benign.

And pyrethums (and related chemicals) aren't even benign! These pesticides are extremely toxic to our dwindling population of honey bees and all other benefical insects, as well as soil organisms and aquatic animals.