OK guys, this is starting to get out of hand...

I don't know how these b@stards are getting in here, but it's gotta stop. I don't see any standing sources of water outside my place, yet there seem to be tons outside. And somehow they're getting in. So I need something I can safely use inside which won't hurt me (or my pets) and yet will keep them away. (It doesn't need to kill them necessarily, just keep them at bay.)

Everything I've seen seems designed for outdoor use. Anything I can safely use inside?

P.S. ... just to make life even more pleasant, I seem to be one of the people who attracts these bastidges like crazy... I can't go outdoors for any length of time without them attacking me en masse...

---

Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Window Screens.

BGnR

---

"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

BGnR, I don't have any open windows!

I'm guessing they're getting in through the doors when I open and close, and/or cracks/spaces in the doorjams. The weird thing is that some of these suckers are the huge type that typically don't bite you but look nasty (I'm not sure if these are actually mosquitos or some other type of fly, but I'm sure you can guess which ones I mean)... don't know how those guys are getting in.

---

Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

craneflies maybe. anyway, try some of those pest strips maybe?

Bug Zapper?

Actually I googled it and found this:

[www.nextag.com]

Are there any unused drains where they may be breeding?

If you are serious about getting rid of them, the best solution is an automatic spray dispenser loaded with a product called Konk. (Like the air fresheners you see in public bathrooms.) I believe there are hand held aerosol cans as well- maybe Konk Too? Overall, it is a very safe product that can be used even in food preparation facilities, but since you have pets make sure to read the label. In general, if your pets are all mammals then there is little to worry about.

Also look at products containing deltamethrin. It is a good indoor/outdoor general insecticide and is generally safe. If you choose something like this, then make sure you apply it outside around all the doors and windows and near lights. Basically, anywhere you think bugs might land. Remember, mosquitoes are attracted to heat and moisture.

My first choice would be Konk.

---

BT


Signed parental releases are on file for all tattooed minors.

This won't cure your problem, but it may help some (plus it smells nice). We used to have lots of mosquitoes around the front door of old house, and my wife read that mint plants repel the little bastids. We put a few potted mint plants on the porch and bingo, no more mosquitoes.

ArtP, that link doesn't work for me...

I am beginning to think of one of those bug zappers that is made for the indoors. I'm not sure I'd want anything which is spraying aerosols inside the house.

Yes, the big guys are craneflies. I had forgotten what they were called. Remember, I am at the center of heat and moisture here!

---

Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

I guess I am the only one who recommends finding out how they get in and blocking it off. Obviously, if it is through the front door you can't do much about it. But if there is an opening somwhere else in your house, it would be a very good idea to seal it up.

Quote
C(-)ris
I guess I am the only one who recommends finding out how they get in and blocking it off.

Did you even read my post?

BGnR

---

"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

Quote
C(-)ris
I guess I am the only one who recommends finding out how they get in and blocking it off.

Well, I took this:

Quote
PeterB
I don't know how these b@stards are getting in here

as meaning that he had already looked for holes. Otherwise, why ask for help?

---

BT


Signed parental releases are on file for all tattooed minors.

Yes, I have already looked for holes -- I don't see any, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. (The only ones I do see-- as I mentioned, there are cracks around some of the doorjams, which I noticed mostly from a heating/cooling perspective, and which I will be trying to fix.) I will look again just to be sure. I do have one broken window which is sealed over with cardboard because my landlord hasn't fixed it, but I doubt that's where they're getting in. Mostly I think it's from whenever the doors are opened.

---

Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Plant mint (as suggested earlier), eucalyptus and citronella plants around the house or in pots inside the house.

Here's a Google search with tons of other ideas: [www.google.com]

You have an infestation, the bugs are coming from the inside, not the outdoors.
Do you have lots of pets?
Really, move your pets out and have the place fumigated.

BGnR

---

"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

BGnR, no, not an infestation. If you go outside here (you do know where "here" is, don't you?) you see that the outdoors is teeming with all kinds of buggies-- the inside is comparatively fine, it's just the occasional mosquito (which is nonetheless annoying). Fumigation is not an option. Flyswatter does the trick most of the time, it's just that it would be nice to have something indoors which keeps them from coming in. I was also thinking along the lines of one of those ultrasonic gadgets... but that might kill the hammies' ears. Also I wonder if they still make some of those pheromone-based traps. Along the "fly zapper" lines, I've just seen these:

[www.mosquito-zapper.com]
[www.amazon.com]

---

Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Also check:

1. All drains (which should have traps/airlocks). Should have water in them.
Water should be either completely replaced frequently (kitchen sink, toilet, shower/bath) by normal usage,
or should be periodically flushed and/or dosed with bleach.

2. All vents (fans) to outside (stove,fireplace,bathroom). All should have screens.

3. Put door sweeps on bottoms of all doors to outside.

4. Check refrigerator/freezer drip pan for standing water. Drain and/or dose w/bleach.

5. Air conditioners should be tilted so that their drip pans will drain to the outside.

6. Exterior gutters should drain completely, no standing water.

YMMV

---

=DH
Donkey (Ye Olde Farte of ye Internette) Hotay is a Tilted Windmill® enterprise.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2007 03:22PM by Donkey Hotay.

DH, that's good advice. Of the things you mentioned, the ones that I didn't think of:

1) I have some fireplaces (never used)... I am not sure how these work in terms of ventilation... they're gas fireplaces.

2) Exterior gutters-- I am pretty sure these are full and need to be cleared. Not my responsibility, as I am renting.

As you can tell, I have a pretty much "do-nothing" landlord...

---

Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

The fireplaces, gas and wood, vent to the outside. If the screen on top is damaged, that is a potential for them @#$%& to get in.

Carm