Mosquito Infestation

Tim76

Anybody else experiencing an infestation of mozzies this September (culex pipiens I think, see pic).

I’ve had to swat around 20 a day since the weekend, mainly in the bedroom or on suite.

Any advice on how to get rid of the little b*stards would also be much appreciated!

https://imgur.com/a/Na93NZX

jmkennedyie

Haven't noticed.
Remove any buckets/barrels/plastic with stagnant water near your house.

If a recurring thing, encourage natural insect eaters. Bats, spiders, birds like swallows, house martens, swifts, maybe pied wagtails, ...

Tim76

Did a stagnant water cull out the back this morning so hopefully that should help. My neighbour's gutters are a disgrace though and I'd say water could be ponding up there.

I've encouraged a few spiders alright, there's 4 or 5 of them hanging around the house getting fat as fools - I don't want an "old lady who swallowed the fly" situation developing though.

How would I attract a few birds? - of the winged variety

jmkennedyie

Yep, crappy gutters a possibility.

Nest boxes for insect eaters e.g. pied wagtail, spotted flycatcher, house martin, swift might help but tricky to attract the latter three and those three only here for summer. Bat boxes maybe.

Most insect specialists sleep in (bats) or head off to Africa for winter as most insects not active in low temps.

kifi

Lots around my house, im in the east of the country

Tim76

I'm south-west.

Don't know if it was my genocidal killing rampage with the fly swatter or my destruction of every water receptacle in the garden that did the trick but there have been very few the past couple of days. Still getting the odd straggler but i'd say that could be it until next September.