2009 Archives







I’ve had an ongoing battle with mosquitoes that are nesting or living in the ivy I have growing in my back yard. There is a lot of it and most is pretty thick too. Some is draped over a fence and some is on the ground. I estimate we have 3-4 thousand sq/ft and I’m wondering if the liquid treatments you have would be best because it’s so thick or if fogging would be a better solution?

Ground ivy is one of the best hiding locations for mosquitoes. Ivy can hold moisture well and provide all the ingredients needed to let mosquitoes both reproduce and stalk food.

Treating ivy is mostly dictated by where it is growing and how much of an area you need to treat. Based on what you listed above, you should be able to get good control using just a liquid concentrate that’s sprayed out with one of our Hose End Sprayers. If the ivy is on the side of a hill making it difficult to access, one of our Foggers might be the better option. You can see several models that could handle this task in our Mosquito Control Article.

Minimizing moisture in these areas could help a lot too so try and keep water to a minimum as this will certainly attract more to the area. Using Nylar with the tank mix will improve any performance of the treatment so be sure to include some to help reduce retreatments.









I’ve got asian tiger mosquitoes in my yard and they’re active most every day. Will your products work for them? Can I spray during the day and get good results?

Many species of mosquitoes will be active during the day. Though most are nocturnal or night time feeders, there are some that make a living by the light of the sun. Asian Tiger Mosquitoes will start to forage by mid morning and many times will be most active mid day. This is especially true during cloudy or overcast days. Since they prefer the protection of shade, cloudy days allow them to forage most anywhere meaning it’s harder to hide from them in open sunlit areas of the yard.

If your primary concern is the asian tiger mosquito, we recommend treating with the products in our MOSQUITO CONTROL ARTICLE early in the day. Typically the plants and vegetation will have a lot of moisture and dew which enhances the applications and allows for good transfer and coverage. As the Asian Tiger emerges it will be consumed and you should get great results. Most all of our mosquito products will dry quickly after being applied and all will be equally effective on this species compared to others.





Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:






I have a small fish pond which most of the time doesn’t have any fish. It’s not that I don’t like fish; I have tried to keep them and for awhile I was doing quite well. The problem has been that some local animal seems to like them too. He has been sneaking into my yard and eating all the fish so for now, I’ve given up trying to keep any. I’ll probably try again but for now, I’m letting it go. That’s when I noticed another problem.

Since I don’t have any fish in the water, there are thousands of mosquito larvae swimming around and I’ve noticed a huge surge in the local population around my house. I know I can’t control all of them but I don’t think breeding them in this water is smart either. Is there something I can apply to the water that won’t poison it for the fish?

Mosquito larvacide comes in many forms. We have a natural form which won’t hurt fish, birds or anything and is quite easy to apply. Known as MOSQUITO DUNKS, this product is both easy to use and effective. You’ll need to apply some at least once a month but they do work and should be able to reduce the larvae quite a bit if not completely.

Alternatively you can opt for a growth regulator like ALTOSID METHOPRENE. These granules use a chemical which prevent the larvae from being able to grow completely so their growth cycle will be effectively shortened and no biting adults will ever emerge. This product is very easy to use and very effective.

Ultimately you might opt for one of the mosquito treatment options listed in our MOSQUITO CONTROL article if you wish to get rid of them in the yard. Since they can come from so many sources, it’s many times impossible to get them all when only treating one location. That being said, I highly recommend you start with this pond since it’s such a bad problem anyway.


I live in a damp moist river bottom where mosquitoes seem to thrive. I’ve read that fogging for mosquitoes is quite effective and I’m thinking about getting a machine that can handle about 1/2 acre. Do I need to get the backpack fogger or will one of your electric models do the job?

This is really a matter of preference. No doubt one of our medium sized foggers like the FM6208 or the FM6309 would do the job. But you will have to drag the power cord around the yard as you work. I don’t know the lay of your land so it’s hard for me to judge if this will be a problem or not. Our BACKPACK FOGGER is much easier to use and over time would save time and energy so it might be worth the extra start up costs. We have other models which can be seen in our MOSQUITO FOGGING CONROL page.

Fogging for mosquitoes is an effective way to control local populations. I have learned that once they’re under control I only have to fog every 10-14 days and if it remains dry like it’s been in the Southeast for the past two years, I can go 3 weeks in between treatments. Besides saving a lot of time, I’m able to treat the same area with a lot less chemical so in the long run, fogging is a good way to treat your home for most any pest.







We have several concentrates that could work for your situation. Based on the size of the sprayer you have, I would say the ESFENVALERATE would be a good option. It only needs a little bit to go long way when treating the turf for  mosquitoes. We also have some other “spray” options that can be seen in our MOSQUITO CONTROL article on line. My only concern is that spraying such a large area will take some time. Furthermore, it will not be as efficient compared to fogging.

I strongly recommend you read through our article to see the other options. Once you learn about other treatment options – specifically fogging – I think you might consider getting a fogger to do the work. Fogging is very effective, much easier to do and uses a lot less chemical over time. I can treat my 1/2 acre yard in 5-10 minutes using our BACK PACK FOGGER. It’s very efficient and totally portable. And it saves on chemical usage as well. But it’s not the only fogger that can do the job; we have several featured in our MOSQUITO FOGGING section.






It seems like there are a lot of mosquitoes nesting in my grass. I water it a lot since I use well water and I notice when I go out there mosquitoes are everywhere. I thought they need water like a pond or lake to breed but now I’m thinking they might be living in the grass. Is this possible?

Absolutely. There are several mosquitoes that commonly lay eggs above lakes or ponds. There are others that lay eggs on the ground. The key is that most all do need some amount of water but the amount produced by watering your grass just once a week could be enough. If you are watering 2 or more times a week, there definitely is enough to allow several of the species listed in our MOSQUITO CONTROL ARTICLE to both live and reproduce in your grass.

If you suspect this is the problem area, you’ll need to either spray or fog as explained in our article to get the infestation under control. Mosquitoes breeding in these open areas can be controlled with the right coverage so be sure to treat all your grass and mulch in order to reach their nests. MOSQUITO SPRAYING can be done efficiently if the yard is fairly small. For any yard 1/2 acre or larger, you’ll do a much better job doing some MOSQUITO FOGGING. It just uses chemicals more efficiently and over time will save both time and money. That being said, both options are very productive on mosquitoes.


I have read your amazing site and it seems you have all bases covered if I want to treat for mosquitos. Problem is I can’t decide what would be best for me!! Is there a simple answer for someone that has .5 to .75 of an acre? About half the yard is open and the other half is filled with ground cover like ivy and shrubs. I know I won’t be able to control all the mosquitos in the neighborhood but if I can just be able to go outside and not get eaten (or my dogs for that matter) I would be happy. Any help here would be appreciated.

Sorry for the confusion; there are a lot of options and it just gets more confusing all the time with new products coming and going. Fortunately for our customers we do all the “leg work” to find out which ones are best suited for their situation. Based on the information you sent us listed above, here is what I would recommend.

I have a yard similar to what you’re describing. I use the BACK PACK FOGGER with nothing but BIFEN in it and I only have to fog once every 2 weeks. It controls everything from mosquitos to ants to roaches to gnats. I could probably treat even less frequently but because we’ve been getting so much rain (and I live on a big river), there is a lot of bug pressure so I don’t want to give them a chance to get established. Over the years twice a month applications seem to keep them at bay whether it’s dry or wet so that’s the routine I stick to and I never have a problem.

Do you have to get a Back Pack Fogger to do this work? Definitely not. For me, it just saves so much time and works so well, it has paid for itself over the years for sure. It only takes me 10-12 minutes to do the entire property and I’m even spraying every side of my house which is almost 50 feet tall in some areas. The point I’m making is that I’m able to walk freely, misting and blowing my yard clean, as I treat it for all kinds of bugs. One of our ELECTRIC FOGGERS would do the same thing but it would take longer for you to get the job done. Spraying would take even longer and over time, you’d probably not keep it up like you will fogging. Additionally, the foggers use almost half as much chemical and get so much better coverage that again, you’ll get better results with less effort and chemical.

One other thing worth mentioning. In the past year, we started selling a food grade fogging compound known as ECO IC which has turned out to work quite well too. It won’t last as long and I’m not sure you’ll be able to go 2 weeks between treatments but we have been selling it for two years and it works for sure. If you are at all hesitant about using the Bifen, the ECO would be a great alternative option that does in fact work well. Hope this helps!





I’ve been seeing mosquitoes in my lawn and it looks like they’re nesting in the grass. Is this possible? I do water the lawn every other night but i thought they needed water to breed?

They do need water to breed but it doesn’t have to be standing water like a lake or pond. In fact, the water which accumulates in the lawn following a good rain or water sprinkle cycle can many times be enough to make them happy. First they’ll move in for shelter and if the good conditions persist, they’ll start reproducing for sure.

Mosquito lawn treatment is easy since the area is wide open and usually accessible. We’ve got many methods detailed in our MOSQUITO CONTROL ARTICLE including liquid spraying and fogging. ESFENVALERATE works well, is easy to apply and covers a large area. If you prefer something organic, go with the MOSQUITO KILLER RTS. It won’t last as long as the Esfenvalerate but it does work and it comes with it’s own hose end sprayer. Be sure to treat any ground cover which may be harboring mosquitoes as well. Mosquitoes will flock to anything moist and many species only need a drop of water to survive so there are a lot of plants which can serve as fertile areas for them to reproduce.

If you have a large area to treat, you’ll find one of the Fogging solutions mentioned in our artilce will prove to be more effective and efficient for lawn treating. In the long run, you’ll use a lot less chemical and save a bunch of time as well. Fogging will work on the structure, in the lawn or on any plant growth as well.