permaculture

[russell osborn <redrussellosborn@gmail.com>]

. Re: Question re mosquitoes

Bats, birds and spiders come to my mind-

Building bat boxes can be fairly inexpensive, or near free given some
resources can be reused. Getting bat's to habituate the boxes may be a
different story. Googling some designs can give you a good lead on what will
be required to construct the homes, and possibly some tactics to draw bats
in. (what else do they eat?) I remember bats were always doing figure eights
overhead when in the swimming pool at night with the light on. Perhaps a
similar 'drawing' to the underwater light, being off camp site, could lure
the bugs and bats to say, where some guano may be needed/wanted.

Birds- find species that have the mosquito craving- hunting at dusk or night
(or always). Create habitat for those near by the camps as well.

I always find spider webs between tall grass shoots. Having some 1-2 foot
rows of un-kept grass (lemon grass?) on contour above and below the camps
may be helpful, as long as fire risk is taken into consideration. Bamboo
nearer to the camps may be great for spiders, and could certainly transpire
some areas of standing water.

Researching thee life of a mosquito may lead you to a possible point of
entry to interrupt it's life cycle or habits.

I live in what was thee Great Black Swamp- so there are drainage ditches
along every road to facilitate mass grain cropping. The week the water stops
flowing to Lake Erie (mid summer), is the true beginning of blood sucker
season. The ditches are too shallow to have any fish living there, so
mosquitoes and Dragon Flies reign King. Dragon flies have very similar
habitat requirement as mosquitoes, except, I believe, a stricter range for
optimal hatching.

If the drainage ditches were dug deeper at intervals (of let's say every 100
yards), there would be a series of small ponds, and fish could be raised, or
let free to multiply, and the rest of the ditches, could be contoured to
back fill or slope into the deeper points- Allowing thee rest of the ditches
to dry, and the fish to feed freely. So- possibly dry out seasonal water
flow areas that become swampy, and create stocked ponds or wetlands.

So it seems, as I have pointed out- Proper drainage may be a vital factor.

All of the ditches here, and creek reroutes, were all dug by man and mule.
So it can be done with shovels and community with the sighted goal in aims.
Or some serious machinery and a solid plan of attack.

Wind. A slight breeze sometimes is enough to keep the bugs off your back. If
there is a prevailing wind, funnel it with triangular wind breaks to the
most used common areas of camp. Given that thee ill effects of extra breeze
are out weighed by your gain, you may have at the least several dozen
mosquito-less days a year, or better. Designing or modifying already
existing trails to be orientated with the common winds, or to place the
trail on a tree / grassland  threshold  (to allow the breeze in) may give
some alleviation for the heavy traffic paths. Although, low lying plants in
full sun should be better to travel (as far as less mosquitoes) than a dense
forest with plenty of shade. Clearing or creating holes in the wind blocking
trees on the windward side of trails perpendicular to the prevailing wind
may give you this effect also.

Finally- I'd think all herbs that are of potent smell could assist. I rarely
would get bites when I was in my garden filled with mug wort, thyme,
rosemary, lemon grass and other aromatic herbs (think local as well). I
frequently rubbed them, and picked them for use. At one time, I was eating
so much garlic, others told me I smelled of it faintly at all times. I
rarely was bitten in those days, when others were swarmed. I can attest that
the garlic dosage was quite high, and may be difficult for one to obtain or
maintain, especial if one were to be found of intimacy with non-garlic
lovers. (which was no problem, I converted many to the joys of garlic-heavy
dishes) Testing different groups of individuals at there camps, with
different combinations of herbs worn or planted heavily may give insight to
what can work there.

I hope you find some meaningful solutions in your challenge ahead of you!

-Russell Osborn
Northwest Ohio
419.705.6329