Propane fogger

[JStang314]

With the creeks coming up over the banks a lot this year, the bugs at my house are freaking horrible. im thinking of getting one of those foggers. Mine are mostly gnats that attack my face and cause me to slap the crap out of myself. Anyone use these? Off and tiki torches don't seem to effect them. Thought maybe killing everything in my back yard would keep them away for a while at least.

 

[spencer rifle]

Of course OFF doesn't work - it doesn't have enough DEET. You wanna keep the insects away? You should have 30 to 50% DEET. Our area mosquitoes don't respect anything less. If you fog, you'll be killing beneficial and predatory insects as well. And more unwanted insects will just take their place from surrounding territory

Are these biting gnats or just irritants?

 

[JStang314]

Mostly just irritants. That want to land all over my head and in my ears. It's to the point that being outside sucks and I love being outside

 

[bulletsmith]

I love my fogger! It's not a permanent solution, but you can get 4 hours of relief when you need it. It also doesn't involve slathering toxic chemicals on your body. Be careful with the stronger versions of deet. I used 100% and failed to read the directions. My skin was on fire!

 

[JStang314]

Temporary is fine with me. It's usually not this bad here but we've had so much water come up in the yard this year. Also with the rain and my work schedule my grass hasn't been cut as often as I would like. I'm on 10 acres so there's plenty of room for these damn things besides my back yard when I want to play with my kids.

Bulltsmith what hat fogger do you have? I was thinking of getting the propane burgess

 

[Cameramonkey]

And note DEET is VERY caustic to plastics. I ruined a watch with high deet repellent. It got all melty and sticky. Keep it away from your tupperware guns!

 

[bulletsmith]

Propane Burgess here. The juice is sometimes hard to find. This year I found a Black Flag version at lowes.

 

[JStang314]

Sounds like that's going to be my solution until gnat season lets up

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

+1 on Burgess and Black Flag.

 

[dmbowditch]

Anyone have concerns with fogging with little kids ( 6, 4, 11 months around)? I don't own one, but also considering a fogger as the mosquitos in our area are unbelievable at this time. Anyone else have any other ideas besides fogging or deet. I don't like what Deet does to your skin, and hate having to shower to get it off \

 

[bulletsmith]

As is logical, I would suggest reading the label before using. In my experience though, I find that once the "fog" has dissipated there is not smell. Though I don't think I would fog with people in the area, regardless of their age.

 

[fullauto 45]

I use a fogger a couple of times a year on the yard. Hard to find a good morning or evening when there is no breeze so it settles in good. I have a Burgess and use the Black Flag stuff from Lowes and it works great. I also spray it under the deck before a party. I open the access door and fill it full. No more spiders and what nots crawling around.

 

[tmschuller]

I do my barn, shed, storage shed and garage. Works great. Dad used to have one and we pppplayed in ttttthe fffffog allllthe time and it neveer affffected memmemmememememeememmeeme.

 

[ghuns]

Never used a fogger, but I go nuts with a 30 gallon pull behind sprayer as well as a 3 gallon hand sprayer loaded up with this...



It ain't cheap, but between this and a little liquid Sevin, which is cheap, you kill everything. Flies, mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, ants, gnats, etc.

The kids have pigs and steers for 4H, Tempo is the best fly control stuff I have found. I have seen dairy farms apply it with a huge fan that has a couple of nozzles that drip in front of it. That kinda like a fogger.

 

[eldirector]

Tagging for interest. I may have to pick up some sort of fogger/sprayer as well. It has gotten to the point that we don't even go outside on nice days. If you work in the flower beds or garden, you stir up whole clouds of mosquitoes. 100% DEET seems to be an attractant!

 

[spencer rifle]

Here's the data sheet for it - highly toxic to bees and aquatic life, and the cautions section indicates it is also toxic to humans in sufficient quantity. Couldn't find LD50 data.
http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld2JM007.pdf

I have personally tested DEET against various alternatives in the most mosquito-infested place in northeast Indiana. It is the only thing that worked. And it will do a job on binoculars if you aren't careful. Permethrin-treated clothing is quite effective, without the melty risks.

 

[ghuns]

Here's the data sheet for it - highly toxic to bees and aquatic life, and the cautions section indicates it is also toxic to humans in sufficient quantity. Couldn't find LD50 data.
http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld2JM007.pdf

I wouldn't drink it straight, that's for sure.

And it's not like I'm using this anymore...



Ah, the good ole days.

But if you want mosquitoes and flies dead, not much does it better than Tempo. It's also death to those stinking webworms that try to infest my walnut and apple trees.

To minimize the effects on bees, I spray late in the evening. I also avoid spraying in the flower beds unless I see something is eating stuff. The neighboring property to mine is a blueberry farm and they keep bees so I try not to kill too many.

I have found that if I go with a heavy treatment to the yard, early in the year, then spray again with the lower concentration every fews weeks, I never have to spray the flower beds and the perimeter of the house.

When I was a kid, my dad worked for a chemical company. He used to mix up a cocktail of Dursban, Malathion, Isotox, etc. All that stuff said right on the bottles, DO NOT MIX WITH ANY OTHER PRODUCT! When I pointed that out, he said, shut up kid and don't tell your mom. I'm sure it wasn't an environmentally friendly thing to do or great for our health, but it was like there was a wall around our yard. We had to go out into the fields just to catch lightning bugs.

 

[JStang314]

I did end up getting the fogger and black flag. For the post with concerns with children, it is said to be completely safe once the fog dissipates. It does work but is temporary. Maybe a few hours. But that is much better than nothing. I've done it a few times a few minutes before we head outside and it makes it much more enjoyable to be outside.

 

[Zoub]

I bought my first fogger about 20 years ago because of West Nile virus. My 20 year old daughter appears to be normal so no worries there.

I started using Permethrin concentrate 20 years ago, we are still here.

I also try not to kill beneficial bugs so I have a few steps I follow. One is I fog after dark and early in the morning before Sun up. Fog bushes, under decks, vehicles, anything they can go in or under. Spray those same areas with permethrin during the day. Be advised, if you spray window screens that are near lit Windows, they may end up covered in dead bugs. That is good and bad. I don't spray permethrin on any flowering plants so as not to swap bees and butterflies. I dont fog much by day because we have tons of dragonflies but I never see dead ones either.

Keep your grass short. That is #1. Reduce plants and foliage by the house. We live in a wetlands/forest bog by a river in Wisconsin. Cut your grass short. I cut every 4 days.

For next year you guys should add plants skeeters don't like.

In 2013 up here was the worst year I had seen in 40 years of living and vacationing up north. Some loggers were using thermacells in the woods daily. We bought a couple. They are magic. This year the bugs are way down and I can get by without using deet as long as I have a hat on to block the horse flies. When I want to sit out back and fish or chill, the thermacells do the trick.

It does help to wear light colored clothing. Permethrin on clothes and hats.

 

[Zoub]

One more thing. In 2013 we also bought a pair of warrior supreme bug zapper rackets. These are not flimsy POS ripoffs. If you want, I will do a video going Bruce Lee with one outside tomorrow clearing out the screen shelter.

All I really need are Glocks, Thermacells and these rackets.