From the threads you posted it may even depend on the variety of mosquito we have. God does have a strange sense of humor what with mosquitoes and all those nerves we have in our teeth eh?
Yes, the type of mosquito will play into the equation.
This from a man I call a skeeter expert-
What you are seeing likely are floodwater/temporary pool breeders in the genus Aedes (sensu latum; this genus now has been split by raising several former subgenera to genus status - you can thank one of my former Army colleagues for this...). As a general rule, these mosquitoes lay their eggs in depressions where water will accumulate, rather than actually on water. Then, when the area floods, either from rainfall or from overflowing streams, the eggs hatch and you get a nice brood of mosquitoes. See https://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/sp14.htm for an example. Additionally, the eggs of several species exhibit a phenomenon called batch hatching, whereby only a certain percentage actually hatch after a flooding event, the rest remaining in a dormant state. Then, if the pool dries up and subsequently refloods, another portion will hatch, and so on. Some have been known to go through up to seven such cycles before hatching. Obviously, this is a goodsurvival strategy in situations where the necessary resource (water) may be too ephemeral for them to complete their development. Adults of some of these species, especially the aptly named Aedes vexans, will fly long distances from their larval development sites. Usually, it is container breeders such as Aedes (now Stegomyia) aegypti and Aedes (now Ochlerotatus) triseriatus that stick close to their breeding sites.
I think one's best bet is to eliminate any stagnant water. Don't leave water bowls for pets outside, drip trays to plants and bird baths need to be dumped and refilled daily, kiddie pools should have dunks added to them, and be on the look out for old tires, buckets and anything that can hold water.
From the skeeter expert-
- Even a little water, much less than a gallon can hatch thousands
of the little 'buggers.
- Even though they aren't strong flyers warm summer breezes can blow
them miles.
I suspect the Garlic Spray may provide temporary relief but I don't know that any one "fix" is going to work.
For me; I go with bug sprays containing DEET, the elimination of all stagnant water, daily re-filling of birdbaths, mosquito dunks in everything warranting same, and bat houses carefully designed to accommodate the species of bat indigenous to my area. If it got really out of control here,
I'd probably try the Garlic Spray if you personally tell me it affords some relief. Right about now, they've completely stopped spraying for mosquitoes around here because it was learned more were just blowing in and the chemicals they were spraying were toxic. The Garlic Spray is no where in the league of what they used to spray around here.
The mysterious bat disease is a major cause for concern for me personally. I don't want anything to happen to my babies so I'm watching that situation very carefully.