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Topic: Misquitoes Bug Me (Read 3 times) previous topic - next topic
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Misquitoes Bug Me
Yahoo Message Number: 20206
On a recent trp to Sea Rim State Park in Texas my wife and I were shocked to find dozens of misquitoes in our 23.5 T/K.  All vents, doors, and windows were closed.  How did they get in?  Any ideas?  We really don't like to sleep with a LD full of biting bugs!

Allen
Re: Mosquitoes Bug Me
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20238
Allen, They got in the same way you did! Through the doors when you opened them to go in or out. They often will land on or near the door and when you go in or out so do they.

Mike
Re: Mosquitoes Bug Me
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20243
Allen,

I know you said all the windows and vents were closed so this probably wasn't how they got in.  I want to point out though that the regular vents, usually in the bathroom and in the middle of the coach, have a large space around the handle that would allow battalions of mosquitos to enter.  We replaced one of those with a 2nd fantastic fan which doesn't have an opening like that and we rarely open the remaining one.

Jonna
Re: Misquitoes Bug Me
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20256
I grew up in Minnesota, where the mosquito is the "other state bird" - because of how big they are! Mosquitos fly in squadrons!!! They are faster than a speeding jet, trickier than an international spy - they will get in through ANY opening, even ones you and Mother Ship claim are not there! They rest on parts of your hair, body and clothes where you can not see them, and get a free ride inside that way... How to avoid this? When you find out, let me know! All kidding aside, those coils you burn that smell bad near any openings (on the outside if possible) really seem to deter them. Get a couple of citronella candles too...

Good luck!

Linda
Re: Misquitoes Bug Me
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20257
I grew up in Minnesota, where the mosquito is the "other state bird" - because of how big they are! Mosquitos fly in squadrons!!! They are faster than a speeding jet, trickier than an international spy - they will get in through ANY opening, even ones you and Mother Ship claim are not there! They rest on parts of your hair, body and clothes where you can not see them, and get a free ride inside that way... How to avoid this? When you find out, let me know! All kidding aside, those coils you burn that smell bad near any openings (on the outside if possible) really seem to deter them. Get a couple of citronella candles too...

Good luck!

Linda
Re: Misquitoes Bug Me - Anyone tried Coleman mosquito trap ?
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20262
I have read that Coleman (of camping lantern and camp stove fame) now makes a mosquito trap that uses warmth, carbon dioxide, and scent as a lure.

The link is: http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/prod_subcategory.asp? SourcePage=prod_list.asp&CategoryID=21560

You will have to copy/paste this long link to your browser address line.

Has anyone tried one of these in the area outside your RV? What is you opinion of its effectiveness? Thank you for sharing your experience.
 Coleman provides quite a bit of information including test data which I did not understand.
 An internet search also shows that there is a recall on these units.
 Our experience is that John Pennekamp State Park in the Florida Keys, would be a challenging test for these units. They do not spary for mosquitoes from aircraft at this state park as they do in rest of the Keys.  It keeps things very natural (high concentration of mosquitoes.)

Ken, Patty and little Stephanie in San Diego '03 26.5 MB Blue on order
 
Re: Anyone tried Coleman mosquito trap ?
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20285
I haven't tried it but know people that did and they said it was OK but not great. They did recall them but I see they are now advertising them again and don't know if they improved them and fixed the recall problems or what the story is. I think they started a few fires and that was the reason for recall. I also saw some independent test data by UF and they didn't rate it very well but that was last year so it may have been improved, don't know!

I do know that the ones they sell at some of the mail order places like Frontgate and Home Depot, Mosquito Magnet, do work and very well. The US government and military uses them in tropical places and they got very good test results from the UF and USDA studies. I've also seen them at work in the southwest Florida area at our timeshare and other places. This is in the area near the Everglades and in the real swampy part of Fl and if you can eliminate them there I think it would work anywhere. Those are much bigger though and these places used the Pro model. They range in price from about $300-over a grand depending on model and if it requires electric and propane or just propane to run. Frontgate has a one-year risk free guarantee on them- no questions asked! Return it in 13 months for full refund if it fails to meet your expectations.
 There is also a new brand with an electric model out now that claims better results and uses low frequency sound to mimic heartbeats that they claim also attracts them to prey beside CO2 and octenol. That one I also haven't any first hand experience with. This one is called the Sonic-Web (about $300).

Another that has been on CBS and got great reviews from the USDA is the Mega-Catch. Again I have no first hand experience with it. It was touted as better than the Mosquito Magnet Pro that previously was the best tested. It is an electric powered unit operated on 12v 3amps through an adapter and costs between $600-1000 depending on model.

In the studies I've seen done by independent research labs the only ones that really worked well were the more expensive models. You get what you pay for! Figuring a single bite could end up costing much more in terms of your health these days investing in one is not a bad idea. You do need to set them up properly in the right place for them to work well though. That's the tricky part!

Mike