Being eaten alive.

UnknownSaint

So over the past few weeks, mosquitoes have become a common thing in my house. I live in the desert portion of Southern California, so they aren't a regular sight, except lately they are buzzing around inside my home all the time. We don't leave any outside doors open, no windows open, not even screen doors. How the hell could they be getting in, and what would be a good way to take care of the problem if they are inside? I'm only so quick with a towel-snap, and as satisfying as that is they are zerging the shit out of my house.

tldr -

I'm tired of these motherfucking mosquitoes in my motherfucking house.

Food?

Any standing water nearby, in or outside your house?

(check your basement)

UnknownSaint

Well there is a pool in the backyard, if that counts. No basements in houses around here.

OremLK

How chlorinated do you keep this pool?

Improvolone

What they're getting at is mosquitos breed in stagnant water

UnknownSaint

I understand that. The pool is clean, we've had it forever and it hasn't attracted mosquitoes before.

starmanbrand

If they are in the house, you probably have a pretty good leak somewhere that has collected water. Maybe in something in the attic? I know we have those around here, and with all the rain we have gotten lately (IE at least), it makes sense some could have collected, then the immediate warm temperatures brought on the skeeters.

Check all areas of your house for any buckets or anything that may collect stuff. Its got to be something very local if there are a high number.

TSR

Like flies, mosquitoes often get into houses by chance. I doubt there's enough standing water in your home as to allow them to breed there.

My guess is that one of your neighbors is not taking care of his/her pool. Unless there's some sort of Homeowner's Association rule against it where you're living, there isn't much you can do but put up netting and grab the Raid.

(If someone has better anti-mosquito tactics than I do, please say something ;-) )

Sam

exterminator?

Willeth

Aren't there sonic devices that you can plug into a wall socket that drives them out?

UnknownSaint

Willeth wrote: »

Aren't there sonic devices that you can plug into a wall socket that drives them out?

/shrug

Wouldn't know if there were. I'll do a bit of research on it. There are two flying around in the living room, and two in my own room that I just had to murder. This is getting silly. I've lived in this area all my life and never had a single one in any home.

Willeth

I can't speak for their effectiveness, but I'm fairly sure it's one of those sounds that are so high-pitched that adults can't hear them (it might drive children nuts, though).

UnknownSaint

Wait, what? Don't you mean it might drive animals nuts?

iTunesIsEvil

UnknownSaint wrote: »

Wait, what? Don't you mean it might drive animals nuts?

There are actually frequencies that are too high for most adults to hear, but children can hear them just fine. There's actually few examples online if ye care to be Googlin' fer 'em.

whuppins

There are such devices. They work reasonably well in the rainforest-like environs of rural southern Florida. What Willeth's getting at is that children typically have more sensitive hearing, particularly for higher frequencies, than adults do. Edit: It's been a while since I've seen one in use, but I'm pretty sure the sonic devices emit a low 'groaning' or 'humming' noise as perceived by humans. Quiet, but noticeable.

And if there are mosquitoes outside, you don't need to leave doors/windows open for extended periods of time for them to come in, especially at night. They're attracted to the light of the house and the smell of humans' breath from inside, so they tend to gather near entryways and zoom in whenever the door is opened, even if only for a second.

Coming home from work at night during coastal Florida's rainy season, I used to have to rush in the front door and immediately kill as many skeeters as I could find before going to bed, or they'd find their way into my room and munch on me all night. Even though I only had the door open for 1-2 seconds, the body count was often in the 15-20 range.

Obviously, this experience will vary depending on the density of the outdoor population, but the point is you may want to try this little routine whenever you enter the house. Turn around, and see if anybody snuck in. Having white walls in your entryway helps.

Willeth

iTunesIsEvil wrote: »

UnknownSaint wrote: »

Wait, what? Don't you mean it might drive animals nuts?

There are actually frequencies that are too high for most adults to hear, but children can hear them just fine. There's actually few examples online if ye care to be Googlin' fer 'em.

I played one at work the other day through my headphones.

People right across the office were complaining.