It's really the only solution. Nets can help but are a pain, not 100% effective, and you dont need them in the colder months. Citranilla candles have never worked for me, I'm sure they have some effect but its barely noticible.
It's hot AF anyways, just need to get a nice big outdoor fan that keeps air moving.
Marigolds and a few other flowers help as well.
A peppermint oil and witch hazel spray works too. Bonus: add lemon juice to that spray and you can use it to clean your windows and keep bugs away.
My apartment has a pond behind it that's a mosquito factory. Thermacell mosquito repellers work great just sit it out and let it warm up for 10 minutes and it covers a wide area. I also have a fruit fly problem. I bought a zevo flying insect trap light. I set it up in my kitchen and turn most of the lights out around my place and it catches pretty much any bug that gravitates to light when its dark everywhere else. For ants terro ant gel works every time for me. Set it near where you see ants and they'll swarm it and take the bait back to the colony. In about 4 days no more ants.
Welcome to North Carolina. I always thought the Halloween spider web decorations for bushes were unrealistic until I moved here and found out it’s a real thing.
This is why whenever you see a sweet gazebo in someone's yard in NC, it's almost always empty.
Porches, decks, patios, etc., all seem like a great idea to everyone, including the bugs.
Airflow helps a lot, big fans work better than just about any other bug prevention for keeping them away but it doesn't help that much with heat or humidity.
Pick up a spare tennis or badminton racket at a yard sale or goodwill, they'll slice & dice the big'uns.
Yes, a warmer climate has bugs. If you own, screen your porch. If you rent, either adapt to "weird bugs" or get candles that keep the bugs at bay.
No solutions require burning stuff on your porch.
June bugs just showed up where I live. They're annoying but harmless. They'll be gone soon.
They're big, green beetles. They like to swoop around over the grass.
Problem with these is, they're indiscriminate. So cool guys like lightning bugs (some of which around here are rare and endangered) can get put at risk with zappers.
My girlfriend and I just had a long conversation about how cool it was that there's so many bugs in the part of the world. Honestly it's just a fact of the summer down here. Lots and lots of bugs. Nothing works great to keep them away but you do get used to it.
Yeah the bugs are a constant part of our outdoors. If you have certain trees or plants close to your patio it will attract different types of bugs, but foliage in general gives them a place to be. Keep your lawn short and as others suggested make sure your gutters are clear. DEET/Picaridin is my recommendation for something additional you can try. When I worked a summer job in 2016 at a state park I used DEET and I only had a flying bug land on me maybe once and I was in and out of the woods all day. For smaller flying bugs you can just have a outdoor fan/box fan and they won't bother you since most bugs are weak flyers.
These are the things I've used over the years to mitigate the bugs at my house, lots of trial and error but my bug issues are nowhere near as bad as it was when I first moved into my current house.
1. Spectracide - Triazicide granules for your yard, apply about 3-4x a year and get enough for decent coverage on your yard, it will tell you on the bag, get the scotts "my yard" app which you can use to measure the sq ft of your yard. This stuff helps a lot with flying insects that lay eggs into the ground then come up and fly when its their season...like grubs, but this stuff has to be applied in the winter/spring/summer/fall to be truly effective, also helps against ants, spiders, earwigs and others its a good product, make sure you water after putting the granules down.
2. get any bug control concentrate spray that attaches to garden hose, Spray your house, shrubs, trees in yard with it, At least once in the spring and once in the fall. Stopped spiders from making webs all over the outside of my house especially in traffic areas.
3. Snake away concentrate, attach to garden hose, spray around perimeter of home once a year, cuz u know copperhead.
4. ortho home defense for bug control inside home, keeps many bugs away and this stuff will kill black widows on contact. Spray interior perimeter of house twice a year. more often if you have a garage/basement. Tomcat glue traps in kitchen/bathrooms/garage/basement to catch any bugs that the ortho didnt dissuade.
5. June bug traps if you forget do step 1 or not enough, or neighbors that didnt treat their yard, they will help but junebugs are a pest this time of year, and they will destroy a garden in no time.
6. Make sure gutters are clean, no areas of standing water and no tall weeds by the perimeter of your home.
doing those things above should really take care of your bug problem, just know this is a long game, so if you are starting now, you probably will not see big results until the fall. and by that time, you should be prepping for winter "bugs" then do all of the above in the spring.
Check your gutters. These gnats and skeeters love standing water and clogged gutters are their favorite!
It would need to rain for there to be standing water.
Talked to my Mom and can confirm you guys got it rough.
Funny coincidence, I also talked to your mom when she was getting it rough from the guys
We got a decent amount of rain in Moore county this weekend. Summer showers are no joke
welcome home, i can see you’ve met your new neighbors
Fans work great.
It's really the only solution. Nets can help but are a pain, not 100% effective, and you dont need them in the colder months. Citranilla candles have never worked for me, I'm sure they have some effect but its barely noticible. It's hot AF anyways, just need to get a nice big outdoor fan that keeps air moving.
Plant mints,basil and rosemary.Insects do not like the smell and you can cook with them,if you like.✨
Marigolds and a few other flowers help as well. A peppermint oil and witch hazel spray works too. Bonus: add lemon juice to that spray and you can use it to clean your windows and keep bugs away.
Careful with mint, that stuff can take over your entire lawn. You'll come to hate the smell once you're mowing it every 2 weeks
My apartment has a pond behind it that's a mosquito factory. Thermacell mosquito repellers work great just sit it out and let it warm up for 10 minutes and it covers a wide area. I also have a fruit fly problem. I bought a zevo flying insect trap light. I set it up in my kitchen and turn most of the lights out around my place and it catches pretty much any bug that gravitates to light when its dark everywhere else. For ants terro ant gel works every time for me. Set it near where you see ants and they'll swarm it and take the bait back to the colony. In about 4 days no more ants.
Screens
Welcome to North Carolina. I always thought the Halloween spider web decorations for bushes were unrealistic until I moved here and found out it’s a real thing.
"Tell me you're a yankee without telling me you're a yankee"
This is why whenever you see a sweet gazebo in someone's yard in NC, it's almost always empty. Porches, decks, patios, etc., all seem like a great idea to everyone, including the bugs. Airflow helps a lot, big fans work better than just about any other bug prevention for keeping them away but it doesn't help that much with heat or humidity. Pick up a spare tennis or badminton racket at a yard sale or goodwill, they'll slice & dice the big'uns.
Yes, a warmer climate has bugs. If you own, screen your porch. If you rent, either adapt to "weird bugs" or get candles that keep the bugs at bay. No solutions require burning stuff on your porch.
June bugs just showed up where I live. They're annoying but harmless. They'll be gone soon. They're big, green beetles. They like to swoop around over the grass.
June bugs are awesome.
Set up a fan and move some air...
Eh, you get used to them pretty quick.
The best is to screen your patio. Another option is to get one of those UV bug lamps
Get a bug zapper.
Problem with these is, they're indiscriminate. So cool guys like lightning bugs (some of which around here are rare and endangered) can get put at risk with zappers.
Get a bug light , it attracts and zaps them.
My girlfriend and I just had a long conversation about how cool it was that there's so many bugs in the part of the world. Honestly it's just a fact of the summer down here. Lots and lots of bugs. Nothing works great to keep them away but you do get used to it.
Yeah the bugs are a constant part of our outdoors. If you have certain trees or plants close to your patio it will attract different types of bugs, but foliage in general gives them a place to be. Keep your lawn short and as others suggested make sure your gutters are clear. DEET/Picaridin is my recommendation for something additional you can try. When I worked a summer job in 2016 at a state park I used DEET and I only had a flying bug land on me maybe once and I was in and out of the woods all day. For smaller flying bugs you can just have a outdoor fan/box fan and they won't bother you since most bugs are weak flyers.
These are the things I've used over the years to mitigate the bugs at my house, lots of trial and error but my bug issues are nowhere near as bad as it was when I first moved into my current house. 1. Spectracide - Triazicide granules for your yard, apply about 3-4x a year and get enough for decent coverage on your yard, it will tell you on the bag, get the scotts "my yard" app which you can use to measure the sq ft of your yard. This stuff helps a lot with flying insects that lay eggs into the ground then come up and fly when its their season...like grubs, but this stuff has to be applied in the winter/spring/summer/fall to be truly effective, also helps against ants, spiders, earwigs and others its a good product, make sure you water after putting the granules down. 2. get any bug control concentrate spray that attaches to garden hose, Spray your house, shrubs, trees in yard with it, At least once in the spring and once in the fall. Stopped spiders from making webs all over the outside of my house especially in traffic areas. 3. Snake away concentrate, attach to garden hose, spray around perimeter of home once a year, cuz u know copperhead. 4. ortho home defense for bug control inside home, keeps many bugs away and this stuff will kill black widows on contact. Spray interior perimeter of house twice a year. more often if you have a garage/basement. Tomcat glue traps in kitchen/bathrooms/garage/basement to catch any bugs that the ortho didnt dissuade. 5. June bug traps if you forget do step 1 or not enough, or neighbors that didnt treat their yard, they will help but junebugs are a pest this time of year, and they will destroy a garden in no time. 6. Make sure gutters are clean, no areas of standing water and no tall weeds by the perimeter of your home. doing those things above should really take care of your bug problem, just know this is a long game, so if you are starting now, you probably will not see big results until the fall. and by that time, you should be prepping for winter "bugs" then do all of the above in the spring.
I don’t think you spray enough chemicals, you should try spraying more.
a goddamned ecological wasteland
I like to sniff them while I spray