Indeed, skeeters are really bad this year. At the rest stop on the JC Bike Tour in Lincoln Park I was bit 4 times!

Reviving this thread as it's not even July yet and my kid and I are already being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Please, neighbors, try to eliminate standing water around your house! Check gutters, downspouts, flowerpots, and anywhere water accumulates and eliminate it. I have yet to find any insect repellent, deterrent, or anything that stops them from biting me. Suggestions welcome.

Some folks swear by Mosquito Magnet. I have no experience with it, but would consider it or a similar device if with the mosquitos comes zika.

Mosquitos love me so I hate them.

I think most of the foggers and other "traps" are either expensive or worthless.

One low-tech trick I have heard is that you can use a fan to just blow them away - so if there is a particular spot in your yard you want to sit - set up a fan and the mosquitos can't fly against it.

The most important thing you can do is get rid of any standing water in your yard. Birdbaths, ponds, overturned flowerpots, barrels, gutters - all are breeding grounds for mosquitos. If you have standing water that you can't get rid of, you can use the BTI "dunks" that will kill the larvae - these are highly specific to mosquito larvae and apparently will not harm fish or other animals drinking the water (like feral cats). You have to treat the water every 7-14 days.

When we first moved here there was an abandoned lot behind our yard which I suspected was full of old tires and barrels so we called the Hudson County Mosquito Control Department at 201-223-1133. They were surprisingly responsive and someone came out either that day or the next to inspect the lot. I think they fined the owners and told them to fix the standing water situation (although I couldn't tell you if that really happened).

We also discovered that water was collecting underneath our deck - it was supposed to be all diverted to a drainage spout, but probably due to sagging, it was all just collecting underneath and not draining very well. We drilled some holes in the low spots - not the most elegant solution but it works - and now water can't collect and the mosquito situation in our yard was much improved.

If that doesn't fix the problem, wear bug spray. It works and is better than the alternative of getting bitten all summer and not being able to enjoy my yard :)

http://www.mosquito.org/faq

http://www.hudsonregional.org/mosquito/index.html

I would love to hear any ideas that actually work as well. We have 3 ferals we take care of (all fixed and vaccinated) so we can't use heavy duty chemicals. We've tried kid and pet friendly mosquito fogger and spray which is completely worthless, and also set up the soda bottles with yeast and brown sugar which works a tiny bit but also would catch butterflies which made me sad.

I'm wondering what the city, county and our neighbors are doing for mosquito control this spring and summer. I recently learned about mosquito dunks which apparently can help control mosquitoes if put in standing water early in the year (flower pot bottoms, etc.). From what I understand they're safe and non-chemical. I'm going to use them in my backyard which always becomes a mosquito haven by mid-summer. Anything else that has worked for people? Hoping anyone with a yard takes similar measures.