Hello,
I’ve read quite a few of your posts and mosquito control article.  Very informative, I appreciate all the information.
I have a home in the far northwest suburbs of Chicago on 3 acres.  The front 3/4 acre is mostly clear with the house in the middle.  House has a large deck to the back and a walkout basement with a sunken concrete patio that always seems to have mosquitoes in or around it, could be the drain in the patio? or coming from under the deck?  The deck you can stay on only in full sun or you will get swarmed.
The next 2 acres going to the rear of the property are dense woods, with patches of boggy areas that hold water when it rains on either side, very shady and moist ending in a pond that is my guess about 6 acres with about 6 other houses surrounding it.  From about the end of May til fall I will rarely go into the woods because the mosquitoes are so awful, even covered head to toe in deep woods off they are intolerable!
I love my property but I can’t really enjoy it with the mosquito infestation that I have every year.
I have a Buress thermal fogger that I use occasionally now but the effects seem short lived and it just seems to thin the pack more than get rid of them.  Probably best to use that more regularly, maybe once a week and at least keep the numbers lower?
I have 3 big dogs that are out in the back yard and often chew on the weeds at the edge of the yard,
will any of the products leave a residue on these weeds that would harm my pets if eaten?
From reading your material it looks like the
Bifen with the backpack sprayer would be the logical choice?  Do you suggest the Nylar?
Would this be enough to keep the 2 acres of woods clear of most mosquitoes?
Also, I have a proliferation of Boxelder bugs, and Asian lady beetles in the spring and fall that surround my house and end up in my house, what to use on these?  Could you still use the backpack sprayer at least on the outside of the house for this purpose also?

Thank you in advance for your time.
N.N.

Thanks for the kind words regarding our site. No doubt we try to present valid mosquito control options and based on our years of experience, we’re usually able to help anyone wanting to control this aggravating pest which can make any property unusable. It sounds like this is happening in your case so I understand your frustration. The good news is you can knock them down enough to enjoy land. The key will be if you’re persistent enough to establish a routine which keeps them under wraps. And don’t try to isolate any one area; in most cases there are so many places for them to thrive it’s much better in the long run to cover it all and be done with it. Focusing in on small areas will naturally lead to disappointment and frustration so thing of it all as being “the problem” and you’ll quickly get the results you want.

At this point, you’ve already identified the best equipment for the job. No doubt the BACK PACK FOGGER is ideally suited for a property the size you have to manage. When misting with BIFEN, I’m sure you can keep mosquitoes, gnats and other nuisance pests under control. Adding NYLAR probably isn’t needed since I’m thinking you’ll be misting at least every 10-14 days if it’s as wet and shady as you’re describing. Right now here in GA we’re getting pounded with rain so I’m on a 10-14 day schedule with my treating. You can read more about the current situation in this post if you haven’t already:

http://www.mosquitoes.net/best-product/residual-product-for-mosquito-control.html

The good news is I can sometimes go much longer in between treatments. So much of it will depend on the weather. Additionally, since you’ve got a healthy population of pests already established, it should be assumed you’ll be needing to treat more this first season compared to subsequent seasons in order to get the local “pest” population down and manageable. Now to answer some more of your questions..

Once a week would be the most anyone should have to treat. I’d try to let it go longer but you may find once a week treating just one acre is good enough. But it could turn out that treating 2 acres every 10-14 days works too. I guess what I’m saying is that there isn’t a specific answer here; a lot will depend on the locale and finding a pattern that works for you and how you intend on using the land. One thing for sure; if you intend on doing some work outside on a Saturday, treating either Friday evening or Saturday morning would be a good idea. I like to treat the morning of any outdoor event so we can garner the best time following the treatment (which is right afterward).

As for product safety; any of our concentrates you choose to use will be so dilute and dispersed over such a large area, there is no risk to your pets, people or plants – even if treated grass was eaten. I’m not saying this should be done or grazing animals can be using it for food. But for the occasional weed being eaten or toy being used on treated grass will be okay. The exposure is barely if at all even measurable with the product being so diluted and dispersed; there just isn’t enough active present to pose a hazard to any mammal.

No doubt the Bifen alone can handle the problem. Again, adding Nylar would probably be smart as it will work on so many other pests so in the long run, you’d be reducing most all invasive pests at the same time thus increasing the impact of your effort with no real change in what you would be doing. In other words, misting with Bifen alone in your tank will require the same amount of effort as misting with Bifen and Nylar. But the net result would be huge in that the Nylar would be affecting so many other pests the Bifen alone probably couldn’t control.

As for the Asian Ladybugs and Boxelder Bugs; no doubt misting the side of your house would stave off their seasonal invasion. I use the Bifen on my house for these two pests, along with stinkbugs, and the treatments work well. But if you run into a bigger problem which the misting alone isn’t handling it, refer to the following articles for more concise strategies:

Boxelder Bug Control:  http://www.bugspray.com/articles98/boxelder.html

Asian Ladybug Control: http://www.asianladybug.com/asian-lady-bug-control

I hope this answers most of your questions; here are direct links to the products and information mentioned above. And feel free to call us toll free if you have further quesitons. Our number is 1-800-877-7290. Be sure to ask for Chad or Mike if you call. Cheers!

Back Pack Fogger:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page676.html

Bifen:  http://www.bugspray.com/item/bifen_it.html

Nylar:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page1615.html

Mosquito Control Article:  http://www.mosquitoes.net/mosquito-control