MOSQUITOES!

Hi all, 

We're trying to develop some new crags in Mauritius and I was wondering if anyone has found a solution to getting rid of/reducing the number of mosquitoes at a site? Of course, Bug spray is an option, but it's a lot less enjoyable (and less safe) for belayers to be eaten alive my mozzies. 

Is there any way to get rid of them?

Thanks!

Yes, but it will take a bit of effort:

In the construction of the Panama Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps made only two trips to Panama, the first in late December 1879 to turn the first shovel of dirt and inaugurate Canal construction. Though the French engineers made progress, eventually excavating over 75,000,000 cubic yards of material, they faced insurmountable obstacles: inadequate equipment, landslides, floods, searing heat, and the ravages of malaria and yellow fever. The French pulled out. 

Then the United States came in. Killing mosquitos was one of the biggest obstacles that had to be overcome. 

An integrated program of mosquito control was initiated that involved seven basic programs that were strictly enforced. These were, in order of importance:

1. Drainage: All pools within 200 yards of all villages and 100 yards of all individual houses were drained. Subsoil drainage was preferred followed by concrete ditches. Lastly, open ditches were constructed. Paid inspectors made sure ditches remained free of obstructions.
2. Brush and grass cutting: All brush and grass was cut and maintained at less than one foot high within 200 yards of villages and 100 yards of individual houses. The rationale was that mosquitoes would not cross open areas over 100 yards.
3. Oiling: When drainage was not possible along the grassy edges of ponds and swamps, oil was added to kill mosquito larvae.
4. Larviciding: When oiling was not sufficient, larvaciding was done. At the time, there were no commercial insecticides. Joseph Augustin LePrince, Chief Sanitary Inspector for the Canal Zone developed a larvacide mixture of carbolic acid, resin and caustic soda that was spread in great quantity.
5. Prophylactic quinine: Quinine was provided freely to all workers along the construction line at 21 dispensaries. In addition, quinine dispensers were on all hotel and mess tables. On average, half of the work force took a prophylactic dose of quinine each day.
6. Screening: Following the great success in Havana, all governmental buildings and quarters were screened against mosquitoes.
7. Killing adult mosquitoes: Because the mosquitoes usually stayed in the tent or the house after feeding, collectors were hired to gather the adult mosquitoes that remained in the houses during the daytime. This proved to be very effective. Mosquitoes that were collected in tents were examined by Dr. Samuel T. Darling, Chief of the Board of Health Laboratory. Cost of adult mosquito killing was $3.50/per capita/per year for whole population of the strip.

Hope this helps!

Jim MacKenzie wrote:

Yes, but it will take a bit of effort:

In the construction of the Panama Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps made only two trips to Panama, the first in late December 1879 to turn the first shovel of dirt and inaugurate Canal construction. Though the French engineers made progress, eventually excavating over 75,000,000 cubic yards of material, they faced insurmountable obstacles: inadequate equipment, landslides, floods, searing heat, and the ravages of malaria and yellow fever. The French pulled out. 

Then the United States came in. Killing mosquitos was one of the biggest obstacles that had to be overcome. 

An integrated program of mosquito control was initiated that involved seven basic programs that were strictly enforced. These were, in order of importance:

1. Drainage: All pools within 200 yards of all villages and 100 yards of all individual houses were drained. Subsoil drainage was preferred followed by concrete ditches. Lastly, open ditches were constructed. Paid inspectors made sure ditches remained free of obstructions.
2. Brush and grass cutting: All brush and grass was cut and maintained at less than one foot high within 200 yards of villages and 100 yards of individual houses. The rationale was that mosquitoes would not cross open areas over 100 yards.
3. Oiling: When drainage was not possible along the grassy edges of ponds and swamps, oil was added to kill mosquito larvae.
4. Larviciding: When oiling was not sufficient, larvaciding was done. At the time, there were no commercial insecticides. Joseph Augustin LePrince, Chief Sanitary Inspector for the Canal Zone developed a larvacide mixture of carbolic acid, resin and caustic soda that was spread in great quantity.
5. Prophylactic quinine: Quinine was provided freely to all workers along the construction line at 21 dispensaries. In addition, quinine dispensers were on all hotel and mess tables. On average, half of the work force took a prophylactic dose of quinine each day.
6. Screening: Following the great success in Havana, all governmental buildings and quarters were screened against mosquitoes.
7. Killing adult mosquitoes: Because the mosquitoes usually stayed in the tent or the house after feeding, collectors were hired to gather the adult mosquitoes that remained in the houses during the daytime. This proved to be very effective. Mosquitoes that were collected in tents were examined by Dr. Samuel T. Darling, Chief of the Board of Health Laboratory. Cost of adult mosquito killing was $3.50/per capita/per year for whole population of the strip.

Hope this helps!

Yeah, just ruin the adjacent environment and you'll get rid of the mosquitoes. Add oil to the ground? I don't think so.

I'd say climb in the cold season, but it doesn't look like there is one there.

Nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

We've had the belayer wear this repellant on their harness to great effect before.

I've found that asking them nicely to leave produces good results.

FrankPS wrote:

Yeah, just ruin the adjacent environment and you'll get rid of the mosquitoes. Add oil to the ground? I don't think so.

I'd say climb in the cold season, but it doesn't look like there is one there.

Of course the conservative thinks the only oil on the planet is used for engines. Eucalyptus oil is effective against skeeters.

I’ve read a couple articles recently about a group that’s breeding a specific type of male mosquito that breeds with the local females and produces larvae that don’t survive. I believe it’s being tested in the Everglades and another couple sites in the US. 

Marc H wrote:

I’ve read a couple articles recently about a group that’s breeding a specific type of male mosquito that breeds with the local females and produces larvae that don’t survive. I believe it’s being tested in the Everglades and another couple sites in the US. 

Hmmm. What about all the animals for which mosquitos are a food source?

Jim's advice is good but probably overkill for your situation. I used to work mosquito control for Boulder County the key is to drain or get rid of any standing water in the area because that's where they breed. If you can see the larvae jiggling around in the pool you've found the honey hole. Boulder county used BTI, a cornmeal laced with larvacide, to spread into the standing water where they were breeding.

That job was pretty fun I especially liked working the drainage ditch in Marshall, such a cool little neighborhood and friendly people that will never be the same again after the fire. Hope this helps you bring vengeance upon those bloodsuckers!

They just announced they're releasing 2.4 billion genetically modified mosquitoes in california. They're non biting and are modified to produce males only. It sounds like something from a sci fi movie. 

By the way, BTI, the product mentioned above, stands for bacillus thuringiensis, a very common bacteria that lives in soil and waterways, that kills mosquitoes naturally. You can buy it as these donut shaped wafers or you can get little crumbles, or liquid. The liquid bottle has lasted me years on my property, I use it in ponds but they spray the river near my house with it, and a lot of waterways in the US. It doesn't harm anything else. It works great but you'd have to find all the standing water near your crag. 

Long sleeves, long pants, bug repellent and a head net. You can get permithrin treated clothing that repels bugs. Watch out for DEET on nylon and other synthetics. My ankles seem to be mosquito magnets when I'm not wearing socks :-(

2.4 billion genetically modified mosquitos? What could go wrong.

Oh yeah I'll throw out another vote for permethrin, it works great. For some reason you aren't supposed to use it on skin, but you can use it on dogs and horses and your property and clothes/anything fabric. I did the JMT a long time ago and sprayed everything except my socks. At camp I would put on my Tevas in socks and my feet got absolutely destroyed but they wouldn't land on me anywhere where my clothes were, which were all sprayed down with permethrin before the trip.

 And yeah I've also melted a pair of sunglasses with 90% deet. 

Patrick L wrote:

Oh yeah I'll throw out another vote for permethrin, it works great. For some reason you aren't supposed to use it on skin, but you can use it on dogs and horses and your property and clothes/anything fabric.

Here's the fact sheet: http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/PermGen.html

Fresh bay leaves in a pinch, and I have had success with misquito coils or incense in a cragging situation, which I far prefer to rubbing  chems all over myself, especially after hearing about sunscreen and deet and how they interact.  Never had to climb  ( or more likely belay ) with head mesh, but that will probably be MY next step. Open to better suggestions. 

Marc801 C wrote:

Hmmm. What about all the animals for which mosquitos are a food source?

And what about all the plants that need mosquitoes for pollination.

Andrew R wrote:

And what about all the plants that need mosquitoes for pollination.

And what about all the animals that need the plants? Next.

Nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Thank you for this, I've spent way too much of my life quoting this movie.

Horatio Darby wrote:

 I was wondering if anyone has found a solution to getting rid of/reducing the number of mosquitoes at a site?  

Is there any way to get rid of them?

Well...DDT. However, the far-reaching environmental consequences were found to be much too large of a price to pay.

Nick Herdeg wrote:

Jim's advice is good but probably overkill for your situation. I used to work mosquito control for Boulder County the key is to drain or get rid of any standing water in the area because that's where they breed.

Nick I think we went to Shelf Road on an Alpine club trip together in 2014, hope you're well man.

  Up on the Slope in Northern Alaska the mosquitos get pretty bad, the only effective combat against them is to wear a bug net and clothes they can't bite through, or start praying for wind. 

    Like others are saying, keep Deet away from your climbing gear, I had a bottle blow up in a backpack of mine and dissolve a few hundred dollars worth of Nylon, including the backpack itself. Can't imagine it lends itself to the integrity of ropes and slings.

Dirt King wrote:

Nick I think we went to Shelf Road on an Alpine club trip together in 2014, hope you're well man.

  Up on the Slope in Northern Alaska the mosquitos get pretty bad, the only effective combat against them is to wear a bug net and clothes they can't bite through, or start praying for wind. 

    Like others are saying, keep Deet away from your climbing gear, I had a bottle blow up in a backpack of mine and dissolve a few hundred dollars worth of Nylon, including the backpack itself. Can't imagine it lends itself to the integrity of ropes and slings.

That totally would have been me Zac glad to hear from ya! Looks like you've been crushing in AK keep it up! Yeah I've been good if you're ever in Colorado hit me up!

I'm sure you guys have monster mosquitoes in Alaska

I am really lucky to live somewhere without too much mosquito pressure, but I have been extremely pleasantly surprised at the impenetrability of my Mountain Hardwear Kor Preshell and OR Ferrosi pants. The preshell fabric feels nice enough on bare skin that I have worn just that as a baselayer on a 9 hour hike and it was great. Breathes and sheds moisture fast enough that it isn't miserable to wear even in pretty hot temps. That, plus some gloves and a head net and you're in an impenetrable fortress, at least around the mosquitoes I've encountered in the sierra. I don't bother carrying deet anymore. YMMV but but armor instead of bug chemicals make sense to me.