How to get rid of mosquitoes and midges: The 4 most effective repellents.

It’s that time of year when the mozzies come out, the daylight extends and the weather warms up. Nothing is more annoying than having your garden, campsite, entertaining areas, parklands, buildings and homes infested by mosquitoes and midges. It’s a surefire way to ruin a family gathering or party!

And to make sure this doesn’t happen to you, we’ve compiled a list of the four most effective repellents for mosquito and midges control. But first things first…

 

What’s the difference between mosquitoes and midges?

As they are both flying insects that look similar, few people actually know the difference between mosquitoes and midges. The main differences include:

• Midges don’t have a biting needle
• Midges don’t transmit disease
• Mosquitoes fly faster
• Midges fly in swarms that can look like clouds, mosquitoes rarely do
  

Although mosquitoes and midges are different insects, they do share several common traits, including their preference for cool, shady places, and wet locations. 

 

How can I control mosquitoes and midges?

Some of the steps you can take to control mosquitoes and midges include:

• Swap to LED lights or use yellow bug lights that are not as attractive to these insects as bright lights are
• Don’t let water collect in pools, especially when they are located in shady, cool areas
• Use a surface treatment solution repellent to provide coverage on external surfaces of buildings, structures and the perimeter treatment of soil and vegetation

 

What is the best mosquito and midge repellent?

There are several excellent products to address your mosquito and midge problems. We’ve listed these below. If you have any questions relating to these products or anything in this article, don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team.

 

Surefire Mosquito and Midge Slayer

One of the most effective ways to repel mosquitoes and midges is to use a treatment spray containing bifenthrin. Such sprays work both via direct contact, and residual contact, making them effective well after application. 

In terms of brands, Surefire Mosquito and Midge Slayer is one of the most effective treatments on the market today. It is solvent-free, non-flammable and biodegradable and works on both porous and non-porous surfaces.

The repellent contains 100g/L of  Bifenthrin and is a powerful knockdown and residual pesticide. Mosquitoes and midges are effectively controlled by direct contact with the spray, and also by residual action as they come into contact with treated surfaces. 

Surefire is registered for use in the following areas:

• Commercial Area – Outdoors
• Domestic Building/structure – External Areas
• Industrial Buildings/structure – External Areas
• Public Building/structure – External Areas

If mosquitoes and midges are a problem for you, and you need an effective treatment solution to get rid of these pests, then Surefire Mosquito and Midge Slayer is a product we confidently recommend at Specialist Sales.

 

Fendona Plus 60 SC Insecticide

This is a low dose residual insecticide that will control not only those annoying mozzies and midges but also tackles a broad spectrum of other pests such as ants, fleas and cockroaches to name a few. The active ingredient, Alpha Cypermethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid that offers fast control at low doses. Two key benefits of this product include:

• It is very ‘sticky’, a property that allows microscopic particles of this product to hang around on surfaces for months, delivering a clean, odourless and effective pest control solution;
• It is particularly effective on pests that are usually hard to control.

In terms of areas of use, Fendona Plus 60 SC Insecticide can be used across a wide range of establishments, including domestic, industrial, commercial, public buildings and around agricultural buildings – including food processing establishments, shops, restaurants factories, shops, offices, schools, storerooms, hospitals, barracks, private houses and external areas associated with such establishments.

 

Suspend Flexx Insecticide (Deltamethrin)

Like Fendona Plus, Suspend Flexx is also a synthetic pyrethroid, with the active ingredient of Deltamethrin. Used to control mosquitoes and midges, Suspend Flexx has a broad application thanks to its formulation, which enables this product to be used to control a wide range of pests indoors and outdoors.

The residual life of Suspend Flexx is long, up to 12 weeks when mixed at higher rates, however, due to its formulation it is also effective at extremely low dose rate. Suspend Flexx can be used in internal and external areas and surrounds of domestic, commercial, industrial and public buildings and structures, including food preparation areas, farm buildings, meatworks and poultry sheds.

 

Temprid 75 Residual Insecticide

The dual ingredients of Imidacloprid and Beta-Cyfluthrin give Temprid 75 Residual Insecticide a powerful punch. Its formulation leads to effective control within minutes, not hours, while also providing effective long-term residual control.

As a powerful insecticide, Temprid 75 Residual Insecticide is used to control a wide spectrum of pests, ranging from the mosquitoes and midges that are the focus of this article, through to ants, bed bugs, carpet beetles, aphis, caterpillars and many more. This product can be used in a range of settings, including Indoors, public buildings, food factories, aircraft, ships, commercial buildings, industrial buildings and outdoors.

 

Enhancing the effect of repellents

In a recent article, we discussed the power of using insect control fogging machines in the control and eradication of pests.

These machines, when combined with an insect repellant such as any of those mentioned above, allow the user to distribute a fine particulate cloud of formulation over an area. This treats both the airspace and any surfaces that are sprayed.

The key benefits of foggers include:

• Great airspace coverage
• It allows you to target hard to reach areas
• The small particulate nature of the spray ensures the best surface area coverage
• Very little wet residue is left behind when foggers are used

As mentioned in the fogger article, we recommend using the Zero MS-5000 Mini Gas Fogger, as in our view it is the best insect control fogger available.