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Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 4:01 am
by TaTa
Any idea? I used the ninja approach, trying to grab them without killing them but i killed a few so i dont do it anymore. Im getting tired of using repelent.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:01 am
by dharmagoat
TaTa wrote:Any idea? I used the ninja approach, trying to grab them without killing them but i killed a few so i dont do it anymore. Im getting tired of using repelent.
What about an aquarium net or some kind of bug catcher?

I made my own "bug vacuum" when I was a kid, made of two lengths of clear tubing with a collecting jar in between. You need to put some cushioning at the bottom of the jar to avoid injuring your captives, and you need some gauze covering the sucking tube to avoid getting a taste of insect. It may sound like a rather eccentric device, but it sucked up mosquitoes, sandflies and fruit flies effortlessly.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:40 am
by futerko
One way is to turn all the light sources off in the room (including PC monitor), open the window, take your shirt off, and go stand outside by the open window doing star jumps for 20-30 minutes. Then, upon returning, close the window. (oh, and make sure you don't bring them back in with you :tongue: ).

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:28 am
by Schrödinger’s Yidam
Burn incense. They don't like smoke.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 10:05 am
by ClearblueSky
Mala, copy of The Dhammapada, and bug vacum. The tools of a Buddhist.
http://www.amazon.com/BugZooka-Bug-Catc ... bug+vacuum

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 12:53 pm
by Punya
I just use a glass and a thin piece of cardboard. It works with most bugs although with mosquitoes you have to be a bit more patient. Wait until they settle on a wall, cover them with the glass then slowly slide the cardboard underneath. If you just want them out of the room rather than out of the home, just turn the light off and turn a light on somewhere else.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:01 pm
by futerko
Punya wrote:I just use a glass and a thin piece of cardboard. It works with most bugs although with mosquitoes you have to be a bit more patient. Wait until they settle on a wall, cover them with the glass then slowly slide the cardboard underneath. If you just want them out of the room, turn the light off and turn a light on somewhere else.
I do this too, but where I am the mosquitoes are huge and make a lot of noise, and I only get a couple. I believe they can see heat in infra-red though, so I'm not sure the light thing will work on its own.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:14 pm
by dharmagoat
futerko wrote:I do this too, but where I am the mosquitoes are huge and make a lot of noise, and I only get a couple. I believe they can see heat in infra-red though, so I'm not sure the light thing will work on its own.
They are attracted to carbon dioxide and 1-octen-3-ol in your breath and sweat too.

Sometimes I notice mosquitoes in my room seem to be sitting around and waiting until the light goes off.

The mosquito season has just started where I live, and I am seriously considering getting a mosquito net.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:25 pm
by palchi
Loads of mosquitos in my house, too hot to close the windows and any efforts to collect and remove them from the house would be a total waste of time. So I sleep under a mosquito net, resign myself to getting a few bites a day and cultivate a healthy ecosystem in and around the house - spiders, geckos, birds.... I have tried citronella candles but they don't seem to have any effect. In this part of the country there's at least no malaria, so the health risk is minimal.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 6:31 am
by Schrödinger’s Yidam
They sell "mosquito coils" that are basically a form of incense in a spiral configuration. But almost any smoke will do, even cigarette smoke. Also insect repellent helps. If you live in 'one of those places' a mosquito net is going to be necessary.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 6:50 am
by Adamantine

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 9:17 am
by Anders
get a mosquito lamp to drive them away. There are two types: Ultrasound and chemical. The chemical is more effective but is not legal in all countries (outlawed for seemingly no reason at all here in Denmark).

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 9:24 am
by futerko
Anders wrote:get a mosquito lamp to drive them away. There are two types: Ultrasound and chemical. The chemical is more effective but is not legal in all countries (outlawed for seemingly no reason at all here in Denmark).
...and unfortunately the ultrasound ones have been proven to be ineffective.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2013 3:58 am
by greentara
A slightly different slant on mosquitos. I went to see a village oracle some time back. Some Americans turned up as well. The oracle started to writhe, the Americans asked pressing questions of the heart. Dusk was falling a troop of monkeys balanced on a large wooden gate. Someone had brought a mosquito coil and in the distance some lights went on, so I could see swarms of mosquitos through the smoky spirals of the burning coil. I was being bitten all over...I thought I better get out of here! I asked the oracle no questions as I felt there was something quite primitive and dark happening and I didn't want to participate in any of it.
Needless to say mosquito coils don't work!

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 5:52 am
by Jigme Tsultrim
We have a few mosquitoes in Thailand :-) . The coils work quite well in enclosed spaces. They only protect the area in which their smoke exists. Outdoor use, open windows, fans, etc. diminish their effectiveness. They aren't just smoke, however. They contain an insecticide as well, so for me concentration the smoke too much makes me a little nauseous. We have dengue fever in my region, so the lessor of evils in this case.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:20 am
by tlee
I have a large fan because it can become hot here.
For a long time I wondered what this rusty deposit on the inside of the aluminum fan frame was.
I realized it was the splattered bodies of bugs that had been sucked or flew into the fan blades.

As a human I can just wipe out the contents when I clean the fan; for a bug this is abject horror.

Not that I'm saying get a big fan! I don't know how to get rid of them ethically.
Get some good screens on your windows and keep them from coming in to begin with.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 11:13 pm
by PadmeSamadhi
Google this: mosquito screen

I bought a few removable mosquito screens, they are pretty much like a net, then you can remove it, fold it and put in a drawer.
It's cheap, removable, you won't kill any insect and efficient.
:twothumbsup:

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:34 am
by Thomas Amundsen
ClearblueSky wrote:Mala, copy of The Dhammapada, and bug vacum. The tools of a Buddhist.
http://www.amazon.com/BugZooka-Bug-Catc ... bug+vacuum
Thanks for the recommendation! This looks pefect.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:37 am
by Karma_Cat
Do Buddhists really believe that killing a mosquito is unethical and causes you to accumulate bad karma? I try not to kill most bugs, but mosquitos prey upon humans and can cause diseases, so I feel they are fair game for death.

Re: Getting moskitos out of my room

Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2019 5:08 am
by Fortyeightvows
You should not kill mosquitoes at all. Your body is so big, and they are so tiny. What if their bodies were big and yours was tiny, and you came to bite them and drink a little of their blood, because you were hungry, and then they killed you? Even though all you need is a small amount of blood to eat and drink, instead they kill you. How does this look to you? This is exactly the same situation.

If you don’t purify yourself of these actions, you will have to suffer the result in future lives, and also in this life, especially because you are a nun. One of your vows is to abstain from killing. This is very basic. Even for lay people, it is a very basic practice, so it would be very, very sad if you killed, especially as a nun. Therefore, you need to perform these practices that I am sending you. (A list of practices was attached.)

You should do these practices gradually, to purify and to collect merit. You should also read the lam-rim, the gradual path to enlightenment, not only for your own happiness, but also for the peace and happiness of all sentient beings, especially the mosquitoes.

I am requesting you on behalf of all mosquitoes, please don’t kill. I will be the voice for all the mosquitoes.

-Lama Zopa
https://www.lamayeshe.com/advice/killing-mosquitoes