any advice out there about the new spray systems installed in homes to get rid of mosquitos. Is this chemical safe for animals and children. It is the new and hottest thing but is it safe?[/quote][/b]

There was a previous discussion on this very subject, but I don't know that it was resolved. I was just reading this month's edition of Dallas/Fort Worth House & Home and saw an ad by a company MCS (Mosquito Control Systems L.P.) that offers both an integrated system and a portable option. It reads as if either system can dispense either pyrethrum or Cedarcide. Their website is http://www.bugcontrol.net. Perhaps they have customer list that you could contact for references.

I don't know about everyone else, but the one and only thing that works for mosquitos is Martin Houses. I live on 22 acres with 2 tanks and creek. The first few years we had mosquitos so bad we almost couldn't go outside day or night. We put up 1 house and the next we added 3 more. We have NO mosquitos but I always have lots of neighbors in my yard, which is 3 acres. Try it, I promise it works!

Now the purple martin experts are saying that martins eat moths and other flying insects, but not mosquitoes. Seems the tiny mosquito is not a fulfulling enough meal.

Bat researchers are finding the same thing with many species of bats that were formerly thought to eat mosquitoes.

We also have a problem w/mosquitos. We have a family of beautiful
barn swallows that work from dawn til dusk, but the mosquitos are
HORRIBLE. We use mosquito dunks in all the rain barrels and have
sought out all other water supplies, but they seem to stay in the
bushes. I also put DE everywhere. Still no luck. Any more suggestions?
Thanx
rmnative

This is what I have come to believe from my own limited experince. You must eliminate moist parts of your garden. Mosquitos can breed in a leaf or under tall grass or other plants. I have two small vegetable gardens. One is always kind of wet from bad drainage but is right beneath a large martin house. The other is very dry and near a big colony of barn swallows. The wet one has tons of mosquitos and it is positively miserable being there after even a fairly light rain. I have yet to get much mulch at that one and I water overhead, big NONO, but I haven't gotten around to work on it. I don't think I have ever gotten bitten at the other one. I have a soaker hose under the thick mulch at this one, so the surface is always dry.

Thanks so much for your suggestions. I too have gotten behind
in my mulching.
rmnative111

Misting systems of any kind should not be used. Even the kinds that spray pyrethrum do more harm than good as they kill many beneficials. Beneficials that eat mosquitoes. The only device I know of that is effective is the Mosquito Magnet. http://www.mosquito-trap-depot.com
Garlic pepper spray is a good repellant to spray on the lawn, as is Skeeter-Defeater.
Mosquito dunks for standing water: birdbaths, clay pots, the water meter, the location of an emergency shut off valve, clogged gutters, etc...