Just got home from a big backyard BBQ birthday bash gig..... all was going well until it started to get darker and the freakin' Mosquitoes came out for their nightly Buffet "ME" Grrrrr!!!
It started with a few nipping here and there smacking them off me more and more until it became very annoying.......I ran out to my truck and remembered I always keep some DEEP WOODS OFF in the glove box....oh yeah baby a few sprays of this on my bare areas and Shangrila baby!!!...... I returned to the stage and completed my performance without another bite.
My point is always be prepared !

Donny,

Mosquitoes are pretty bad here in Cape Breton in the summer, and autumn...tiny black flies (no-see-ums) are very bad as well.

Most people spray Listerine around their decks, doorways and screens.

What kind of a Birthday Party was it, Donny (for a kid, or someone older)...and what kind of stuff did you play?

What did you use for PA?

Ian

90th birthday party, mixed family crowd all ages

Sinatra, Moonlight Serenade, to YMCA

Two Mackie Thumps powered 15" PA

Ever try this?

Hi Donny,
A successful outdoor summer evening party gig requires that not only you are protected from biting insects, but that your audience and party guests are as well. I've found the Flowtron Electronic Insect Killer does a pretty good job at keeping the mosquitoes at bay, and avoid getting biten.. I'm particularly sensitive to both insect bites and chemical repellants, so have found the Flowtron to be a pretty effective safe alternative at keeping the biting insects at bay away from both myself and guests for outdoor summer evening venues, and for evening entertaining at home on my backyard patio deck as well.

Scott how the heck can you play with that think snapping, zapping and crackling all the time next to you plus I gotta carry that thing too & think how those bugs are being tortured & electrocuted all the time? ... no thank you ...
I'd rather spray myself with Deep Woods Off or use some of the new items Larry posted.

Come on Donny, . . . how about your audience? You gonna let "them" suffer?!
Just turn up the music a little more and get the crowd dancing and no one will hear a thing as those buggers fry. It's either the nasty mosquitos or us afterall. Also, the zapper unit can simply be setup far enough away from the stage to not be detected or heard, yet still remain effective as any mosquitos in the vicinity will be drawn to it instead of to you onstage or the party audience. That said, here on the West Coast, because we don't experience high humity with warm temparatures like you do in tne East, probably don't experience nearly the problem with mosquitos as in most other areas of the US. I really appreciate living here in the SF Bay Area where the morning fog acts as our natural enviromentally fresh air conditioner. ahhhh.

"think how those bugs are being tortured & electrocuted all the time?"

"Just turn up the music a little more and get the crowd dancing and no one will hear a thing as those buggers fry"

Actually for the audience they had bug Citronella Torches all around the area around 20 of them with that stink also...outdoor gigs suck.

AMEN! I hate playing outdoors.

Exactly Dave ...let's do breakfast soon!

PS: love the UKE pic!

From quickly reading your subject I thought you bought an arranger and you found a lot of bugs in the OS

Schools almost out!

Schools almost out! [/quote]

Gotcha !!!

If you or anyone with you has a guitar, be aware that bug spray will eat up a guitar finish!

I read a review that said it doesn't work. I wish it did, that would be a solution to having bug spray on you. Yuck.

If anyone could make a mosquito repellent that really worked, they would get rich.

I've probably turned down a dozen or more outdoor jobs this season. Most of them were during the height of summer when temperatures in this part of the world will be near 100 degrees and the humidity will range from 80 to 100 percent. 20 years ago I would have taken the jobs--but I think getting older, at least in this instance, may mean getting a little smarter.

Cheers,

Gary