Tulsa Pools : Best in Oklahoma
Cody A.: Hello Divers and welcome to the Dive Time Show. Tulsa Pools I am your host Cody Albright. And with me, as always, is the most amazing, beautiful, lovely wife of mine, Rachel.
Rachel A.: Hello everybody.
Cody A.: Together we are the – sorry, cut you off a little bit. Together we are the owners of Sierra Pool and Spas of Tulsa. And you could find us online at Sierrapoolsandspas.com or give us a phone call at (918) 884-8427. Again, that’s Sierrapoolsandspas.com or give us a phone call at (918) 884-8427 or find us on Facebook and message us that way. We would love to build you a pool, a spa, your backyard dream. We’d love to build that for you.
So, what are me talking about today, Rachel?
Rachel A.: Mosquitoes. Everyone hates mosquitoes, especially here in Oklahoma.
Cody A.: Disgusting, mosquitoes Tulsa Pools.
Rachel A.: [crosstalk 00:00:53]
Cody A.: And you know what I’m worried about? Is that this winter was not really that cold.
Rachel A.: No, it did not kill off any bugs.
Cody A.: I don’t think we had one day of snow. Did we have one day of snow?
Rachel A.: No.
Cody A.: We didn’t have any snow, which means that all the little buggies that were sleeping and doing their thing- what are they, dormant? Is that what it’s called?
Rachel A.: Yeah.
Cody A.: I don’t know it. You know, a fly only lives, like, how long? Like a … like a … day or two? I think Tulsa Pools?
Rachel A.: Yeah, I don’t know.
Cody A.: How do bugs even live that long? Like, you think they would just die. Anyways.
Mosquitoes, yeah, gonna be really bad this year in Oklahoma because we didn’t get any snow, any really good cold weather. So, they’re probably having a great party that all their friends are still alive, and so they’re gonna be really annoying this year.
So, how can we repel against mosquitoes in our backyard?
Rachel A.: Yeah, we’re gonna talk about that. Before we get into that, what do you think is the most deadly creature on Earth? The deadliest animal that you can think of.
Cody A.: Like the one that you would never wanna encounter?
Rachel A.: Which animal do you think is the deadliest? What kills the most people Tulsa Pools?
Cody A.: What kills the most people?
Rachel A.: Yeah, the deadliest animal?
Cody A.: I would say … humans.
Rachel A.: Humans? Well, yeah. Actually I don’t know the statistics on that, but no. I don’t know, like predators other than humans.
Cody A.: I would say … elephant. I don’t know.
Rachel A.: I don’t know a lot of people that come and-
Cody A.: I’m trying to think-
Rachel A.: I don’t know a lot of people that just come into contact with a deadly elephant.
Cody A.: Well, there’s more people on the other … continent. Okay, how about cheetahs Tulsa Pools?
Rachel A.: Cheetahs-
Cody A.: I don’t know.
Rachel A.: I don’t know.
Cody A.: I can’t think of … deadly animals.
Rachel A.: I mean, I think of shark attacks. Hear about those? No. Most people would answer with some kind of large predator, a bear, or a lion, scary sharks. But actually, statistically, a lot of these animals, they are really dangerous and they can kill you. But statistically, when it comes to human lives, the one creature- What are you laughing about?
Cody A.: “Statistically” sounds like “apparently.” “Apparently, the mosquito is really deadly.” “Apparently, this is my first podcast-“
Rachel A.: Hey! I was getting to that. You weren’t supposed to ruin it.
Cody A.: Oh, I’m sorry I ruined it. Let’s rewind. You didn’t hear anything. We erased the past 10 seconds, go!
Rachel A.: So … can’t talk.
Cody A.: “Statistically.”
Rachel A.: Statistically, when it comes to human lives, the one creature Tulsa Pools-
Cody A.: Oh my, I’m scared.
Rachel A.: -that kills more people-
Cody A.: No way.
Rachel A.: -is the mosquito.
Cody A.: What? Crazy.
Rachel A.: Crazy. Yeah. Deaths from mosquito-borne illnesses … just totally … blow those from Great White attacks or other animals. For example, sharks, they outpace those by a factor of 60,000, which is crazy. But I think there are way more mosquitoes in Tulsa Pools the world than sharks and not everybody lives by an ocean. But mosquitoes are everywhere. So-
Cody A.: “They’re everywhere!” What is that from?
Rachel A.: I don’t know.
Cody A.: “They’re everywhere!”
Rachel A.: I don’t know.
Cody A.: Zombies or something.
Rachel A.: I don’t know.
Cody A.: I don’t know. They’re everywhere.
Rachel A.: There’s over 2,500 species of mosquitoes and the diseases Tulsa Pools-
Cody A.: How many?
Rachel A.: 2,500.
Cody A.: Wow.
Rachel A.: Yeah, that’s a lot.
Cody A.: That’s disgusting.
Rachel A.: The diseases transmitted by these mosquitoes can be deadly and debilitating. You’ve probably heard of a lot of them. There’s malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalitis, and there’s a relatively new comer to the Americas, a new virus called chikungunya.
Cody A.: Chikungunya virus.
Rachel A.: Virus.
Cody A.: Which is spelled C-H-I-K-U-N-G-U-N-Y-A. Chikungunya.
Rachel A.: In case you needed to know how to spell it.
Cody A.: Chikungunya. Chikungunya.
Rachel A.: I don’t know what that entails, but it sounds horrible. So-
Cody A.: You turn into a chicken and you say, “kungunya.”
Rachel A.: Okay.
Cody A.: I’m just kidding. I don’t know.
Rachel A.: I’m sure it’s bad if it’s listed in-
Cody A.: Some sort of virus.
Rachel A.: -one of the most deadly viruses from mosquitoes. But we’re gonna talk about how you can repel mosquitoes from your backyard, so hopefully you don’t get bit by them. And hopefully, you don’t get one of these deadly diseases. So-
Cody A.: So, what you wanna do is get a loaded gun and I’m just kidding.
Rachel A.: It’s kind of a hard target, a mosquito.
So, the first thing you can do, number 1, you probably know about it, bug spray that has DEET. DEET was originally developed by the military after World War I. And it’s the most widely available insect repellent. You can get Off, I think has DEET, the spray bug repellent. Any kind of bug spray that has DEET in it and has that distinctive bug spray smell. That’s DEET.
So, the pros of DEET. It is a very effective repellent and it’s readily available. The cons, it can cause skin irritation. I don’t know if you’ve ever sprayed bug spray when you have a scratch or a rash, but it really burns and that’s annoying.
Cody A.: What? Can melt plastic?
Rachel A.: Apparently, it can melt plastic.
Cody A.: And we’re putting this on our skin.
Rachel A.: Yeah, and it can potentially cause toxicity in wild life. So, if you’re a conservationist, you’re very concerned, you may not want to use DEET. But yes, it’s the more readily available. You probably have it in your house right now. We have, like, 2 cans in our garage because we live in the country and mosquitoes are horrible.
Number 2 is picaridin.
Cody A.: Picaridin.
Rachel A.: Picaridin. So this has been popular-
Cody A.: Sounds like a liquor.
Rachel A.: Yeah, it sounds like Bacardi or something Tulsa Pools.
So, this has been popular in Europe since the ’90s. And it was introduced to the US market in 2005. And it’s a gentler alternative to DEET. So, again, the pros of this is it is an effective repellent of mosquitoes, ticks, flies, and gnats. It has a less offensive odor and it’s not gonna harm plastic. And because it’s gentler, it doesn’t irritate the skin as much.
Cody A.: Gentler. Is that a word?
Rachel A.: Gentler.
Cody A.: Gentler. As a gentler … Okay, go on.
Rachel A.: Gentler. I don’t know, more gentle?
The bad things are-
Cody A.: It didn’t come up red on my Microsoft document, so.
Rachel A.: Mine neither.
It doesn’t last as long as DEET. And it’s a relatively new option, but it is an option, picaridin.
Number 3, lemon eucalyptus and citronella. You’ve probably heard of citronella candles. We use these a lot as well. Anytime I smell a citronella candle, I think of 4th of July, barbecues, picnics. Because when I was younger and living out in the country, I lived out in the country almost my whole life, we always had the citronella candles. Got one on our porch-
Cody A.: It smells good too.
Rachel A.: It does. Yeah, I kind of like the smell.
Cody A.: I personally like the smell of it.
Rachel A.: Some people don’t, but yeah.
Cody A.: It’s got that lemon smell. Citronella smell.
Rachel A.: Hey, my computer isn’t charging. Could you check it down there Tulsa Pools?
Cody A.: Yeah.
Rachel A.: So, the refined oils from the corymbia citriodora tree, this a tree that’s native to Australia. The oils from this tree are commonly used as insect repellent. A similar compound can be derived from lemongrass and this is what’s used to produce citronella oil.
So, the pros of these oils. It’s 100 percent natural, it’s generally effective although it is not as effective as a man-made chemical compound. The cons are it can be an allergen. Some people can be allergic, it can cause irritation, and it can be less effective than other repellents. Unfortunately, it’s completely ineffective against certain species of mosquitoes. So, it is gonna repel some, but not all.
Number 4, the fourth option to repel mosquitoes is pyrethrin. It’s a natural derivative of the chrysanthemum flower and it is used in commercial insecticides. At really high concentrations it can cause the nerves of mosquitoes to fire in a frenzied fashion causing them to die, which is pretty intense. At lower concentration it’s just a repellent. So, if you want to cause them to suffer a horrible death, you can have a lot of it. If you just wanna keep them away, a low concentration is needed.
So, the pros of this is it disintegrates rapidly in sunlight and air causing zero toxic buildup, which is really nice for the environment. It’s effective as an insecticide and repellent and it’s relatively safe for most animals. The cons are it can be toxic at high concentrations. If you’re gonna be handling a lot of it, make sure there’s a professional around. And it can be harmful to cats, so if you have cats, maybe don’t use pyrethrin. So, keep that in mind.
Number 5, hire a backpack bug spraying company. So, these companies usually offer recurring services to come and spray your backyard or whatever area you live on to protect from mosquitoes and other flying insects. These companies typically require an ongoing service contract and they’ll fog and spray around your yard every 1 to 3 weeks during the times the mosquitoes are at their peak.
We actually used one of these companies when we got married in October in Oklahoma. So, in Oklahoma in October it’s still pretty warm and there were still quite a few bugs. And our wedding was outside and we were having it at our house out on our property and so we wanted to make sure that not only we were comfortable, but our guests were comfortable. So, we did hire a service to come out and spray. And they actually did it one time for us, so they didn’t require an ongoing contract. Yeah, and it was really effective.
And that’s one of the pros. When it’s properly applied, it helps kill mosquitoes in all different life stages. One of the cons are protection will fade, especially with weather. And it requires multiple and frequent treatments. And it requires large volumes of chemical that may harm wild life and toxicity can build up over repeated treatments.
Some companies install automatic mosquito-misting systems, that employ carefully regulated pyrethrin, which was that chemical that we just talked about before. It regulates that mist through nozzles located in areas of your backyard. And this service can even include a smartphone app to mist on demand if you have a special event, Tulsa Pools if you can have an outdoor party or something like that. So, it’s kind of a cool option that you can check into.
There are also other methods of mosquito control. Tulsa Pools You can plant certain plants like lemongrass, which we talked about before, that have repellent properties and can naturally ward insects off. These can all be helpful things or you can use fans to keep the air moving. You can also have mosquito traps, remove any stagnant water, and then you want to treat chronically wet areas, like decks and things, with larvicides.
Finding the right combination of methods is the key to really keeping mosquitoes away and helping you enjoy your Tulsa pool and your Tulsa backyard. And hopefully, these were some helpful tips you for. Maybe you, hopefully, learned something new, something that could help you in trying to repel mosquitoes from your Tulsa pools.
Cody A.: Yep. So, thank you for listening, Divers. We appreciate you. As always, I’m Cody.
Rachel A.: And I’m Rachel.
Cody A.: And we’ll talk-