"Sunny" wrote: >I've become almost house-bound because of the mosquitoes in my herb garden >and vegetable garden.
This may be a sign of an imbalance in your local ecology.
What is the state of health of the natural predators of these insects?
>I don't like to use chemicals, but is there anything I can put on my yard >and garden to repel these viscous little biters.
Your problem may be caused by other people's use of chemicals, which do not
kill all the pests and so breed resistant strains, but do concentrate up
the food chain and so kill off the natural predators. Thus you end up with
more pests than you started with, while the pesticide companies laugh all
the way to the bank.
>I use "OFF Skintastic insect repellent" when I have to work in the gardens, >but I can't use it when I just walk to the car or go out to feed the cat.
Cats are undoubtedly one of the causes of your problem.
Purple Martins, Swallows, and many other birds spend their days eating
large numbers of insects. Cats kill astronomical numbers of birds.
Places that have cats have half the bird populations of places that are
free of cats. If you want to reduce the insect population, you need to
keep cats out of your area.
Find out what other reasons are keeping birds from thriving.
There are many books on how to improve habitat for birds. You can also ask
your local Audubon Society chapter for advice & referrals.
Some Bats can eat thousands of insects per night, but many species are in
serious decline due to habitat loss and pesticides. See
www.californiabats.com for info on how to improve habitat for Bats,
including how to make or buy Bat houses.
If you're really serious about solving the problem, catch one of the bugs
and identify it with a guidebook or by taking it to your local Agricultural
Extension or Pest Control agency, and research its life history and who its
predators are. Then you should be in a position to figure out what changes
you can make in your watershed to make it less friendly to the pest and
more friendly to the predators.