Citronella - doesn't really work in my experience
Yard fogger - make a big difference on still nights. Good for a couple hours of protection.
Fans - helps a lot, makes it hard for them to fly. Getting a patio fully covered with wind may not be practical.
Water bags. I don't have these in my yard, but see them at some outdoor restaurants. They seem to deter flies to a degree: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/water-bags-repel-flies1.htm . May be worth a shot if you have fly problems. We don't get biting flies here.
Bug zapper - useless, but fun. We tried hanging these in a perimeter around the patio with no real effect.
BBQ - smoke from pit seems to deter all bugs.
Things you can do to thin the bug population:
-Yard work. The more your yard looks like a jungle or wild grassland, the more places mosquitoes can hide/perch. Thin out your bushes/hedges, keep grass short.
-Standing water. Doesn't take much for them to breed. We used to have a bird bath/fountain. After getting rid of that, mosquito population went down considerably. Go through the yard and look for anything that collects water and flip it over or throw it away.
-Dog poo - pick it up. It attracts flies, other bugs.
Our general recipe:
-Trimmed yard.
-Remove all standing water.
-Spray fogger around the yard perimeter, especially hitting all bushes
-Fans, or at least congregate where there is a breeze
-Still need to apply repellant on the people that mosquitoes really like... others may not need anything.
Yard fogger - make a big difference on still nights. Good for a couple hours of protection.
Fans - helps a lot, makes it hard for them to fly. Getting a patio fully covered with wind may not be practical.
Water bags. I don't have these in my yard, but see them at some outdoor restaurants. They seem to deter flies to a degree: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/water-bags-repel-flies1.htm . May be worth a shot if you have fly problems. We don't get biting flies here.
Bug zapper - useless, but fun. We tried hanging these in a perimeter around the patio with no real effect.
BBQ - smoke from pit seems to deter all bugs.
Things you can do to thin the bug population:
-Yard work. The more your yard looks like a jungle or wild grassland, the more places mosquitoes can hide/perch. Thin out your bushes/hedges, keep grass short.
-Standing water. Doesn't take much for them to breed. We used to have a bird bath/fountain. After getting rid of that, mosquito population went down considerably. Go through the yard and look for anything that collects water and flip it over or throw it away.
-Dog poo - pick it up. It attracts flies, other bugs.
Our general recipe:
-Trimmed yard.
-Remove all standing water.
-Spray fogger around the yard perimeter, especially hitting all bushes
-Fans, or at least congregate where there is a breeze
-Still need to apply repellant on the people that mosquitoes really like... others may not need anything.