Backyard mosquito misting in Australia: what works in a wet season

The block size is the design driver

Australian suburban blocks are usually long and narrow with a fence line on both sides and a boundary that runs behind planting. Nozzle count follows the perimeter, which is why two blocks of the same area can need quite different systems. Where a block backs onto a creek, reserve or drainage easement, we put the heavier nozzle density on that side — that is where mosquitoes arrive from.

Rain pause and tank water

Two local realities change the control settings and the plumbing:

• Cycles during rain are wasted, so we fit a rain pause: the schedule stops while it is raining and resumes afterwards.
• Many properties are on rainwater tanks. Tank water is usually fine for misting, but it needs inlet filtration (5 μm) and a clean-out routine; sending us a description of your supply at enquiry stage is enough for us to specify it.
• After heavy rain, short, more frequent cycles (the published pattern is 5–10 minutes every 2–4 hours) control the surge far better than one long run.

Family, pets and native wildlife

Where children and dogs use the yard, we set the schedule for the hours the yard is normally empty, keep the concentrate locked and diluted exactly as labelled (1:50–1:100 for the systems we supply), and keep nozzles pointed inward from the boundary. If you keep bees, have a pond with fish, or grow edibles, tell us at survey stage — placement and timing change, and in some spots the right answer is not to spray at all.