I get this question on a daily basis this time of year and have had calls from many a Deer Farmer over the last few years. After extensive research with the vector control Industry, and experience with both the A1 Mist Blower and the London Fogger, there is no doubt that a ULV fogger is the way to go. They are used by professional pest control applicators nationwide. Any City, Municipality or University who has a vector control program uses a London Fogger. Here are the reasons. The main thing to consider is the droplet size. Misting comes from the orchard industry, weather it is a mounted system or a 3 point system like the A1 or the Big John, they are designed to creat a 200 micron droplet that is designed to "rain down" on the product (apples, oranges, pecans, grapes, etc) creating a splash and putting a nice coating on the product. Using these type of systems for controling flying insects is ineffective because your basiclly throwing a basketball at them. Using the correct applicator, the ULV (ultra-low volume) London Fogger creates a very small 20 micron droplet, which is basicly shooting a bullet at them. As some have mentioned, when using the misting system, the bugs fly away. This is the problem with that....They will fly to your neighbors and survive, the problem with this is that they can then go feed their larvae. You want to KILL the target, so that it can NOT go back to it's nest to feed its eggs. That is why Thermal fogging is no longer used by pro's, the white smoke looks cool, and "repels" the insect, but they just fly to the neighbors. You must KILL the bug so it can not feed its eggs, and that allows you to get ahead of the larvae cycle. In addition to droplet size, to create a true "fog" you must use a mineral oil based chemical because when you create such a small droplet you do not want it to evaporate. Water droplets at 20 microns evaporate. This leads to using the correct chemical, you MUST use a chemical that is specifically designed for "ARIEL" space spraying. You must have a product that has the correct emulsifiers that allow the permethrin molecule attach to the oil molecule, which makes it a fast molecule, which makes it anti-evaportive. Many guys in our Industry are using chemicals designed for termites on foundation walls.....a sticky emulsifier to make the chemical stick to the foundation....and they wonder why their nozzles are always clogging up! Buy a product specifically designed for ariel space spraying and you can greatly reduce that problem. And finally, it only take .0045 pounds of active ingredient per acre to kill midges. You can use your 10 or 20 or 30% permethrin straight in the fogger and knock down bugs. Then I will fog your same area using 4-4 (4% permethrin / 4% PBO) and you did not make the bug any more dead than dead, all you did was spend 1000 times more money for the same result. Spray a weed with a little chemical, its gonna die, pour the whole gallon on it, its gonna die, same principle....trust the system. I've sold 100's of London Foggers to the Deer Industry without a single complaint, not even a single ONE. It works, It works well, and it's the only way to go. Not only that but it is extremely cost effective, a single 2.5 gallon jug will treat approximately 200 acres, I sell this jug for 75 bucks. So a 10 acre pen can be treated for 20 nights for $75. A barrier spray is also extremely effective but that's a whole new subject. If anyone needs consultation on vector control, don't hessitate to give me a call anytime. My cell number is on the anwering machine at the office if you want to call after hours.
Michael
