Smoke from a bonfire can deter mosquitoes in the immediate area, but only in areas where the smoke is highly concentrated and where you will likely not want to sit for long.
A summer evening by the fire at the lake feels like it should solve all your problems, even those not related to mosquitoes at all. But when it comes to mosquitoes, you’d think that if nothing else, the heat and the smoke would turn the mosquitoes away. There’s a kernel of truth to this, but the practical reality is more complicated.
Mosquitoes do avoid dense smoke. The particulate matter and carbon dioxide concentration in a smoke plume interfere with their ability to locate hosts by scent. If you're sitting directly in the path of wood smoke, you'll likely notice fewer mosquitoes on you during those moments.
The problem is that being "directly in the path of smoke" is a lot harder than it sounds. Winds change direction, and so too does the smoke plume. Or you may find yourself sick of the feeling of your eyes burning, and you move your chair. But the trouble is that once you step out of the narrow corridor of protection (or the wind does it for you), the mosquitoes will find you again.
Fires, in fact, can be counterproductive because they produce a lot of carbon dioxide, which just so happens to be the signal mosquitoes use to locate warm-blooded hosts from a distance. A bonfire can draw mosquitoes toward the general area even while the smoke repels them from the immediate vicinity. The net effect for a group of people sitting around a fire pit is often a wash, or worse.
This is where it helps a lot to handle mosquito control on a property level. Rather than trying to mask your presence from mosquitoes or hoping smoke drifts in the right direction, a barrier treatment reduces the number of mosquitoes resting and breeding near you.
Mosquito Squad of New Hampshire Lakes Region treats the vegetation and shaded areas where mosquitoes rest during the day. That helps control them on a population level, meaning there are far fewer mosquitoes around to bug you in the first place when it’s time to start up a bonfire.
