Mosquitoes are a nuisance in any yard. The bite of a mosquito can result in a simple red spot that may or may not itch to a dangerous disease that can lead to severe sickness and even death. Mosquito control for your yard is important. Let’s look at some ways to control mosquitoes in your yard.
Summertime is a time for families to gather and enjoy all the outdoor activities they couldn’t do during the cold seasons. Families have friends over for a backyard bar-b-que. Families have swim parties. Families have backyard picnics and camp outs with the kids. Summertime is full of fun for families. However, along with all of the outdoor fun that summertime brings, the warmer weather also brings out those annoying buzzing, biting pests...the mosquitoes. The best way to enjoy those outdoor summertime activities mosquito free is to maintain a mosquito free environment. You need to have complete mosquito control of your yard.
Mosquito Control for Your Yard: Summertime
Mosquito bites are quite common during the hot summer months. If you don’t have effective mosquito control of your yard, you can end up with multiple mosquito bites after just a short time outside. Mosquito bites usually result in nothing more than a small, itchy bump that goes away on its own within a day or two. Mosquito bites, can, however, result in an infection, virus or disease. It is possible to get a secondary infection from a mosquito bite. Mosquitoes in the United States can carry diseases like dengue fever or viruses like the West Nile Virus. In order to keep mosquitoes at bay during the summer months, you will need to maintain effective mosquito control for your yard. Let’s look at some ways you can work to achieve mosquito control for your yard.
Environment: Changes You Can Make for Effective Mosquito Control for Your Yard
When planning for an outdoor activity in your yard, you want everything to go smoothly. The last thing you need is for someone in your family or some of your friends to be attacked by mosquitoes while enjoying their cold drinks, playing a game of horseshoes or chowing on a plate of brisket and potato salad. The fun stops when the mosquitoes bite. Some ways for you to modify things around your yard to keep the mosquitoes at bay and achieve effective mosquito control for your yard are listed below:
- Eliminate any standing water around your home. You can find standing water in these areas:
- Potted plants
- Gutters
- Pet water bowls
- Holes in trees
- Under and around water hydrants
- Ponds/fish ponds
- Poorly maintained swimming pools/kiddie swimming pools
- Street gutters
- Folds in tarps
- Lawn furniture
- Any low area in the yard
- Flower beds
- Old tires
- Water cans
- Buckets
- Birdbaths
You will need to walk your property and drain any standing water you see. If you have a pool, make sure to keep it chlorinated. If you have a pond, keep it aerated. Mosquitoes can’t breed in moving water. Mosquitoes also like to hang out in tall or thick grass because moisture gathers underneath making it prime areas for breeding. Don’t let leaves or grass clippings pile in your yard. Keep your shrubs and bushes trimmed. Keeping your yard well groomed is essential for effective mosquito control of your yard.
When necessary, you may need to speak to your neighbors about any obvious standing water around their home or possibly drain it yourself. Mosquitoes don’t know boundaries so the more standing water you can eliminate around your home and yard, the better mosquito control for your yard you will achieve.
What to Do When Standing Water Can’t Be Drained
Sometimes, there are situations when water cannot be drained. Water in ditches after a good rain can be there for weeks before they dry up. You may not want to drain your water barrels because you are collecting the water for a specific purpose. Retention ponds serve a purpose and are not easily drained. There is a way for you to make sure that mosquitoes cannot breed in these areas.
BTI (bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) is a treatment that can be added to standing water. https://www.epa.gov/mosquitocontrol/bti-mosquito-control BTI is a small, solid biological bacterium that occurs naturally in soils. There are three forms of BTI that is commonly added to standing water. One is a BTI dunk which can be added to ponds and pools. The dunks float on open water. Another way BTI is used is sprinkles which can be sprinkled in gutters and ditches or anywhere you have small areas of standing water that can’t be drained. The third way BTI is used is as an aerial spray. Some cities use BTI in their aerial mosquito treatments.
BTI is safe for you to use around your home and in your yard. BTI use is safe for fish and aquatic plants. It is safe for all animals and most importantly, it is safe for your family. BTI is only toxic to black-fly, fungus gnat and mosquito larvae. BTI use along with changes you make in your yard care regimen will help you have a fun summertime party in your yard because you have effective mosquito control for your yard.
ALL NATURAL MOSQUITO CONTROL
Mosquito Repellent Plants Help Maintain Mosquito Control for Your Yard
Effective mosquito control for your yard is an ongoing job for you as you take care of your yard during the summer months. One way to deter mosquitoes from taking up residence in your yard is to keep mosquito repellent plants in your gardens. https://www.gardendesign.com/plants/mosquito-repellent.html
Outdoor Mosquito Control
Some of the plants known to effectively repel mosquitoes are listed below:
- Ageratum
- Citronella
- Catnip
- Basil
- Lemon Balm
- Lemongrass
- Lantana
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Marigold
- Geranium
- Any plant in the mint family
Another layer of protection in your garden is the use of cedar mulch. Cedar also repels mosquitoes, soaks up excess water and keeps the moisture in the soil. Not only are these plants and the cedar mulch effective in helping mosquito control for your yard, they are also pretty additions to your garden.
Night Time Mosquito Control for Your Yard
When you are outside enjoying your summertime activities, you get more bites as the sun begins to set. Most mosquito species do begin biting at dusk. You need to know how to achieve mosquito control for your yard not only during the daylight hours, but at nighttime as well. Mosquitoes are attracted to a specific kind of lighting. This lighting is incandescent lighting. If you have incandescent lighting on your porches and around your yard, you will need to change your bulbs out for another kind of lighting that does not attract mosquitoes. Here are the types of lighting to consider if you want mosquito control for your yard at nighttime:
- LED
- Fluorescent
- Yellow ‘bug’ lights
- Sodium lamps
Changing your outdoor lighting will help you with maintaining mosquito control for your yard.
Bats: Effective for Mosquito Control of Your Yard
You might not like the idea of bats for mosquito control for your yard, but bats can eat hundreds of mosquitoes an hour. Mosquitoes are not the sole diet for a bat so bats will take care of other pests as well. All you need to do to entice bats to your home is add a bat house somewhere in your yard. Bat houses should be in an open, sunny area of your yard and located about 15 feet off of the ground. Combined with the other suggestions, bats will help you maintain effective mosquito control for your yard.
Fans: Will Fans Really Help Maintain Mosquito Control of Your Yard?
Mosquitoes are small insects that need almost still air to maintain flight. The slightest breeze can knock them off of their path. An easy way to maintain mosquito control of your yard, especially on your patio, is to install fans and keep them running at least while you are outside. Keeping your fans running at all times will ensure the mosquitoes do not take up residence on your patio and potentially enter your home any time a door is opened. Fans really can help maintain effective mosquito control of your yard (patio area).
Maintaining Mosquito Control of Your Yard in the Fall
While everyone is concerned with mosquitoes and their potential for a bite with a potential to spread disease during the warm summer months, it is important to realize that mosquitoes continue to flourish and bite as the weather begins to cool. Mosquitoes are actually active until the temperature drops below 60 degrees. https://www.pestworld.org/news-hub/pest-articles/mosquitoes-dont-fall-away-as-a-major-pest-problem-when-summer-ends/
Don’t let up on your yard maintenance and mosquito control regimen as the season begins to change. Continue to keep stagnant water drained. Continue to keep your yard well groomed and don’t allow grass clippings or leaves to pile in your yard. Don’t have incandescent lighting outside. Keep fans turning on your porches. You can continue to enjoy the outdoors for months after summer ends in many areas of the United States.
There are so many activities families and friends like to enjoy together outside. From picnics to pool parties to barbecues, the fun continues throughout much of the year. The threat of a mosquito bite that itches or spreads an illness or disease is real. Keep yourself, your family and friends safe by applying these suggested strategies. If you feel you cannot completely control the mosquito population in your yard, you will need to contact a licensed pest control professional. A licensed pest control provider has the knowledge, experience and treatment/s that are needed for your specific area. They understand the life cycle of a mosquito and the absolute best, most effective treatment available to treat your yard. The outdoors are always better enjoyed when you have maintained effective mosquito control of your yard.
