Eliminating mosquito breeding grounds around your home is the first step in protecting yourself against mosquito attacks. Trash and recycling bins, flower pot saucers, children’s and pet toys, tarps and tires all contain water sources in which mosquitoes breed.
Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, bird baths, wading pools and garden ponds twice every week to maintain cleanliness and control mosquito larvae populations. Introduce goldfish or mosquito fish or Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis (Bti) bacteria into ponds as a means of controling mosquito larvae growth.
Check for Standing Water
Mosquitoes can be a nuisance, as well as carrying serious diseases like West Nile virus, Zika virus and dengue fever. Even small amounts of standing water can become breeding grounds for mosquitoes which then proliferate throughout your yard and neighborhood.
Now more than ever, as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes that carry Zika have spread into San Luis Obispo County it is crucial to take steps to keep them from breeding on your property. Experts in mosquito control agree on some key prevention tips to reduce mosquito populations around your home.
Prioritize regular yard checks and cleanup after rain events to locate areas in which standing water may collect. It only takes days for mosquito eggs to hatch into larvae that develop into adult mosquitoes in standing water sources like gutters, bird baths, trash containers, flower pot saucers, children’s toys or other forms of yard “clutter.”
Covering items that could hold water and leaving them to dry out alone will only create an environment in which mosquitoes can lay their eggs. Instead, drain or empty any outdoor decorative accents that hold water such as bird baths, trash containers, buckets or children’s toys to ensure water doesn’t pool around their edges and become stagnant – this includes birdbaths, trash containers, buckets or buckets! Ideally you should also regularly scrub out the interiors of planters and other objects which store water such as planters and any objects which store water such as these as this will ensure no breeding ground for mosquitoes!
Add movement to water features on your property such as ponds, fountains and rain barrels in order to make breeding harder for mosquitoes. A water wiggler or waterfall can increase surface tension of the water so larvae have difficulty emerging to breathe – thus being easier killed off.
Where it is impractical or impassive to remove and eradicate mosquito breeding sites, larvicides in water may help kill mosquito larvae before they mature into biting adults. Our service team can apply this treatment during regular service visits or you can purchase and apply it yourself at home.
Eliminate Potential Hiding Places
Mosquitoes are drawn to dark and damp areas. When possible, eliminate mosquito hideouts by clearing away plant leaf piles, wood piles, decks or tarps underdecks or tarps as well as decks or tarps and under decks such as decks tarps tarps as well as stone walls from these places by raking up leaf piles, wood piles and trimming overgrown shrubs such as shrubbery. Also consider trimming tree trunks/ stumps from these places that attract them as these are great attractants to attract mosquitoes!
Although it can be challenging to eliminate every possible breeding site for mosquitoes in your yard, you can significantly decrease their numbers by eliminating breeding sites. If your yard contains standing water sources such as flower pots, buckets, birdbaths and kids’ wading pools containing standing water, regularly clean or empty containers that hold this liquid (flower pots, buckets birdbaths birdbaths kids wading pools etc). Also drain tree stumps remove tripped-over rocks toys clean out gutters prevent clogging while gutters should also be cleared to prevent clogging clogging up overflowing; use larvicides (combinations of insect growth regulators and an insecticide like lambda-cyhalothrin) to control mosquito larvae found in small ponds fountains or birdbaths.
Indoors, you can protect your home against mosquitoes by making sure all windows and doors are locked, curtains drawn tight and screens functional – this will deter mosquitoes from gaining entry and keeping them away from entering your bedroom during the night in search of blood meals.
Outside your house, a targeted yard treatment from your local mosquito control company can help keep mosquitoes at bay. Their professionals will target areas around your home and outdoor living spaces where mosquitoes often congregate; treating areas that provide shade, moist areas as hiding places for mosquitoes including tall grass, overgrown vegetation, weeds and brush as well as treating it with larvicides to kill larvae before they mature into adult mosquitoes that spread disease.
Mosquitoes can travel long distances in search of blood. You might not be able to control mosquitoes on neighboring properties or nature preserves, which makes mosquito control services essential. With mosquitoes developing resistance to common repellents such as DEET spray, having a comprehensive mosquito control plan in place becomes even more essential; an expert in mosquito control will tailor a strategy specifically tailored to meet your unique needs – targeting all places mosquitoes are hiding!
Repellents
Repellents used as instructed can effectively prevent mosquito bites and help safeguard people against serious mosquito-borne illnesses, including yellow fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, malaria, chikungunya and various forms of encephalitis. Unfortunately, insect-borne diseases remain an extremely serious threat in many parts of the world and often prove fatal without prompt treatment.
N,N-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) remains the gold standard when it comes to direct skin applications of insect repellent. Decades of empirical testing have not produced any other repellent with equal long-term protection and broad spectrum effectiveness as DEET; however other options such as picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus may also prove effective in repelling mosquitos and ticks.
Consumer Reports’ laboratory tests indicate that plant-based repellents perform similarly to DEET in terms of effectiveness; the only drawback being they need to be applied frequently – roughly every 30 minutes or so.
We conducted experiments using these products against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, known to transmit Zika, dengue fever and other infectious diseases. Volunteers applied one of the repellents sprayed onto their arms before placing them in a cage with mosquitoes; we counted how many mosquitoes landed and bit that arm during testing (known as Complete Protection Time (CPT).
All EPA-registered insect repellents are safe for use, but our tests showed that some repellents performed better than others in repelling mosquitoes for up to six hours – specifically one that contained picaridin as its active ingredient.
Spray insect repellent can be easily applied, but it’s essential that you follow instructions precisely. A small area should always be tested prior to spraying more expansive areas; you should avoid spraying near eyes or mouth. The Centers for Disease Control recommends selecting a repellent containing at least 20 percent DEET or an equivalent concentration in another EPA-registered insect repellent product for maximum effectiveness.
For maximum protection, we suggest selecting products containing picaridin’s odor-blocking active ingredient derived from black pepper that have proven equally as effective without producing as strong an odor as DEET can have.
Larvicides
Larvicides (also referred to as larvacide) are products designed to target mosquito larvae in their breeding sites. Less toxic than adult mosquito sprays and more effective at killing larvae that would later turn into biting adults, larvacides are an excellent method for controlling mosquito populations when combined with source reduction and repellents; otherwise they’re the go-to choice when such approaches are impossible.
There are three main larvicides approved for use in the US: microbial larvicides, insect growth inhibitors and chemical insecticides (mainly temephos). Microbial larvicides consist of dormant bacteria spore forms which only harm mosquito larvae by releasing pure toxin into their surroundings that disrupts gut function within them; Bti is one such product found under its trade names Aquabac, Teknar or Vectobac.
Methoprene and hydroprene are insect growth regulators related to juvenile hormone that block mosquito larvae from maturing into adults by interfering with their ability to digest food. While effective, they should only be applied in areas of still water without currents; lakes or bodies of standing water would likely prove too polluted for them to be used effectively. Temephos is an organophosphate insecticide that kills larvae by interfering with their nervous systems – but has a high toxicity for aquatic invertebrates and fish; therefore only use is recommended where humans won’t be using its water bodies.
Microbial larvicides are safe for people, pets, birds, wildlife and plants when used according to label instructions and do not pose a threat to the environment when applied in accordance with label directions. Aerial applications of granular larvicides should occur every three to four weeks during mosquito breeding season (April through October or as needed).
Larviciding is more effective and less toxic than adult mosquito sprays because it targets mosquito larvae before they have the ability to fly and bite. Not every place with standing water needs to be laricided – only areas in which mosquito larvae actually exist should be treated.