Mosquito  Prevention

What can I do to prevent mosquitoes?

While your ability to control widespread problems with mosquitoes is limited, there are many things to do to eliminate their breeding on your own property. Fogging with pesticides around your yard may provide some immediate relief from the biting adults, but this will be very short term, as the materials you fog with dissipate within only a few hours or a couple of days, and more mosquitoes can come in.

However, if we revisit the list of breeding sources from earlier in this article, here are some important thoughts for prevention:

• Tree holes - examine the large trees on your property - oaks, sycamores, walnut - where trunks come together or where large branches have broken off, and determine whether there are holes where water can accumulate. Fill these holes with sand or gravel, possibly even with concrete, or drill holes from the underside to let the water drain out.

   

• Backyard ponds - call your local Health Department or Mosquito control agency, and ask about getting some "mosquito fish". These tiny fish may be free, and will live there year after year, eating any mosquito larvae that develop in the pond. They are extremely efficient at this and cause no other problems for you.

   

• Small containers - just turn them over during the rainy season so they cannot store water.

   

• Covers on pools, spas, boats, barbecues, etc. - drain them and prop them so water does not pool on them, but drains off.

   

• Settled water in crawl spaces, around rain gutter down spouts, French drains, etc. - improve the drainage so all water can flow away.

   

• Ensure all of the screens on your doors and windows are in good condition, and keep doors closed when possible so mosquitoes cannot enter your home.

   

• When outside during the seasons that mosquito adults are active WEAR REPELLENT. Mosquitoes generally are good about honoring repellents, and this will prevent most bites. Of course, long sleeved shirts and long pants also go a long way in covering up the banquet tables that mosquitoes seek.

   

What about using chemicals to control mosquitoes?

Chemical control probably is best left in the hands of professionals, particularly if it is for widespread control measures. Any breeding sources on you own property generally can be handled by eliminating the source - in other words, draining the water. There are some excellent materials that can be placed in the water, in ponds, canals, storm drain catch basins, or other small bodies of water, that do a terrific job of preventing the development of the larvae. These are growth regulators, bacteria, or surface materials that cause suffocation of the larvae and pupae, and often are not available to the general public.

Contact your local Mosquito Abatement Agency or a licensed pest control firm, to see what options may be available to you in this area. Even if the chemical applications are left up to professionals, who have the training and equipment necessary, you can do a great deal to minimize the problem so that their efforts are more successful.

Another thought to keep in mind is to make sure you actually are dealing with mosquitoes, before you set about releasing chemicals into your home or yard. There are many other kinds of little "gnats" that resemble mosquitoes but which themselves do not bite. These may be midges, mayflies, fungus gnats, or the huge Crane Flies that people mistakenly believe are "mosquito hawks", and believe will eat mosquitoes for us. Unfortunately, they do not.

Bugaboo^®  Pest Control, LLC doityou

Ant exterminate, odorous house ant exterminate, Carpet beetles exterminate, caterpillars exterminate, catapillers exterminate, centipedes exterminate, crazy ant exterminate, dursban exterminate, entomology exterminate, flea exterminate, flies exterminate, bebbugs exterminate, bed-bugs exterminate, bed bugs exterminate, hornets exterminate, yellowjackets exterminate, wasps exterminate, cloth moth exterminate, colthes moth extSerminate, clothing moth exterminate, clovermite exterminate, clover-mite exterminate, clover might exterminate, cricket exterminate, food bugs exterminate, food and pantry bugs exterminate, fruitfly exterminate, fruit flies exterminate, fruit-flies exterminate, head-lice exterminate, head lice exterminate, hobo exterminate, lady bug exterminate, lady-bug exterminate, lady-bug exterminate, little tiny ants exterminate, sugar ants exterminate, piss ants exterminate, mole exterminate, mole information exterminate, lice exterminate, lyme disease exterminate, lime disease exterminate, sowbugs exterminate, sow-bugs exterminate, sow bugs exterminate, Anobiid exterminate, Powderpost Beetles exterminate, Coleoptera exterminate, Anobium punctatum exterminate, Xestobium rufovillosum exterminate, parasites exterminate, Brownbanded exterminate, American cockroach exterminate, Oriental cockroach exterminate, German cockroach exterminate, mosquitoes exterminate, Diptera exterminate, Culicidae exterminate, rorway rats exterminate, roof rats exterminate, beetles exterminate, beatles exterminate,

rselfpestcontrol do-it-yourself-pest-control do_it_yourself_pest_control doyourownpestcontrol do-your-own-pest-control do_your_own_pest_control pestcontrolsupplies pest-control-supplies  pest_control_supplies bugoutlet bug-outlet bug_outlet pestproducts pest-products pest_products victorpest victor_pest victor-pest orkin terminex amazonpest
Copyright © 2001 [Alan Luke]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 08/01/08. Home