Summer will officially arrive soon and with the season comes pests. Specifically mosquitoes. And they can make life miserable. You want to spend time outdoors in your pool, your beautiful outdoor living areas but your recreational activities can be ruined by the constant annoyance and irritation caused by mosquitoes hovering around you.
And then there is the fact that some species can cause transmits serious diseases. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution for managing mosquitoes. Countless products on the market claim to be effective and easy to use but few have appreciable value in lessening the annoyance and incidence of bites. Unlike most insects found around homes, mosquitoes are pervasive outdoor pests and there are limits to what can be done to minimize their abundance, nonetheless, there are measures that can afford some relief.
Natural Mosquito Control Methods
The most effective way to reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home is to find and eliminate their breeding sites – standing water. Regardless of recent weather patterns – wet, dry, warm, or cool – there are plenty of potential places in which mosquitoes can develop. A neglected bird bath, swimming pool, or clogged rain gutter can produce hundreds of new mosquitoes in a just a few days. Trees uprooted by storms leave soil depressions that collect seepage and rainwater.
There are some steps that you can take now, at the beginning of summer to minimize mosquito breeding on your property.
- Look around your yard and eliminate or clean out anything that could be holding water such as trash cans, boats, wheel barrows, pet dishes (these should be cleaned daily), flower pot saucers or even clogged potted plants that are not draining properly. Not only are you providing an incubator for mosquitos but your plant will likely drown as well.
- If you have bird baths, fountains or wading pools be sure to change the water at least once a week and keep your swimming pool clean and chlorinated.
- Clean debris from rain gutters and unclog obstructed downspouts.
This article by Mother Earth Living offers some ideas about how to protect yourself from mosquitoes with chemical-free, natural methods.
And if that doesn’t appeal to you, once you have done everything you can to minimize breeding zones in your outdoor living space you can then call in the enforcers by calling your local mosquito control services.
Enjoy your outdoor time!
