Warm summer nights are filled with BBQs and camping trips. Nothing can ruin a beautiful summer night like a swarm of mosquitoes. A mosquito infestation in your backyard or anywhere near your home can ruin any amount of time you would like to spend outside. And it’s even worse when mosquitoes make their way indoors. Their itchy, uncomfortable bites can be bothersome to someone for days after the initial encounter. A-Tex Pest Management would like to share some tips to help you avoid a mosquito infestation on these lazy days at the end of summer.
Stages of Mosquito Life Cycle & Development
Mosquitoes have four life stages, and each of those can be eliminated in different ways. If you can disrupt the different life stages of a mosquito, it will help to eliminate the mosquito problem you are dealing with.
Life Stage #1: How to Get Rid of Mosquito Eggs
Eliminating mosquito eggs is one of the most effective ways to reduce the number of mosquitoes you have to deal with. Mosquitos lay their eggs in standing water. The best way to make sure they can’t lay eggs is to check your property for any areas that water is accumulating and not moving at all. These places might include:
• Bird Baths and Ponds
• Debris such as tires, tarps, and buckets
• Irrigation ditches and canals
• Landscaping ponds
• Untreated swimming pools
• Animal troughs
Life Stage #2&3: Mosquito Larvae and Pupa
One thing to consider when dealing with areas that mosquitoes might lay their eggs and develop into the next life stages, such as small ponds, is putting fish in them to eat the young mosquitoes. If you have a small pond that water doesn’t flow freely from, you should consider this option. If you have animal troughs and birdbaths that require standing water, you should be cleaning them out regularly to avoid mosquitoes growing and developing in them. There are also pesticides that are very effective in treating some water sources that are stagnant.
Life Stage #4: How to Avoid Adult Mosquito Bites
When you are dealing with adult mosquitoes, you will want to eliminate the places that they like to hide in to get away from the heat during the day. Keeping the grass on your property trimmed and short will help reduce adult mosquitoes, as well as trimming the bushes and shrubbery in your landscaping. To avoid getting bitten by adult mosquitoes you should:
• Wear long-sleeved shirts. This is especially the case during the cooler hours of the day, first thing in the morning and at dusk.
• Find a good insect repellent. DEET is very effective in repelling mosquitoes.
• Check the screens on your doors and windows to avoid mosquitoes getting into your home.
• Use plants like citronella, that naturally repel mosquitoes in your landscaping.
Mosquito Pest Inspections, Prevention, Control & Removal in Austin, Round Rock, Leander, Pflugerville & Cedar Park, Texas
If you find that you have a mosquito problem that has gotten out of hand, it is time to seek the help of a professional pest control company. A-Tex Pest Management offers mosquito prevention and control. Because mosquitos carry some serious diseases such as the Zika Virus and West Nile Virus, you should take all precautions necessary to ensure you and your family aren’t getting bit by mosquitoes. Call us today to eliminate your mosquito problem.