Nothing ruins a summertime barbecue like a swarm of mosquitoes. These pesky insects can truly make life miserable. Just when the sun starts to set, they start to swarm. Making evenings and even daytime hard to enjoy.
A-Tex Pest Management Lists Six Ways to Prevent Mosquitoes in Your Home or Yard
1. Keep your landscaping trimmed and neat. Overgrown shrubs and bushes, along with unkempt grass, provide mosquitoes with a damp and moist place to lay low. They thrive in these conditions so keeping your landscaping trimmed eliminates this.
2. Keep your outdoor space clear of the trash. Often, water pools up in the bottom of trash receptacles making them a breeding ground for mosquitoes. To avoid this, drill holes in the bottom of your trash cans so the water can drain properly. Also, clearing your yard of larger trash items that can collect water such as tires, tarps, or old buckets can help keep the pests to a minimum as well.
3. Make sure swimming pools are clean and chlorinated. Mosquitoes can’t breed in a pool if it is appropriately cleaned. If you are planning on leaving town, make sure your pool has been taken care of and chlorinated so you don’t come home to a huge mosquito population.
4. Check your gutters. Sometimes gutters can become full of leaves and other debris. When this happens the water can’t drain properly from the gutters and water is left standing still, perfect for mosquitos.
5. Repair window screens. If your window screens have any holes or tears in them, make sure you repair them before the spring and summer months hit. It doesn’t take a very big hole for a mosquito to gain entry to your home.
6. Remove standing water. If you have a small pond or other ornamental standing water such as a birdbath, make sure you are emptying the water frequently. The water needs to be changed weekly in order to ensure no mosquitoes. If you have a pond big enough for fish, there are fish that eat mosquito eggs and that may be an option for you. Also, check the saucers in the bottom of your flower pots. These small accumulations of water are the perfect place for mosquitoes to lay their eggs. After you experience a good amount of rainfall, you should walk around your property and look for any areas where puddles have formed. At times, these areas can have puddles of water there for days, and a mosquito will take full advantage of that.
Effective Mosquito Repellents
It is important to remember that not only do they have an obnoxious bite, mosquitoes also carry diseases. Some diseases like the West Nile Virus and the Zika Virus can have serious effects on your health. A couple of effective ways to avoid their bites are:
1. Use an insect repellent containing DEET. This is the most effective ingredient in keeping mosquitoes away.
2. If you don’t have insect repellent, dress in long-sleeved shirts and long pants. This decreases the amount of skin left unprotected and vulnerable to mosquito bites.
3. Avoid being outside during the early hours of the day and dusk. This is the time of day mosquitoes are most active.
Mosquito Pest Inspections, Control, Management, Treatment & Removal in Austin, Round Rock, Leander, Pflugerville & Cedar Park Texas
Hopefully, these tips will help you avoid the misery only a mosquito can bring. If you find yourself not able to keep up with an onslaught of mosquitoes this year, call A-Tex Pest Management to discuss getting your yard treated for mosquitoes. Using an effective mosquito control and barrier system, A-Tex Pest Management can rid your property of mosquitoes and ensure you have an enjoyable summer outdoors.