With rain comes the inevitable flood of mosquitoes. It seems to have gotten even worse in recent years, and new threats like the Zika virus definitely don’t help. What is the best way to get rid of mosquitoes? Is there any real way to achieve mosquito control? There are a few mosquito prevention tips that are incredibly important …and that can change your Fall experience from itchy to comfortable.
How to Control Mosquitoes
The most important part of controlling mosquitoes is to dump or treat stagnant water. This means dump cups that are left out, open containers, bottles, cans, whatever it might be. Many larger children’s toys are plastic and have hollows that fill up. Make sure you dump these, too. If there’s something too large to dump, such as a rain barrel, treat it.
Do NOT treat ponds or natural wetlands, as this is illegal and can cause far more damage. How? If you kill off animals that eat mosquitoes, such as frogs and geckos, that call wetlands home, your problem will definitely become much worse.
Get Rid of Mosquitoes
Encourage your neighbors to commit to dumping out and treating standing water. If you regularly eliminate places where mosquitoes can breed, but they’re breeding right next door, it doesn’t make a difference. When entire neighborhoods can employ these simple, quick strategies, you can see a real impact on mosquito populations.
Beyond this, the tried and true mosquito prevention tips do work. Citronella, bug spray, and mosquito netting are all effective. The only way to control their numbers, however, is to eliminate places where mosquitoes breed. That requires communities to join together in mosquito control programs.
A Brevard County pest control service like Slug-A-Bug can help teach you how to control mosquitoes, and also provide help in treatments and environmental changes that reduce their breeding areas. Together, communities and a reliable pest control service can change the mosquito numbers and mosquito-borne disease risk in an area.