Q - I seem to have an abundance of mosquitoes in my backyard. How can I get rid of them?
JoAnn in Stockbridge
A - You can move.
Anything else will take some
effort on your part.
Skeeters can breed in any sized
pool of standing water in your yard. In
a bucket or pail, in an old tire used for a tire swing or a sandbox, in your
gutters, in your yard itself. Anywhere
you have standing water, even the smallest of drops, you have a skeeter
breading ground.
And guess what we have had an
abundance of lately. Right. Water.
Therefore the first step is to
keep standing water out of your yard.
To help aid in getting rid of
them permanently you will have to enlist the help of a pest control
company. They can do a monthly spray
(the spray is only effective for about 30 days) during peak skeeter season
which will help keep down the population.
When I say 'peak skeeter season'
that means as long as temperatures are over 70 degrees, so we have a lot of
those months to go yet.
You want to make sure that the
skeeter folks use a spray that won't harm the little pollinators in your yard,
the bees, the butterflies etc.
(It is also good to go with a
company that offers monthly service.
Frees you and your checkbook up a little, although a good skeeter
company is worth their weight in bat poo...)
The spray will help keep the
skeeter population down, but you may not ever be totally skeeter free.
What should you use if you are
trying to enjoy your deck or patio?
Do mosquito candles work? Ehhhh.
Bug zappers? Not really. Smoke?
Doubt it.
The best thing for keeping
skeeters away from you on the patio or deck is a good old-fashioned oscillating
fan.
That's right - a plain old
oscillating house fan is probably your best bet. Skeeters are notoriously weak fliers so the
breeze of the fan will help blow them away from you.
Extra info.
You never feel the mosquito
biting you. You don't feel them until
after they have already had their fill of your blood, which is another reason
why they are such a pain in the rear. Or
arm. Or leg. Or neck…
One more thing.
Know what keeps mosquito
population down?
Bats.