This is the time of year when mosquitoes start to appear in our Greensboro yards. It isn't that they're returning from some warmer region to the south. Mosquitoes stay in our yards all year long. During the colder months, they grow dormant. When it warms up, they become active again. It is important to understand this. Mosquitoes don't travel very far. In fact, most mosquitoes won't go more than a few hundred feet in their entire lives. That means the mosquitoes in your yard are your mosquitoes. Let's take a look at how this works and what you can do to reduce the number of mosquitoes you own.
Pet Mosquitoes
While a mosquito isn't going to lay on the couch with you and watch some television, or fetch a ball when you throw it, it's still sort of like having a pet. It lives in close proximity to you, and you give it food so that it can survive. There are other ways you provide conditions for it to survive. You give it moisture to drink, sweet things to eat, and a place to hide from the sun.
Water — This is a building block of life. Mosquitoes need water more than they need food. If you have puddles or wet vegetation, mosquitoes will find what they need near your home. Reduce conditions that create puddles and standing moisture by cleaning your gutters, repairing your gutter system, watering your plants in the morning, and removing excess vegetation.
Food — Mosquitoes feed on nectar. Even female mosquitoes, which are the mosquitoes that bite you and draw blood, will feed on nectar. If you have flowers or flowering plants in your yard, you'll have a food source that can sustain a mosquito population. They can also feed on plant sap and honey dew. This is one reason you'll find mosquitoes living in your landscaping.
Hiding Places — Mosquitoes dry out in the sun. When the sun rises, mosquitoes hide. This is another reason you'll find mosquitoes in your landscaping. They rest and shelter themselves from the sun as they wait for you or someone else to come out into the yard.
The Secret To Mosquito Control
If you take steps to address the conditions that allow mosquitoes to live, feed, and breed around your home, you can reduce mosquitoes. This strategy works much better than candles, sprays, torches, bug zappers, and other mosquito control products. But there is a secret to getting complete control of mosquitoes. There is a way to eliminate mosquitoes in the places they hide and to make potential breeding sites unusable.
Mist — Pest professionals spray key areas where mosquitoes hide. The product used is only powerful enough to eliminate simple organisms like mosquitoes. If a mosquito is hiding in your landscaping, it is eliminated. If a mosquito enters your yard and tries to hide in your landscaping, it is eliminated. When you eliminate one female mosquito, you are potentially eliminating hundreds of mosquitoes. After fertilization, a female can lay a hundred eggs at a time. Each egg can hatch into a viable mosquito that will linger around in your yard and feed on you.
Larvicide — Mosquitoes breed in standing water. If you have a water source in your yard that cannot be removed, a pest professional can apply a product to the water that prevents mosquitoes from developing. This stops the cycle of reproduction and prevents new adult mosquitoes from living in your yard.
Why It Is Important To Get Control Of Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are irritating pests. There is no doubt about it. But they also present a threat to you and your family. Mosquitoes spread harmful viruses. Some can cause you to have flu-like symptoms and increase the number of times you or your kids are sick during the year. Some can lead to serious medical issues. Zika virus is a good example. This is a virus that can cause microcephaly, a birth defect that can have lifelong implications for you and your family. Some mosquito-borne viruses can be deadly. West Nile virus claims many lives every year in the United States, and outbreaks of malaria and other diseases happen periodically.
If you live in Greensboro, contact Go-Forth Pest Control today. We can help you get control of mosquitoes in your yard. We use EPA-approved products and field-tested methods to ensure the greatest level of protection.
