Mosquitoes are a nuisance! They’re perhaps the most despised insect of all. Rightfully so as they are not only annoying but can pose a health risk as they sometimes transmit infectious diseases. The following are some expert tips and proven strategies for how to get rid of mosquitoes. This information will help you reduce mosquito numbers outdoors and indoors, making you more comfortable while minimizing the chance of mosquitoes entering your abode.
How To Reduce Mosquito Numbers/Problems Indoors
Following are suggestions on how to get rid of mosquitoes indoors.
- Flyswatters and fans are low-tech solutions that deter/eliminate mosquitoes.
- Repair and/or replace damaged window screens.
- Place screens on outside doors.
- Screen your outdoor porches, patio, and/or pergolas.
- Consider mosquito netting around your bed to assist with sleep.
- Try mosquito traps, available at hardware stores.
- Diffuse essential oils of peppermint, lavender, eucalyptus, camphor, and/or citronella.
- Try EPA-registered indoor flying insect and mosquito repellents (available in fogger, aerosol, or pump spray).
How to Reduce Mosquito Numbers/Problems Outdoor
Following are suggestions on how to get rid of mosquitoes outdoors.
- Eliminate standing water. Empty outdoor water toys, bird baths, kiddie pools, and remove wheelbarrows. Eliminate puddles through the use of gravel/soil. Clean clogged gutters.
- Cut back grass, tree limbs, and brush to reduce the shade mosquitoes look for on hot days.
- Wear loose dark-coloured clothing including long pants, long-sleeved shirts, closed-toe shoes, and socks.
- Reduce and/or eliminate the use of scented body products.
- Apply and frequently reapply mosquito repellent (spray, cream, clip-on, and/or stick) on exposed skin and on your clothing. Products with 7% DEET last approximately two hours while those with 25% DEET last up to ten hours. Educate yourself on the best repellents available and follow the directions on the label.
- Consider planting foliage that repels mosquitoes (peppermint, lemongrass, rosemary, lavender, basil, catnip, feverfew, tulsi, citrosa, lemon thyme, etc.) around your deck, walkways, porch, and yard.
- Attract natural predators to your yard by establishing bird and bat boxes. Draw dragonflies by planting black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, asters, sage, lilies, irises, borage, and yarrow.
- Consider an EPA-registered mosquito spray (formulated for the outdoors) and fogger.
- Apply a larvicide (spray, tablet, pellet, granules, or briquettes) to any standing water in your yard following the manufacturer’s safety guidelines. They are designed to kill the larval stage.
- Use citronella candles or torches to keep mosquitoes away from small areas (porch, patio deck).
- Try mosquito zappers that attract and kill mosquitoes through the use of heat and carbon dioxide.
- Consider high-tech traps that use scent and heat to attract mosquitoes. They boast a built-in vacuum that draws mosquitoes into a chamber, trapping and eliminating them.
- Hire a pest control professional to undertake a broadcast treatment wherein a repellant spray (that lasts several months) is applied to the entire yard.
Professional Pest Services
If you don’t feel confident of your ability to handle your mosquito problem or you are uneasy using chemical pest control, consider contacting a professional pest service. They employ natural and chemical techniques to defend you against mosquitoes. Pest control experts are a cost-effective and efficient means of handling a pest infestation, both indoors and outdoors.
Is the mosquito population in your yard out of control? Fed up with itchy bites and buzzing insects? Want to know how to get rid of mosquitoes? Call One Man and a Ladybug. We offer an array of pest control services for indoor and/or outdoor problems (all-natural solutions, large-area mosquito control, special event services, etc.). Rest easy and sleep well this summer with the help of the experts at One Man and a Ladybug.
