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Mosquitoes suck! If you weren’t born yesterday, you know how annoying mosquitoes are. The saliva from a mosquito bite causes an allergic reaction that makes the site itchy and inflamed, and it can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal in the world because they carry deadly diseases like Malaria, West Nile, Zika, and Dengue Fever.
Mosquito control in areas like Huntsville and Madison AL is difficult. Don’t let mosquitoes take over your backyard or home with these methods that keep them away:
Eliminate potential breeding grounds
You can’t change your surrounding environment, but you can take steps to reduce the number of mosquitoes that will breed in your yard. They can still come from your neighbor’s yard or even a nearby stream. Unfortunately, mosquitoes aren’t going extinct anytime soon, but reducing the number of mosquitoes that can breed in your yard is the first step to ridding your space of the annoying little buggers.
Mosquitoes thrive in warm and humid climates like Huntsville and Madison AL. They lay their eggs on the surface of the water, so eliminating the potential spaces they can lay their eggs will help reduce the number of mosquitoes around your yard. Empty birdbaths frequently, turn portable firepits or baby pools upside down when not in use, keep the grass short and trim bushes, and keep pet bowls inside.
Mosquito larvae can spend 1-3 months growing in water before maturing into adults. Females can lay around 700 eggs in their lifetime. In the right conditions, you could have hundreds of mature mosquitos leaving the nest each day.
Stay indoors
Mosquitoes are most active during dawn and dusk. Stay inside during these times to mitigate bites and stay comfortable. They’re attracted to sweat and carbon dioxide and can detect it from 100 feet away. Unless you want to be a walking buffet for your neighborhood mosquitoes, you should probably just stay inside.
If you like having the windows open, double-check the window screens for rips or tears. You can patch them if necessary. Screens help keep mosquitoes and other bugs out of the house, and staying indoors won’t do much if they have an easy way in. If you are going to be outside use a mosquito repellent that contains DEET as it’s the most effective repellent.
Plant flowers and herbs mosquitoes don’t like
There are some scents that mosquitoes don’t like. Good thing for us, because these flowers and herbs smell great! Consider planting lavender, mint, basil, and marigolds around your yard and outdoor living spaces to keep mosquitoes away. You can also buy the essential oils of these plants and create a DIY mixture to spray around the house.
Another good method is to buy some fresh garlic and boil some crushed cloves to make a garlic mixture to spray around the house and in windows. The sulfur in the garlic kills mosquitoes, and after a few minutes, you won’t be able to smell the garlic anyway.
Citronella is also a well-known mosquito deterrent. You can plant it in your yard or even light a citronella candle on the back patio to keep mosquitoes away while you enjoy the outdoors.
Water ponds
If you have a pond in your yard, you probably don’t want to fill it in just because of mosquitoes. Consider adding a few species of fish that eat mosquito larvae to your pond. If you’ve always wanted a koi fish pond, you now have a perfect excuse! Other fish like goldfish, guppies, bass, and bluegill also eat mosquito larvae.
Don’t want to add fish to your ponds? No problem! There are other alternatives you can add to your pond that will limit the amount of oxygen and keep mosquito larvae from hatching. You can add coffee grounds to the surface of the water or have a professional add larvicides. You’ll need to refresh the pond with coffee grounds or larvicides regularly to keep it working throughout the summer.
Call Atlus Pest Solutions
Atlus Pest Solutions for mosquito control in Huntsville and Madison Alabama. We will survey your property for potential mosquito breeding grounds. This includes crawlspaces, gutters, ponds, and yard items like bird baths. Atlus will spray areas with an environmentally friendly that adheres to most surfaces and reduces mosquito populations by up to 80%. Atlus will treat your home on a monthly basis from April to September.
Call us at (256) 772-0150 for a world-class pest solution today!
