Mosquito Prevention Tips
Mosquitoes can breed in any amount of standing water so take away their breeding places.
- Make sure there is no standing water in containers around your home, including water in cans, plastic containers, potted plant saucers, buckets, garbage cans or lids, barrels, wheelbarrows, or any container that holds water for more than a few days. Empty the water and then either turn over, cover, and throw away or recycle containers.
- Change water in birdbaths and outdoor pet water dishes every two or three days.
- Fix leaky outdoor faucets and sprinklers, and don’t overwater your yard.
- Recycle tires or store them so they will not collect water. Tires are difficult to drain, and each one can produce thousands of mosquitoes.
- Keep roof gutters clean so water drains. Mosquitoes can breed on wet leaves in standing water.
- Don’t dump yard waste into street gutters, storm drains, or creeks. Mosquitoes can breed in clogged gutters and drains, and in stagnant water in creeks. Decaying organic matter then provides food for large numbers of mosquito larvae.
- Drain plastic wading pools or cover them tightly so mosquitoes won’t breed there.
- Drain fountains when they are not recirculating water. If the fountain is large enough, stock it with mosquitofish.
- Keep swimming pool and hot tub filters running. When not in use for extended periods, cover pools and tubs tightly or dechlorinate and stock with mosquitofish. One pool or hot tub left to stagnate can breed enough mosquitoes to bother a whole neighborhood.
- Fill tree holes with expanding foam used for insulation.
- Clean up leaf piles and plant cuttings that trap water from rain or watering.
Protect Yourself and Your Family from Mosquito Bites
- Install screens on windows and doors and patch any holes.
- Use a screen tent for outdoor eating (it will keep out yellowjackets, too).
- Some kinds of mosquitoes are attracted to light. Keep outside lighting to a minimum near entry doors, and keep those doors screened or close them at sunset.
- Wear long sleeves and long pants when mosquitoes are biting.
- Use insect repellents, and reapply every 3-4 hours: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the following active ingredients in repellents. These are all registered by the US Environmental Protection Agency as safe and effective when applied according to label instructions: – DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide or diethyltoluamide) – Picaridin – IR3535 – Oil of eucalyptus and p-Menthane-3,8-diol (based on the oil of lemon eucalyptus)