Preventive steps can be taken to help eliminate mosquitoes

DID YOU KNOW? Preventive steps can be taken to help eliminate mosquitoes in gardens and outdoor space around your home. Mosquitoes are most likely to bite during the hours immediately before and after dawn and dusk. Plan your gardening to avoid the times when mosquitoes are most active. 

Efforts should be focused on preventing adult mosquitoes from breeding. During warm weather, mosquito eggs can develop into larvae and then into adult mosquitoes in water that has been left standing for seven to ten days.

Beginning in April until the first hard frost, weekly check your property, garden, alley, home exterior, and garage for any standing water or debris that might hold even the slightest amount of water. Household items might include cans, rain barrels, tires, buckets, garden tools, wheelbarrows, plant pot saucers, and children’s toys. The following precautions can also prevent the breeding cycle:

• Repair outdoor leaky faucets to prevent small pools of water from forming.
• Seal any hollowed areas of tree stumps.
• Empty outdoor pet water bowls daily.
• Repair torn screens or loose windows.
• Clean gutters of all debris so rainwater never pools.
• Check flat roofs for low spots that retain water.
• Empty wading pools once a week. Store indoors when not in use.
• Cover all larger pools if you are away for more than a week. Make sure pool covers do not accumulate water.
• Change water in birdbaths at least once a week.
• Install small pumps in ponds, aquatic gardens, or fountains to aerate water, or add larvae-eating fish. 
• Empty outdoor fountains if you will be away for more than a week.
• Check sewer drains, septic tanks, and downspouts for any pooling water.
• Cover rain barrels with tight-fitting lids or 16-mesh screening.
• Wear Protective Clothing
• Wear socks and shoes, long pants, and long-sleeved, light-colored shirts when outside. Protect children and babies with proper clothing and mosquito netting.

Plan Your Gardening

Mosquitoes are most likely to bite during the hours immediately before and after dawn and dusk. Plan your gardening to avoid the times when mosquitoes are most active. If virus-infected mosquitoes have been reported in your area, consider staying indoors during their peak biting hours. Mosquitoes favor shady, moist areas of a yard and rest in dense shrubbery; they are active from spring to the first hard frost in the fall.

• Above is for informational purposes only and provide by: source