How Can I Avoid Mosquitos Around My Property?

It’s come to our attention that most people don’t care about mosquitoes. Oh sure, people are annoyed by them. And we all love to complain about itchy mosquito bites. But be honest: when was the last time you sprayed some mosquito repellant on yourself? How often do you leave the house around dusk without even considering that a dangerous mosquito could bite you?

Because make no mistake, mosquitoes are dangerous. You could get bit a dozen times with no problems, but all it takes is one sick mosquito to change everything. As you should have heard, mosquitoes carry West Nile Virus. And while this disease is usually harmless, it can be fatal.

So mosquito avoidance is something you should definitely be worried about. How can you keep them from hanging around the property? Let’s discuss.

• Mosquitoes love standing water

They will always congregate near a still body of water, especially if it’s water that has been stagnant or ignored for a while. For instance, do you have a neglected bird bath with some nasty green water in it? That’s a haven for mosquitoes. That area will be buzzing around sunset.

Therefore, you should drain any standing water left on the property. This includes bird baths, fountains, old puddles from dips in the yard, dog bowls, etc. And if you have a pool or hot tub, be sure to cover it whenever not in use.

• This is a year-round commitment

Mosquitoes are most active when it’s warm, but in the fall and winter they’ll begin to settle down and lay eggs. And guess where those eggs go? Right into a body of standing water. So if you don’t drain those areas now, they’ll be lousy with mosquito eggs soon enough. And then when spring rolls back around, those eggs will hatch and form a whole new crop of blood suckers.