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Mosquito Elimination Control Tips

If you have an active mosquito problem, follow these tips for mosquito elimination.

Mosquito Elimination Control Tips
  • Wear long pants and long‐sleeved shirts.
  • Use registered insect repellents, such as Deet or Picardin or other mosquito repellents on your skin when outdoors.
  • Remove any water‐filled containers like old tires, food containers, and buckets from your yard.
  • Keep mosquitoes from breeding in birdbaths, pet water dishes, and plastic wading pools by emptying them at least once a week.
  • Neighborhood residents should work together to eliminate breeding sites like abandoned cars, old machinery, drums, and other junk in vacant lots.
  • Notify the local health department of breeding sites on public property.
  • Report piles of discarded tires or other accumulations of water-holding junk to local health officials.
  • Empty water from unused garden pots and other objects. Store containers upside down or cover or dispose of them so mosquitoes can’t lay eggs.
  • Avoid overwatering, which can lead to standing water.
  • Keep litter and garden debris out of gutters—clean rain gutters and downspouts at least once a year to remove debris.
  • Seal rain barrels so mosquitoes can’t breed in them. Keep all filters and prefilters clean and free of moisture‐retaining debris and regularly inspect for leaks.
  • For ponds or containers with water, use  Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) products such as Mosquito Bits, which may be sprinkled in the water. It will kill mosquito larvae with its bacterial agent; will not harm plants, people, or animals.
  • Avoid stagnant swimming pools with chemical treatments, maintaining good water quality. Also, keep water off the pool covers. Drain plastic pools when not in use.
  • Fill open tree holes with sand or mortar.
  • Buildings should be tightly screened with a mesh of 16‐18 mesh to inch to keep mosquitoes out.

Written by our resident pest control expert Ken Martin.

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