It’s time to throw one of your last barbeque bashes of the summer, but are the mosquitoes in your yard out of control? Not only are mosquitoes a major nuisance, but they can also carry a variety of diseases. Nothing ruins a party quite like the biting and itching from pesky mosquitoes.

Fortunately, there are ways to implement mosquito control in your yard. Below are a few effective tips for preventing and diminishing those bothersome pests.

Abolish breeding sites

Stagnant water is a mosquito breeding ground. By ridding your lawn and garden of standing water, you eliminate sites for potential mosquito reproduction. Places such as clogged gutters, old tires, children’s toys and pools, saucers under potted plants, watering cans, wheelbarrows, etc. can collect and hold unnecessary water. Make sure to empty the water from these sites and get rid of anything around your yard that potentially could hold stagnant water. Downspouts and gutters on your house can be major sources for breeding mosquitoes; fully drain your gutters and downspouts. Another major breeding ground can be ornamental planters. Asian Tiger mosquitoes prefer stagnant water containing organic matter, so ensure your planters aren’t holding water–especially if you have a saucer or catch pan underneath.

For more information go to: http://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/avoid_asian_tiger_mosquitoes.aspx

Mosquito repelling plants

While there are many myths about using certain plants to repel mosquitoes, there is no scientific data supporting those myths. Simply put, there are no plants that will completely protect you from being bitten by mosquitoes in your yard.

Call a professional

This is actually more controversial than it sounds. After all, how do mosquito control programs work? Yes, mosquitoes will be killed by these types of applications, but is that all?

Typically, a licensed mosquito control applicator will treat your property every 3 weeks during the mosquito season with a pesticide that kills mosquitoes. Unfortunately, this pesticide does not differentiate between mosquitoes and other insects, including beneficial insects like pollinators (honey bees, butterflies) and predators (ladybugs, lacewings, praying mantis and many others).

At Complete Lawn Care, we find that spider mite and lace bug populations explode on properties where mosquito control programs are in use.  Spider mites damage many plants, such as boxwood and dwarf Alberta spruce, and lace bugs damage azaleas and Pieris japonica. Because the mosquito control pesticide kills all types of bugs, including predators of spider mites and lace bugs, those populations tend to increase after treatment.

There are also natural products that can be sprayed to repel mosquitoes but they are not as effective and need to be applied more often.

Complete Lawn Care offers inspection, diagnosis and treatment of spider mites and other plant problems in your landscape. Contact us today to find out what might be bugging your plants and how to control mosquito populations while protecting pollinators and other beneficial insects in your yard.