How to Control Mosquitoes Naturally - Summer is Coming
So.... how do you control mosquitoes in your backyard? There have to be some natural ways that are friendly to pets and children.
I just read an article on Houzz about spring maintenance, and one item on the to do list was to eliminate standing water to combat mosquitoes. As everyone knows, mosquitoes love to lay their eggs in standing water. Even a thimble sized patch of standing water can host a mosquito looking for someone to lay her eggs.
When I was growing up in Gainesville Florida, I remember the fog trucks going down the street every week, spreading some chemical cocktail to keep the mosquito population at bay. We don't do that here in the DC metro area, at least not in Bethesda, but we have had occurrences of West Nile virus even here and of course, the Zikia virus has everyone's attention and concern.
So.... how do you control mosquitoes in your backyard? There have to be some natural ways that are friendly to pets and children.
Familyhandyman.com has some very good suggestions on its website.
Tip 1: Prune hedges and mow the yard to reduce shade
This makes a lot of sense when I think about the house in which we used to live. It was filled with bugs
in the back yard which attacked me whenever I went outside, so I never gardened or spent much time there. Apparently I was engaged in a vicious cycle with the bugs in my yard where my neglect encouraged their warfare.
I had to keep the hedges, bushes and grass trimmed back because their shade shelters mosquitoes. They want a place to get out of the heat and sun during the day, so if you get rid of the shaded areas in your yard, the mosquitoes will move elsewhere. I had let the yard stay wooded and filled with shade loving plants, but instead, I should have trimmed everything back to minimize shade and to keep these marginal areas from becoming overgrown jungles. I should have encouraged my neighbors to do the same. Otherwise, I was just going to drive the mosquitoes next door—and they'll come back often to visit.
Tip 2: Eliminate standing water
Since even small amounts of water attract mosquitoes, you need to really examine those water sources. Even children's toys and flower pot bases can be breeding points. Fill old tree stumps with mortar. Slope ditches so they drain, and fill swampy areas with soil.
Tip 3: Treat pools of water
There are mosquito larvicides that you can add to fish ponds to suffocate the larvae without harming fish. You can also add Mosquito Dunk to water to produce atoxic bacterial spore that kills mosquito larvae but won't harm the fish or other animals. These additives don't repel mosquitoes but they do prevent the larvae from growing into mosquitoes.
Tip 4: Stock water gardens with fish and chlorinate swimming pools
A few goldfish or minnows from a pet store will be a welcome addition to your water garden. They will eat mosquito larvae! Nature has ways of controlling mosquitoes!
Of course you want to add that chlorine to your pool, sauna and hot tub. When practical, keep pools, saunas and hot tubs covered when not in use.
Some natural predators to reduce the mosquitoes around you
The next tips were on the Familyhandyman website about professional spraying which honestly didn't fill me with great feelings, so then I wondered if there were any natural predators. Of course there are!
According to the Orkin website, some birds eat mosquitoes. Purple martins, swallows, water fowl and migratory song birds feed on mosquitoes, both adult and larval. That sounds like a win win to me.
Fish feed on mosquito larvae. Goldfish, guppies, bass, bluegill and catfish feed on mosquito larvae so there is clearly a fish for every sized watering hole. Did you know there is even a fish known as the mosquito fish? The Gambusia affinis is used by many mosquito control agencies because it is so effective in eating the mosquito larvae. Put a few of those in your local pond and you may be able to enjoy your summer a lot more this year.
I always thought that frogs were good for eating mosquitoes, but it turns out I was mistaken. The only
tadpoles which seem to like mosquito larvae according to Orkin are the ones that grow up to be the spade foot toad, the green tree grog and the giant tree frog. Add a red-eared slider turtle or two to your pond to keep those tadpoles happy. Red-eared slider turtles love mosquito larvae too.
When you see a dragon fly buzzing by, be sure to smile. Dragon flies are sometimes referred to as "mosquito hawks." During the dragon fly's aquatic stage, it lives on mosquito larvae! hat favors dragonflies as mosquito predators is that in the dragonflies’ aquatic stage, most of its food consists of mosquito larvae.
Washington DC has some bugs (besides the ones at the Watergate many years ago!), but not nearly as many as in areas like my old home town in Florida, so if you are like me and react really badly to bug bites, you might want to check out the Washington DC area. We have beautiful homes in DC, single families, condos and townhouses, and you will rarely encouter a mosquito to mar your summer evenings! If you want to find out more about the homes in Washington DC, be sure to give me a call at 240-401-5577 or email me at lise@lisehowe.com. I am looking forward to speaking with you!
If you are looking for a home in the DC metro area, you know there is more to the process than just picking a property and making an offer. You need to find the best location for your wants and needs, get a great price, and work with a lender who will make your life easier - not harder. Trust your search with a Realtor who is licensed in DC, MD and VA and really knows the city and all its secret neighborhoods.
Start your search with the Lise Howe Group, Washington Natives who love the city and all its quirkiness! If you are moving or relocating to Washington DC, be sure to ask for our relocation guide. Call us at 240-401-5577 to schedule an appointment or email us at lise@lisehowe.com. Too excited to wait to talk to us about a great home? Just click here to start that home search.
If you want to see what is for sale in Washington DC, Chevy Chase and Bethesda, check out these links below:
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