Does it Feel Like the Year of the Mosquito to You?
Do mosquitoes attack you, like a squadron of suicide bombers slamming into your skin, every time you step out to your yard? Mosquito populations are on the rise again, and it seems like they're especially abundant this summer.
Must be all that rain that fell on us lately.
I don't get five feet into my back yard without at least one mosquito landing on me for a quick meal.
And it's rarely only one.
I walk around my property often looking for anything that traps water, and empty any standing water I find.
That's one of the best ways to keep mosquitoes from breeding because they like to lay their eggs in standing water.
The more stagnated the better.
I know deep inside that I'm helping keep mosquito numbers down when I dump that water out, but when I feel all those biting pests landing on my body, and sticking me for a sip of blood, I sometimes wonder just how effective my dumping efforts are.
Those doubts lasts no longer than a moment or two though, because my pest control training showed me that more of those bugs would live in my yard if I left that water alone.
Look around your yard anytime you're outside for an idle moment.
Make sure you haven't left a bucket or empty flowerpot standing right side up by mistake.
Clean up any lawn toys or other objects that form depressions that trap water.
Turn them to a position that lets the water drain away.
Sometimes we don't have control over whether we prevent water from standing.
Do your neighbors allow water to stand? Maybe they don't know how standing water promotes mosquito breeding.
If you think that's the case find a diplomatic way to pass this information on to them.
Sometimes the terrain of your land determines whether water stands or not.
If you have property like mine you'll have puddles for a while after every rain, and if the rain lasts long or falls hard those puddles may stand for days, plenty of time for mosquitoes to lay some eggs.
Along the back, and down the side, of my property I have a drainage ditch.
Over the years some heavy spring rainfalls taught me the value of that ditch because at times the water overflowed it, came within a few feet of my house, and just missed flooding me out.
Without that ditch I could turn my house into a swimming pool at those times.
But that ditch is wet all through the rainy season, and that means breeding mosquitoes.
Some summers I walk near that ditch, and I can kill four or more mosquitoes with one swat.
Must be all that rain that fell on us lately.
I don't get five feet into my back yard without at least one mosquito landing on me for a quick meal.
And it's rarely only one.
I walk around my property often looking for anything that traps water, and empty any standing water I find.
That's one of the best ways to keep mosquitoes from breeding because they like to lay their eggs in standing water.
The more stagnated the better.
I know deep inside that I'm helping keep mosquito numbers down when I dump that water out, but when I feel all those biting pests landing on my body, and sticking me for a sip of blood, I sometimes wonder just how effective my dumping efforts are.
Those doubts lasts no longer than a moment or two though, because my pest control training showed me that more of those bugs would live in my yard if I left that water alone.
Look around your yard anytime you're outside for an idle moment.
Make sure you haven't left a bucket or empty flowerpot standing right side up by mistake.
Clean up any lawn toys or other objects that form depressions that trap water.
Turn them to a position that lets the water drain away.
Sometimes we don't have control over whether we prevent water from standing.
Do your neighbors allow water to stand? Maybe they don't know how standing water promotes mosquito breeding.
If you think that's the case find a diplomatic way to pass this information on to them.
Sometimes the terrain of your land determines whether water stands or not.
If you have property like mine you'll have puddles for a while after every rain, and if the rain lasts long or falls hard those puddles may stand for days, plenty of time for mosquitoes to lay some eggs.
Along the back, and down the side, of my property I have a drainage ditch.
Over the years some heavy spring rainfalls taught me the value of that ditch because at times the water overflowed it, came within a few feet of my house, and just missed flooding me out.
Without that ditch I could turn my house into a swimming pool at those times.
But that ditch is wet all through the rainy season, and that means breeding mosquitoes.
Some summers I walk near that ditch, and I can kill four or more mosquitoes with one swat.
