Help Ward Off Mosquitoes While Gardening

If you’re an avid gardener like I am, you may be planning to get outdoors this weekend to do some late winter clean-up up in your yard.  With weather predictions of sunshine and temperatures in the 60s, I’ve got cabin fever!  As we all know, it’s been a particularly cold (and snowy) winter here in the Midlands.

I plan to use this out-of-doors opportunity to eliminate mosquito breeding sites before those nasty insects hatch.  I know you may be thinking “why bother, it’s too soon to be concerned about mosquitoes”.  But I was actually bitten on January 28 of this year, at an outdoor function that was held during the brief two-day warm-up we experienced!  So the mosquitoes are literally waiting to emerge and bite you, your kids and your pets.

It’s simple to reduce mosquito breeding sites in your yard:  just remember these simple steps.

• Tip – tip any vessel that holds unintended standing water outside your home – pet water bowls, planter trays, children’s toys.
• Toss – toss any items in your yard that could collect water that can be discarded:  old toys, unused birdbaths, tires.  An item as small as a flipped over soda pop cap can become a breeding ground for thousands of mosquito larvae.
• Turn Over – turn over any potentially water-holding items or containers so that liquid can’t collect in them, until the time they may once again be needed.  Again, think bowls, planters, birdbaths.
• Tarps Eliminated – tarps create ideal mosquito breeding grounds.  If at all possible, eliminate all outside tarps.   Not only do they hold small pools of water which are ideal for egg-laying, but the shade they create is a preferred spot for adults to harbor during the heat of the day, waiting to come out and bite when they detect warm bodies nearby.
• Treat Accordingly – this is where the experts at Mosquito Squad come in.  Our trained applicators will take care of Tip, Toss, Turn Over, and eliminate Tarps for you, and we also use the safest, most effective Treatments available to protect your family and pets from biting insects and the diseases they carry.

In upcoming blogs, we’ll let you know about gardening-related events we’ll be attending.  Hope to meet you then.  Meantime, enjoy the warmth and sunshine!