Promoting Pollinators While Keeping Mosquitoes at Bay

Living in the Sunshine State and the Greater Tampa Bay area provides an ideal year-round climate for our beneficial pollinators; bees, birds and even butterflies. Especially during the spring, summer and fall, these pollinators are out and about searching for food while fertilizing our mangoes, agave, citrus, bananas, avocados, almonds and so much more. As such, these pollinators are critical to Tampa’s food production, our ecosystem and biodiversity.

Let’s meet just a few of Tampa Bay’s primary pollinators and learn how to protect these important organisms, maintain their habitat while safely limiting the number of pesky biting insects such as the dreaded mosquito.

Bees

The most iconic pollinators are bees. Honeybees are proficient pollen collectors that pollinate approximately 80% of all flowering plants and one colony can collect up to 40 pounds of pollen which is key to the honey industry. There are several beekeepers within the greater Tampa Bay area that produce and sell their local honey throughout the greater Tampa Bay area, give it a try it is so good! They, and even you, can attract native bees by following a few simple tips:

• Supply Food Sources with Native Plants – Bees need flowering plants to collect pollen for their colonies. Add some flowering plants such as lavender, cosmos, aster and garden rod. Not only are these vibrant and will spruce up your landscaping, but the bees also love them an mosquitoes do not like them.

• Provide Shelter – Provie a safe haven for bees to make a colony. Place small decorative bee boxes nearby, perhaps toward the end of your property, away from your outdoor living space. They will spruce up your yard and allow bees to nest to support reproduction and future generations of pollinators, away from you.

• Provide Shade – Bees are susceptible to drying out and dying if they stay in the sun too long which is exactly the case in sunny Florida. Adding some flowering cover crops like clover, buckwheat and canola will provide shade for the bees to rest.

Birds

Like bees, birds are also exceptional pollinators and are pretty to look at and listen to their soft chirps. They are a heavy influence in the seed dispersal of many non-native species in the Southeastern U.S. Consider adding decorative bird houses and baths to attract these pollinators and you may even see some hummingbirds make your property their home or a great place to visit.

Butterflies

Like bees and birds, butterflies are also expert pollinators. Though they don't have specialized pollen-catching body parts, adult butterflies have hairy bodies and legs that help them collect pollen as they travel from flower to flower. Butterflies also use their long, straw-like mouthpart to drink nectar from the flowers they visit. When they drink, some pollen gets transferred from their mouthpart to other flowers they drink from. To attract some beautiful butterflies to your property, consider the following:

• Add Native Flowering Plants - Butterflies will feed from a variety of flowering plants, but they prefer wildflowers. Because they do not collect pollen like bees, butterflies are not picky about where their nutrients come from. Research your favorite native wildflowers and add them around your lawn.

• Add Continuous Blooming Plants - For the most butterfly activity throughout the year, consider adding plants with continuous bloom as long-blooming flowers like coneflowers, zinnia, and petunias as they will flower longer than annuals and provide butterflies with food throughout the year.

• Incorporate Resting Areas – Since it takes a lot of energy for butterflies to fly from plant to plant, butterflies need to rest. Basking is a behavior where butterflies rest in clear, sunny areas to warm their wings before their next flight. Keeping some areas of your lawn clear and adding a few flat rocks can attract butterflies to linger in your lawn for longer periods, accent your landscaping and provide great photo opportunities.

But What about the dreaded biting mosquito

Mosquitoes are considered minor pollinators. However, if you become the blood meal for a female mosquito, the potential for mosquito bites can lead to discomfort, infection, and disease which makes them more of a threat than a beneficial insect.

Luckily, there are many things you can do to limit the number of mosquitoes living and breeding around your yard while preserving and not harming the all-important pollinators. To do so, follow these quick, simple tips:

• Remove Standing Water - Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing bodies of water. Removing water that pools around your yard in tree holes, ditches, buckets, gutters, and tarps can help reduce mosquito breeding areas and decrease the mosquito population in your yard. This also includes dumping pet water bowls when not in use and changing water in bird baths.

• Maintain a Neat & Tidy Lawn - Mosquitoes also need resting areas and their small size allows them to occupy cluttered areas easier. Leaf and palm litter piles, wood piles, and other yard debris can protect mosquitoes and help them thrive. Keeping a clean-cut lawn can also help reduce mosquito presence but be mindful not to cut back any cover plants you added to attract the pollinators. Remove undesired weeds and long grasses to help reduce mosquito resting areas and ultimately the population of these pesky biters.

• Promote Beneficial Insects - Predatory insects like ladybugs and praying mantids eat smaller, undesirable, annoying bugs like aphids and mosquitoes. By keeping a healthy and diverse environment in your lawn, you can attract these beneficial insects to help eat pesky mosquitoes.

Even if you try every DIY in the book, mosquitoes are robust and can be hard to control by yourself. Mosquito Squad of Tampa Bay puts pollinators first with our environmentally conscious approach while combatting mosquitoes and other pesky and biting pests from your lawn.

Don’t delay, contact Mosquito Squad to help you FIGHT THE BITE so you can get outside and enjoy your outdoors. Contact us at tampabay@mosquitosquad.com call us at 813-502-0505 or visit our website at https://www.mosquitosquad.com/tampa-bay/