There’s little good that you can say about mosquitos. At best, they’re a food source for some fish and birds. However, as far as humans are concerned, they’re nothing more than a nuisance.
Unfortunately, the state of Florida is perfectly suited for these pesky parasites, as its hot weather and humid conditions are exactly what they thrive in. This is why, every year, Floridians must deal with a severe mosquito season.
Do you live in Florida? Do you need help keeping mosquitos away from your home? These home mosquito control tips are just what you need.
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The Top Home Mosquito Control Tips
Controlling mosquitos around one’s home is all about repelling. The more repellants you establish, the greater chance you have of keeping mosquitos away from your house. Without further ado, here are the best ways to get rid of mosquitos.
Do Away with Standing Water
The simple fact of the matter is that mosquitos love water.
Why? Because they need water in order for their eggs to hatch. In other words, mosquitos are attracted to water because it allows them to carry on their bloodline.
So, if you want to keep mosquitos away from your home, you need to also keep standing water away from your home. Birdbaths, rain-filled pots, and coy ponds are all prime spots for mosquitos to congregate. Keep these items to a minimum, or, at the very least, keep them at a reasonable distance from your house.
Employ Outdoor Fans
As you know, mosquitos are exceedingly lightweight insects. As such, a heavy wind is one of their strongest combatants. They’re much more apt to be flying with the wind than against it.
You should use this knowledge in protecting your home from the bloodsucking cretins. A good idea would be to install large, outdoor fans on the exterior of your home, blowing outward so as to create a sort of wind “barrier”. The moment a mosquito encounters this barrier, it’s likely to fly in the opposite direction.
Utilize Natural Repellants
There is no shortage of natural mosquito repellants that you could use around your house, all of which would do a good job of making your home undesirable to the burdensome bugs.
Some of the best of these repellants include peppermint, citronella, lemon eucalyptus, basil, and clove. However, there are a number of others that you could consider as well.
One option is to simply grow these plants in your garden. Another option is to buy them at a store and set them up in pots around the outskirts of your home. Either way, they will make a notable difference in detracting mosquitos.
Install Yellow Lighting
Another way to keep mosquitos away from your home is to install yellow lighting on your porch, patio, and home exterior. While yellow light is not a repellant to mosquitos, it is very difficult for them to see in. Were they to fly into a yellow-lit area, they would have a hard time detecting living beings in their proximity.
Conversely, mosquitos can see quite well in darkness or white light. Therefore, standard house lighting would have little effect on the parasitic capabilities of mosquitos.
Landscape Frequently
Due to their parasitic nature (and their minuscule size), mosquitos love to hide in tall grass and overgrown bushes. For this reason, if you want to keep mosquitos away from your home, you need to landscape on a regular basis.
The ideal height for grass is around 2 1/2 inches. However, it isn’t feasible to constantly keep your grass at this height. That being said, you shouldn’t let it grow anywhere over 3 2/3 inches.
There’s no hard and fast rule on bushes. You should know shaggy hedges when you see them and correct them as quickly as possible.
It’s also important to keep up on weeding. If you see a weed, try to eradicate it sooner rather than later.
The fewer hiding places you leave for mosquitos, the fewer mosquitos you’ll have to deal with. So, in essence, you need to make landscaping a priority.
Keep Those Gutters Cleared
Another common hiding place for mosquitos is rain gutters, particularly those which are filled with leaves, grass, and other debris. Want to keep mosquitos away from your gutters? Make sure that they’re cleared of debris on a regular basis.
Chlorinate Your Swimming Pool
If you’re like many Floridians, you have a swimming pool in your back yard. Unfortunately, due to the fact that swimming pools hold standing water, they’re prone to attracting mosquitos.
This is why, if you have a swimming pool, you have to be exceedingly vigilant about its upkeep during mosquito season. In particular, you need to make sure that it’s properly chlorinated at all times.
Mosquito larvae struggle to grow in chlorine-laden water. For this reason, mosquitos generally avoid it.
Hire a Professional to Spray Your Yard with High-Powered Repellant
One last way to keep mosquitos from your property is to bring in the professional exterminators. Professional exterminators have access to high-powered sprays that are highly effective against mosquitos. Having these sprayed onto your yard will go a long way in getting you through mosquito season.
While these services will cost you between $100 and $200, they could very well end up being worth the investment.
Looking for More Home Improvement Tips?
There is a lot that goes into home mosquito control. However, as long as you put the above-reviewed tips into action, you stand a good chance of surviving the Florida mosquito season.
Looking for more home improvement tips? Tasteful Space is the website for you. We have home improvement tips of all kinds, covering topics such as pest control, home decor, home remodeling, and more.
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