Spring is here, and it won’t be long now before we are swatting at annoying mosquitos in our yard. With mosquito season around the corner, it’s time to get prepared for the inevitable battle ahead. With these tips, you should see a drastic decrease in the number of mosquitos you encounter.
Whether you are hosting a backyard cookout, graduation party or wedding, mosquitos can bring any event to a swift and abrupt end. Not only do they drive us indoors, but they pose serious health too by carrying diseases such as Zika, West Nile, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and Dengue Fever.
The key to mosquito management is disrupting their life cycle and keeping down the populations in your yard. Keep in mind, a single female mosquito can lay up to 200 eggs at a time, and those 200 eggs will bug you in just a few short weeks. 
Check Your Screens
Mosquitos can be an annoyance outside but can even be more of a nightmare when they get inside your home. Mosquitos are tiny insects, so it doesn’t take much of a tear or rip in your screens to allow them to enter. Before summer arrives, make sure all of your screens are in good shape and check that your windows are properly sealed with weather stripping.
Make a DIY Mosquito Trap
Looking for an easy and fun project for the whole family? Try making a DIY bug trap. It’s simple, cheap, effective, and best of all, it doesn’t use any pesticides or poisons. All you need is a one-liter soda bottle, some masking tape, and a cutting tool.
Begin by cutting a two-liter bottle in half, then place the top, nozzle down, into the bottom half, and tape them together. This is where the mosquitoes will enter and get trapped in the bottom.
To attract mosquitoes, add 1 cup of hot water to 1 cup of sugar and mix one teaspoon of yeast. The mixture will attract mosquitoes to their doom.
Natural Mosquito Repellants
All-natural methods should always be preferred over chemicals that can harm the environment. Believe it or not, there are many natural ingredients that mosquitos will steer clear from such as:
citronella, lavender, tea tree, and thyme. Another way to keep mosquitoes at bay is to install bug lights outside. Bug lights give off a different color light than traditional lights, and they are designed not to attract insects. While electrified bug zappers can eliminate some mosquitoes, they also kill beneficial insects like moths that pollinate flowers at night. 
Natural Predators
Several animals feast on mosquitoes, but none are as efficient as bats, swallows, and purple martins. It’s entertaining to watch these aerial aces swoop and dive as they hunt and feast on these insects. Make them feel at home by placing a few bat houses or purple martin houses in your backyard. Barn swallows can be attracted to traditional nesting boxes if they face an open field that allows them to swoop in for a landing.
Eliminate Their Breeding Areas
If you want to deal a huge blow to the mosquito population, the best method is actually the easiest. Female mosquitoes require small amounts of standing water to lay their eggs. After a summer rain, many objects in your yard can become breeding zones for mosquitos. All you have to do is go around your yard and look for anything holding water and dump it out. Places that make excellent mosquito nurseries are:
- Water containers for animals
- Birdbaths
- Gutters
- Flower Pots
- Water Features
- Old Tires
- Ponds
- Pooling Water/Puddles
- Rain Barrels
- Wheelbarrows
All it takes is a simple stroll around your yard and dumping out all standing water to greatly reduce the mosquito population.
Call The Pest Control Experts
Don’t let mosquitos keep you from enjoying your yard this year. Get protection from biting mosquitoes with outdoor pest control from Cramer Pest Control.
At Cramer Pest Control, we have pest control programs to fit every situation. So, whether you’re looking for Residential Pest Control, Indoor Pest Control, Commercial Pest Control, or Termite Control, the experts at Cramer Pest Control have the solution for you.
Don’t wait for the problem to get out of control, call us now at (704) 763-0204 or (803) 802-7540 to get started. You can also contact us here for more information. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for the latest deals and check out our blog for monthly pest control tips and tricks.