Mosquito Control Around Your Home

7/18/2016 (Permalink)

Learn How to Protect Your Home from Becoming a Mosquito Breeding Ground

Many of the mosquitoes found around your home have bred on or around your or your neighbor’s property. Mosquitoes require standing water for their production. Eliminating standing water early in the spring will reduce the production of those summer mosquitoes. Here are a few ideas for searching out and eliminating potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes:

Keep bird baths and ornamental ponds clean. In warm weather, change water weekly.

Remove leaves from gutters so water will flow freely. Fill or drain puddles, ditches and swampy areas.

Eliminate standing water around animal watering troughs.

Check around faucets and air conditioner units and repair leaks and eliminate puddles that remain for several days.

Dispose of, or store in a dry place, any cans, bottles, tires, and any other containers that hold water.

Cover boats or store upside down or in a dry place.

Where feasible, fill all holes in the trees on your property.

When swimming season is over, empty and store wading pools in a dry place. Cover large pools and check frequently to insure against mosquito breeding. Pool chemicals like chlorine, at ordinary concentrations, will not kill mosquito larvae.

Remember; Elimination of standing water must be done no later than early April to reduce later mosquito problems. Continue to monitor potential breeding grounds throughout the summer.

Facts:

There are over 3300 species of mosquitoes worldwide. It is responsible for more human deaths than any other living creature (source: Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, St. Paul, MN).

There are 48 known species of mosquitoes in Oregon. Several of the species found in Oregon can carry disease under the right conditions.

All mosquitoes must have water in which to complete their life cycle.

Only female mosquitoes suck blood.

The males feed only on plant juices.

It takes as few as 7 days in warm weather for a mosquito to complete its life cycle (egg to adult).

The female mosquito may live as long as 3 weeks during the summer. She can also live many months over the winter in order to lay her eggs the following spring.