Homeowners can effectively reduce the number of mosquitoes around their homes and neighborhoods by eliminating standing water where mosquitoes grow and breed. Please read the following tips.
- Old tires, buckets, trash cans, and other water-holding containers are ideal breeding sites. Store them upside down or get rid of them.
- Fill in or drain low spots in your yard.
- Keep ditches, drains, and culverts clear of weeds and trash so that water will drain properly.
- Drain water from tarps or plastic sheeting which cover wood piles, boats, etc.
- Keep eave troughs clean of leaves and debris.
- Empty plastic wading pools at least once a week and store them inside when not in use.
- Unused backyard swimming pools may also create breeding problems. Make sure pool covers don't hold water on top and keep pools chlorinated.
- Change bird bath water weekly
- Fill in tree rot holes and hollow stumps with sand or concrete.
- Keep boats and canoes covered or upside down.
- Keep grass cut short and shrubbery well-trimmed so adult mosquitoes will not hide there in the daytime.
- Use a fine-mesh screen on top of rain barrels so that female adults cannot reach the water surface to lay eggs.
- EPA mosquito prevention tips.
Thunderstorms
Spring and summer thunderstorms can produce enough rain to cause mosquito breeding in neighborhood standing-water habitats. When this occurs, check your yard for standing water in grass, ditches, and containers!