Nothing ruins a perfectly good summer day like being covered in itchy mosquito bites. Luckily, there are several things you can do to make your outdoor spaces much less inviting to those pesky insects.
In order to get rid of mosquitoes, remove any source of standing water on or near your property, especially those in shady spots. You can also use electronic mosquito repellent devices to cover a certain area, or long-lasting sprays and lotions for personal protection.
It can be quite tough to figure out what’s attracting mosquitoes to your yard — and what you should do about it — so let’s take a closer look at the options available to you. With a few key techniques, you should be able to enjoy a bug-free summer.
The most common thing that can attract mosquitoes to your yard is standing water. Mosquito larvae develop in water, so it’s in the nature of adult mosquitoes to search for sources of water. This could include anything that uses or collects water, from a kiddie pool or a birdbath to gutters that don’t drain properly and even overwatered grass.
Mosquitoes also love cooler, shadier spots, which help them protect their larvae from the harsh summer. Watch out for any of these places in your yard, such as shade created by trees or even long grass.
How to Get Rid of Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are definitely among the most annoying pests to have around, especially if they manage to get into your home. Let’s go through some easy tips and tricks to keep the insects out of your home and out of your yard.
Indoor Tricks
The first thing to do if you have mosquitoes in your home is to determine how they got in. It’s important to check all windows and screens for holes. This is an extremely common way for mosquitoes to get into your house.
Simply replacing any screens with holes in them and keeping your doors and windows closed should help keep your house mosquito free.
Next, you need to check for things that may be attracting them. Again, any standing water is the main thing that will keep mosquitoes coming into your home. Make sure anything that holds water is emptied when not in use.
This could be anything from pet water bowls to sinks that don’t drain properly. Mosquitoes can be attracted to sources of water as small as a bottle cap, so don’t write anything off as too small or insignificant.
Once you’ve gotten rid of their point of entry and any water that may attract them, you just need to get rid of the ones already in your home. Using an indoor fogger or some other mosquito-killing gadget could potentially remove your mosquito problem. These gadgets come in many different forms, and we’ll go through each of them later in this article to make it easier for you.
If you still have an indoor mosquito problem after following these steps, it may finally be time to call a pest control expert. Calling pest control isn’t really something anyone wants to do, but it’s usually worth it for a pest-free home.
Outdoor Tricks
Once again, the best thing to do is to clean and drain any sources of standing water. This means any bird baths, kiddie pools, or any sort of container that can catch rainwater.
For bird baths, there’s actually something called a mosquito dunk. It’s a little disk that dissolves in water to make it toxic for mosquito larvae. The toxin is perfectly safe for birds to drink as well. You can get a 2-pack of Mosquito Dunks (on Amazon) for under $10.
Removing any tree stumps in your yard is another great step to take. Mosquitoes love to hang out around tree stumps, since these stumps tend to collect rain water, and they create spots safe from the sun. They are the ideal places for mosquitoes to raise their larvae.
When attempting to clear out areas mosquitoes like to gather in, cutting any long grass in your yard is important. Long grass creates a cool, shady layer for mosquitoes to gather in. By cutting this grass, you’ll make your yard much less desirable for mosquitoes. This will also allow more sun to hit your yard, evaporating any potential wet spots.
Mosquitoes like to land in areas with stagnant air. This means setting up some outdoor fans to keep the air moving can actually keep many mosquitoes away from your outdoor area. This option is relatively pricey though, as many outdoor fans are around $70 to $200, and depending on how big your outdoor area is, you may need more than one.
There are also many gadgets and plants that you can use to ward off a potential mosquito invasion. Let’s go through some of these to help you have a mosquito-free summer.
Best Mosquito-Repelling Plants
If you want to get rid of mosquitoes without using a bunch of chemicals in your yard, there are actually several natural ways to get rid of mosquitoes. Many plants can help drive mosquitoes out of your yard. Plants like citrosa, catnip, tulsi, and rosemary will have mosquitoes avoiding your yard like the plague.
There are also many plant oils that mosquitoes stay away from. You can gather up some oils from plants like peppermint, camphor, and citronella, and then mix them with water. This will create an environmentally friendly bug spray that you can use.
On the subject of natural mosquito repellants, dragonflies are the natural predators of mosquitoes. Creating an environment that promotes dragonfly habitation will help to drive those pesky mosquitoes away.
Top Mosquito-Repelling Gadgets
There are many gadgets that you can buy to alleviate yourself of a potential mosquito problem. They’re also relatively affordable. Let’s go through a few to give you an idea of what your options are.
The Thermacell Radius Zone offers protection from mosquitoes in a radius of up to 15 feet around the device. It also boasts an impressive 6.5 hours of battery life. It’s also not too large, meaning it’s extremely easy to pack up and take with you on a potential camping trip.
However, the best thing about the Thermacell Radius Zone is that it is both scent- and noise-free. This means it won’t distract you from enjoying your day out. The Thermacell Radius Zone uses replaceable repellent packs that are good for around 40 hours of use. These packs are usually around $20 each and can be found here (on Amazon).
These incense cones are made using a blend of rosemary, peppermint, citronella, lemongrass, and cedarwood. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t really want to go around blasting your outdoor area with unknown chemicals, this is the mosquito repellent for you.
Each cone burns for about 25 minutes, meaning you’ll getting around 15 hours of protection per pack of 36.
Terro No Mess Mosquito Larvacide Pouches
If you’re trying to deal with a source of standing water that you can’t drain, the mosquito dunks that we mentioned earlier are the answer to your problem. Terro No Mess Mosquito Larvacide Pouches (on Amazon) are some of the most reliable and easy-to-use mosquito dunks.
Simply put a pouch in whatever source of standing water you have, and it will become toxic to mosquito larvae while remaining safe for whatever else you use it for.
The best part is that the pouch the larvacide comes in is dissolvable in water, meaning you don’t even have to open the pouches in order to use them. Just place the whole pouch in water, and mosquitoes will no longer be able to breed in your water.
You can get a pack of 10 for under $15. Each pouch is able to cover about 50 square feet of water, and under standard conditions, each pouch will remain effective for up to four weeks.
How to Choose the Best Mosquito Repellent Spray
When it comes to choosing a good mosquito-repellent spray, things can become really overwhelming. However, a comforting fact is that pretty much every mosquito repellent spray is going to be effective in driving away mosquitoes. The main thing you should be on the lookout for is how long the repellent spray remains effective for.
Coleman Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent Spray (on Amazon) is a great bug spray to ward off mosquitoes. This bug spray boasts an impressive six hours of protection. If you’re looking for a high-quality spray, this one is your best option.
If you want protection for an even longer amount of time, you may have to stray from the spray. Ultrathon Insect Repellent Lotion (on Amazon) is a bug-repellent lotion that will ward off mosquitoes for around 12 hours from the time of application.
