The Spring Cleaning Checklist: Mosquito Edition
The season for spring cleaning is nearing as the weather gets warmer, and you prepare to clear out the accumulated dust and stuffiness from your home. Perhaps you have gone through the cupboards and decluttered the garage. The next task? Prepare your garden for the onset of mosquitoes.
What’s the use in having better access to your BBQ, if you are fighting off mosquitoes each time you use it? Many people don’t realize there are steps you can take to safeguard your garden against these airborne pests.
Cleaning to Prevent Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes breed in areas with high concentrations of water. Don’t let your yard become a cesspool of larvae. Keep yourself and your family safe and bite-free with this checklist.
Step 1: Mosquito-Shield Your Yard
The first step is to employ a professional spray shield to save your backyard from attracting mosquitoes.
With a professional mosquito-control program, experts will spray your yard to remove and deter the mosquitoes and use another spray to repel them further. You can contact a local pest removal company to find out more about how to ensure a mosquito-free summer.
Step 2: Clean Out Stagnant Water
Stagnant water attracts mosquitoes, which breed in standing water of any kind. Swimming pools are a hotspot for these pests, but there can be loads of different places in your backyard where water collects.
While in some cases it may be difficult to avoid having pools of water — if you have a pond or use a birdbath, for instance — you can reduce water where it is unnecessary. If you do have a birdbath or an outdoor bowl for your pets, change the water daily.
Also, regularly cleaning out these pools will keep the water from remaining stagnant and allowing larvae to breed.
Step 3: Clean Up Any Unused Objects
Check your patio, garden, and any outdoor decor that may have been collecting water, or any materials you have left outside. These objects could be buckets, containers, and tarpaulin you have left out from gardening, as well as empty pots and planters.
Anyone with children knows that they can leave their toys everywhere. Again, these can become overlooked water receptacles, so check your garden for any toys lying around.
Anything upturned can be a temporary pool of water and a hot spot for mosquitoes. Make sure to empty these objects or put them inside to eliminate any potential sources for mosquito breeding.
Step 3: Clean the Gutters
Your home’s gutters are natural places for water to gather among the debris that builds up and blocks your pipes. Decluttering the gutters is an awkward, dirty job to do — and you have probably been putting it off! However, unblocking the gutters now can save you the annoyance of mosquitoes this summer.
Step 4: Do a Final Inspection
Take a look around your garden. There may be puddles in places you overlooked, and it is best to find this out before mosquitoes become the uninvited guests at your BBQs.
Water aside, clean up your garden to prevent any pests from making temporary homes. Clear out hard to access parts of your garden and trim back overgrown shrubs.
The Bottom Line
Spring cleaning shouldn’t focus on the inside of your house, but the outside, too. Take these steps to prevent mosquitoes from settling in and set yourself up for a pest-free summer! Contact Native Shield today for your mosquito control needs!