Mosquitoes can be very annoying, especially when you try to enjoy the summer in your garden. These insects are not only a real torment, they can also be dangerous, spreading viruses and diseases. Keep mosquitoes out of your garden next summer by using some repellents and preventative maintenance.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Modify Your Garden
Step 1. Eliminate all standing water
Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. At first glance, you may think that there are no potential areas for these insects to breed in your garden, but consider that pupae and mosquito larvae can mature in very small and hard to notice ponds (even in bottle caps only). Scour your garden and drain or turn over all objects and areas where puddles can form. These include animal bowls, saucers, puddles under outdoor taps, old tires, buckets, watering cans, wheelbarrows, holes in trees, and depressions or dips. Consider hiring a professional to cover holes in trees and smooth out the ground.
- Clean the gutters in your home and those on nearby streets. All the points where water accumulates can become environments suitable for the reproduction of mosquitoes.
- If you have a pool, treat the water with chlorine as long as you use it, then drain it and cover it in the cold season.
- Tie the sheets that cover objects and tools well, so as not to leave folds and depressions where water can deposit, otherwise the mosquitoes will have a place to reproduce.
- If you use saucers, fill them with sand. This way the plants will still be able to absorb the water, but the mosquitoes will not be able to lay their eggs.
Step 2. Add mosquito treatments to the puddles
BTI treatments (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) make use of small natural larvicidal bacteria; you can use them in areas of standing water that you cannot drain, such as retention basins, canals and rainwater tanks. These products are available in a few formats: solutions that you can add to pools of water and float to the surface, or powders that you can scatter in gutters or other places where water tends to accumulate.
BTIs pose no risk to aquatic plants, animals (including fish) or humans and only kill mosquito larvae
Step 3. Care for the vegetation
When not flying, mosquitoes rest in cool, dark, humid and covered areas. Mow the lawn, prune trees and bushes, remove tall grass or low bushes. This exposes a larger area of the vegetation to sunlight, which dries out the moisture and makes the environment less welcoming to these insects.
Eliminate piles of leaves, rotting branches or bushes, as these dark, damp piles become ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes
Step 4. Add repellent plants to your garden
Some plant species such as lemon balm, lemongrass, lantana, lavender, ageratum and certain mint varieties are able to keep mosquitoes away. In fact, they emit strong aromas that discourage these insects from approaching. Catnip, basil, rosemary, calendula and geranium also have a similar effect.
Most of these plants are not only useful as mosquito repellents, but also produce very beautiful flowers and can become outdoor centerpieces
Step 5. Sprinkle cedar mulch
Use this product in the garden to keep the soil moist, absorb excess moisture, improve the appearance of greenery and keep mosquitoes away.
Since cedar oil is a common ingredient in mosquito repellents, these insects will avoid settling near plants with mulch
Part 2 of 2: Keep Mosquitoes Away
Step 1. Treat your garden with a repellent
You can use a sprayer to spread specific repellents for mosquitoes and other insects, such as pyrethrin and pyrethroids. You can spray the lower part of the bushes or the perimeter of your garden to create a barrier. Pyrethrin is a botanical insecticide made with dried chrysanthemums. Pyrethroids are a synthetic version of pyrethrin, in some cases considered more effective. There are also granular repellents that you can spread around the lawn using a fertilizer spreader. Usually these grains are infused with mosquito repellent oils and are not dangerous for children and pets.
- You can purchase these repellents at home improvement stores or on the internet. You should check on the packaging what is the theoretical duration of the treatment; some should last all summer, others only for a few weeks.
- You can spray your garden yourself with a store-bought repellent, or hire a professional to treat larger areas. An expert will be able to reach difficult areas better and may have various formulas available, suitable for all surfaces in your garden.
- Pyrethroids can be harmful to other beneficial insects, such as bees and butterflies. To reduce damage to those insects you should apply the treatments just before sunset, on clear, clear days and with little wind.
Step 2. Change the outdoor bulbs
Mosquitoes and other insects are attracted to incandescent lights. To keep them away, replace the bulbs with fluorescent bulbs, LEDs, yellow "bug lights" or sodium lamps.
Replacing light bulbs near doors and windows is very helpful in keeping mosquitoes away from your home
Step 3. Set up a bat den
Although mosquitoes are only part of the bats' diet, these animals can eat hundreds of insects in an hour. To combat the presence of mosquitoes in the garden, buy or build a bat den and hang it in an open and sunny area about 4 meters above the ground.
Along with other mosquito treatments, a garden bat den can reduce the number of insects trying to feed on your property
Step 4. Install fans in the garden
Since mosquitoes are very light, a breeze above 3km / h can prevent them from flying as they wish. If you want to relax in the fresh air, place some fans in strategic areas (for example behind you) to divert mosquitoes and keep them away from people.
Advice
- Try providing water for the bats, but make sure mosquitoes can't get there. If you can't, it doesn't matter.
- Ask neighbors who have standing water in their garden to remove it.
Warnings
- In some cases, bats can carry diseases, such as rabies. This only happens very rarely, but it's best to avoid annoying those animals.
- Be sure to read the manufacturer's warnings regarding the use of repellents. Some products can be harmful to children, animals, or other beneficial insects.
- Bats may try to get into your attic, but they will usually settle for the den you have set up for them.
