Nobody Likes Mosquitos

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What Sandy Springs Residents can do about Mosquitoes

Nobody likes mosquitoes

The scourge of summer afternoons and evenings, mosquito bites drive people crazy and drive homeowners to take drastic measures to rid themselves of the disease carrying bugs. But there are ways to protect you and your family without damaging beneficial insects and the delicate ecosystems that support the wildlife that we enjoy.

Facts about mosquitoes

A single mosquito lives it’s entire life in an area about 125 square feet. Mosquitoes lay eggs in water.  If you can control standing water on your property, you can greatly limit your mosquito population without using harmful chemicals. Mosquitoes don’t like wind (and an individual mosquito hates it when you wave your hand around and will learn to leave you alone!) so equip your patio or porch with outdoor fans to churn up the air and keep mosquitoes away.

Here are some tips to keep standing water down on your property, and to reduce mosquito population with non-toxic methods:

·      Clean out rain gutters so that rotting leaves don’t dam up water.

·      Pick up toys, cups, buckets, and anything that will collect rainwater.

·      Drill drain holes in old tires.

·      Add drainage ditches to prevent standing water after storms.

·      If you have a bird bath, wading pool, or fountain, add Mosquito Dunks, which contain beneficial bacteria (Bti) that won’t harm other insects or animals. This product also comes in pellets which are good for catch basins under potted plants.

·      If you have a water feature like an ornamental pond, stock it with mosquito larvae eating fish like Gambusia.

·      Put up bat boxes. The most common bat found in Georgia can consume 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour!

·      Mosquitoes hang out in tall grass during the day, so keep weeds trimmed and cut grass often.

·      Get rid of English ivy. It’s great for housing mosquitoes during the hot times of the day and is invasive and bad for trees.

·      Frogs,  birds, dragonflies, damselflies, and praying mantises eat mosquitos. Keeping your environment healthy and pesticide free is key to supporting these beneficial organisms.

If you must spray

You should know that mosquito treatment companies typically use pesticides from a group of chemicals called pyrethroids that are promoted as being safe and natural. They are – to humans – but these pesticides are highly toxic to pollinators and other beneficial bugs, fish, and small aquatic organisms.

The focus of much of the toxicity testing by regulatory agencies has been on domesticated honey bees because their pollination services are critically important for our agriculture system and food production. Researchers have documented widespread contamination of honey bee hives with toxic pyrethroids, finding residues of these chemicals in the pollen that bees bring back to the hive, in beeswax, and on bees themselves, at levels that can be lethal to bees or cause harmful effects.

If you must spray, ask for garlic based products. If they say that theirs is natural but won’t tell you what is in it because it’s proprietary, ask if it is pyrethroid-based, then ask again for the garlic products.

Understand that the benefits and dangers of pesticides, as represented by commercial mosquito treatment companies is often at odds with information published by evidence-based government and university research centers.

If you must spray, spray only as needed. Contract spraying on a predetermined schedule wastes pesticide and money and may contribute to pesticide-resistant mosquitoes.

When choosing a mosquito control provider, know that the ones who specialize only in mosquito control are generally more responsive to requests for truly organic treatments like garlic-based products. Often large pest control companies offer mosquito control as part of a package, but their technicians are less likely to follow the proper guidelines for usage. Your technicians should never spray a blooming plant, ever. Fogging should only be done in the evening when mosquito activity peaks. If they are not acting responsibly, get another vendor.