The Ultimate Guide to Mosquito Control: Tips and Tricks for Your Phoenix Property

It is annoying when a mosquito comes into your yard because mosquitoes bite, and their bites turn into itchy welts. Worse than this, one mosquito doesn't remain one mosquito for long. A female mosquito can lay a hundred eggs at a time, and those eggs can turn into a swarm in less than two weeks. Is there any way to stop this? Is there a way to keep mosquitoes away? We have some good news. There are many ways to deter mosquitoes from living on your property. Join us today as we offer up our ultimate guide to mosquito control. We'll share tips, tricks, and valuable insights that will help you manage mosquitoes on your Phoenix property. We've packed everything you need to know into this short article. But, as short as it is, you may not want to learn about mosquito control. If you'd prefer to have a licensed professional inspect your yard, evaluate the conditions, and suggest a solution, we're happy to help. Your Overson Pest Control team is committed to helping you find effective solutions for all your pest concerns. Use our contact page to ask questions about mosquito control in Phoenix or schedule a visit.

Mosquito Or Not? How To Identify Them At A Glance

The first step in any control plan is to know how to identify the pest you're attempting to address. We won't spend much time on this as most Phoenix residents know how to identify mosquitoes. Apart from looking at images online, it is fairly easy to recognize a mosquito by its appearance and its flight behavior. Mosquitoes in Phoenix have a hunched appearance and a slanted profile. When a mosquito flies around you to find a landing spot, it will hover erratically in the air. They are poor fliers that actually spend most of their time resting.

The most important factor in identification is having the ability to recognize different types of mosquitoes and one family in particular. The worst disease-spreading mosquitoes are Aedes. You can look up information about Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus on the CDC website. These are the mosquitoes that spread the Zika virus, dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya, and other harmful diseases. An Aedes mosquito has white dots both on the legs and body.

Mosquito Dangers: Itchy Bites, Allergic Reactions, And Diseases

Another topic we should quickly touch on is the issue of mosquito bites. There are many misconceptions regarding disease transmission. For example, the diseases we listed above are not found in local animal populations, which means our local mosquitoes don't pick up these diseases each year; they only spread them during outbreaks. An outbreak is when a local mosquito bites an infected traveler and spreads the disease to other people and animals. Here are a few quick facts you should know about the dangers of mosquito bites:

• Certain mosquito species don't spread any diseases to humans.
• A mosquito species must have the ability to draw in a virus, hold it in its gut, and transfer it to its salivary glands in order to transmit it.
• The mosquitoes linked to disease transmission in Phoenix are Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex.
• Most often, contracting a disease spread by mosquitoes will result in minor symptoms that resemble the common cold or flu.
• A symptom routinely associated with mosquitoes (and a cause for concern) is a headache. Encephalitis is the most common kind of mosquito-borne illness in the United States.
• It is possible to contract a mosquito-borne disease and only be a carrier, which means you have no symptoms but can pass the disease on through mosquito bites.
• Many mosquito bites result in no disease transmission, but mosquito bites are still unpleasant due to the itching and irritation, which is caused by an allergic reaction to the saliva of mosquitoes. You can minimize the discomfort by cleaning the wound, putting a cold compress on it, and applying an anti-itch cream.

While not every mosquito that bites will threaten your health, it is best not to have mosquitoes on your property. Now that you know what you're dealing with, let's turn our attention to ways to keep mosquitoes away.

Mosquito-Proofing Your Yard: Essential Steps To Protect Your Property

A common way Phoenix residents work to keep mosquitoes away is by using repellents. Unfortunately, repellents are not the best way to control mosquitoes. The reason they fall short is that they underestimate the desire of mosquitoes to bite you. It is important to cover this fact first.

Only female mosquitoes bite. They do this to acquire a blood meal for egg production. So, you're not deterring her from one of several meals. You're deterring her from a meal that is essential for her babies. Believe us when we say she isn't easily deterred. That is why you can get bites even after covering yourself with mosquito repellent. The same is true of your yard. If it were possible to cover every inch with something repellent, you could still get mosquito bites. The better solution is to address the issue of why mosquitoes are in your yard in the first place.

You may not realize this, but clouds of mosquitoes don't move through your yard. Most of the mosquitoes buzzing around in your yard aren't visitors. They live in your yard. Why? Because they hatched in your yard. Mosquitoes typically stay close to where they hatch. We call these areas breeding sites. If you remove breeding sites, you'll make it harder for mosquitoes to lay eggs near your home. This will result in fewer mosquitoes in your yard. Here are some quick tips to make your yard resistant to mosquito breeding.

• Clean your gutters and fix any areas of your gutter system where water leaks. Your gutters help to prevent ground saturation. When the ground is saturated, the rainwater can't sink into the soil, and puddles form. If those puddles sit long enough, mosquitoes can use them for reproduction.
• Remove anything in your yard that can collect even a small amount of rainwater. Mosquitoes only need an inch of water to reproduce. That means a cup sitting on the porch, a frisbee lying on the ground, or a toy dump truck in a sandbox are all possible breeding sites for mosquitoes.
• Address hiding places mosquitoes use, such as piles of branches, raked leaves, dense landscape vegetation, tall grass, and general yard clutter. Mosquitoes use these hiding places to shield themselves from the wind and sun.

It is impossible to keep your yard bone dry, but you don't have to. All you have to do is prevent wetness and breeding sites from lasting more than a week. It takes time for a mosquito to go from eggs to larvae to pupae to adults. The adult mosquitoes are the only mosquitoes that fly. All other stages require moist conditions and stagnant water. If you find a water source with little wiggly worms in it, you've found mosquitoes. Pour the water onto the ground to eliminate the mosquitoes before they take to the air.

Now that you know how to address breeding sites, let's look specifically at how to get rid of mosquitoes. For this level of protection, pest control materials are required.      

Total Mosquito Control: How Professionals Ensure Long-Lasting Results

When you contact a licensed pest control service provider, like Overson Pest Control, what can you expect from your service? There are a few steps we take to deal with the mosquitoes in your yard and two ways we can address your needs.

Your service begins with an inspection. During the inspection process, your pest management professional will evaluate the conditions on your property and determine the right mixture of control products and methods. We always use an integrated approach to get the best results.

Following your property evaluation, we discuss your mosquito treatment options with you. We tailor your service to meet your specific requirements. If you have an upcoming outdoor event, like an anniversary or graduation, we can address the mosquitoes in your yard prior to your special day. If you want mosquito control through mosquito season, we can set you up with a seasonal plan. If you want to get complete pest control service with Phoenix mosquito control as one integrated part, we can do that, too.

Once your plan is set, we arrive on time to perform your treatments. Your pest management professional will use a backpack spray to target key areas where mosquitoes rest in your yard. The material eliminates all adult mosquitoes and helps to arrest mosquito development by using insect growth regulators. If you have breeding sites that require direct treatment, your pest management professional can apply larvicides or use mechanical methods to remove the source.

Would you like to learn more about mosquito control or speak with a professional about the specific needs of your property? We're here to walk you through the process from start to finish. Reach out to us today by phone, text, or email. We look forward to helping you.