Habitat Reduction
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Empty and refill birdbaths at least once per week.
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Drill holes in the bottom of tire swings to prevent rainwater from accumulating.
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Avoid using barrels or other containers to capture rainwater unless the container is emptied every few days.
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Empty children's "kiddie" pools regularly.
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Examine gutters regularly. Conditions, such as debris or loose guttering, should be corrected.
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Fill in accessible tree holes with a material that will not harm the tree. Check with a local nursery for advice.
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Use soil to fill in low areas in lawns and landscaped areas that allow rainwater to collect and stand for more than seven days.
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Install an agitator in garden ponds used in landscaping or buy fish that eat mosquito larvae. The wave actions created by an agitator can prevent mosquito adults from successfully emerging from pupae.
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Controlling Mosquito Larvae
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| For properties that have ditches, small ponds or decorative garden ponds, environmentally friendly mosquito larvicides can be applied to the water by a pest professional in areas in which mosquitoes can breed.
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The insect growth regulator (IGR), methoprene, affects only insects, interfering with a mosquito larva’s ability to pupate into an adult. IGR products are generally applied about once every 30 days to help reduce mosquito populations.
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Bacterial mosquito control products that affect only mosquito larvae also can be used, but such products require specific timing in order to obtain maximum results.
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Controlling Adult Mosquitoe
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| The best way to limit mosquitoes is to prevent adult mosquitoes from developing by eliminating or treating breeding sources as described above. Because some adult mosquitoes are most likely always going to be present, treatments can be applied around a home to control as many as possible.
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A pest professional can apply residual products to shrubs and other vegetation around the home and yard. Since mosquitoes spend most of their time during the day resting in vegetation, such treatments can effectively reduce mosquito populations. Such treatments need to be periodically reapplied during the warm months when mosquitoes are active.
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Some of the mosquito traps available commercially do attract and capture large numbers of mosquitoes. Concern may exist that such traps may draw mosquitoes from adjacent properties, so locating the trap at the perimeter of the property is preferable to placing it next to the patio, deck, etc. where people are active.
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