MOSQUITOES
These small biting flies have been around for nearly 80 million years, using their straw-like mouth parts to feed on the blood of everything from mammals and birds to reptiles and even fish. While mosquito bites are relatively harmless, the consequences of a bite can be severe. In fact, the diseases and parasites spread by mosquitoes make them the deadliest animal on the planet, causing more deaths annually than sharks, snakes, wolves, lions, crocodiles, tigers, bears and humans combined. Roughly 700 Million people on Earth contract a mosquito-borne illness each year, including malaria, chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever, zika, West Nile virus and more. Mosquito bites threaten the health of animals as well, transmitting life-threatening conditions like heartworm disease in dogs, cats, horses and more.
Mosquitoes can easily ruin outdoor activities, not to mention the splendor of your own backyard. The following information will show you how to deter mosquitoes and help prevent their annoying, potentially harmful bites.
Signs and Symptoms
If mosquitoes have invaded your home or yard, chances are they’ll find you before you find them. For this reason, mosquito problems are normally easy to identify. Here are the three most common signs of mosquitoes:
- Mosquito bites (puffy bumps with a red dot in the middle, a red rash may also occur)
- Buzzing. When mosquitoes are close to your body, you can sometimes hear a high-pitched buzzing
- Mosquito larvae (look like small, hairy brown worms). Usually seen in small bodies of standing water, like potted plants, tires, and other items that collect rainwater
Where to Treat for Mosquitoes
While some individuals might find their way inside, for the most part mosquitoes are only a problem outdoors. To keep mosquitoes out of your yard and ultimately your home, treating your lawn monthly is the way to go. Spraying you and your cat, dog or horse with a personal repellent is essential for preventing potentially harmful bites.
What You Need
PCO Choice, our non-toxic outdoor pest control concentrate, is what we suggest for treating your yard. (lawn, garden, bushes, shrubbery, etc, too). To repel mosquitoes from you and your pets, we suggest our naturally sourced pesticide and repellent, Cedarcide Original (don’t worry—it’s pet safe!)
Tips for Controlling Mosquitoes
Deterring mosquitoes and preventing bites is fairly straightforward—it all comes down to treating your yard and protecting yourself with repellent. Here’s a few additional tips to keep mosquitoes out of your life:
- Treat your yard monthly with PCO Choice to control and repel mosquito populations.
- Mosquitoes lay their eggs in or around water, so be sure to remove all sources of standing water from your yard.
- Maintain your yard—unkempt yards are more likely to be inhabited by mosquitoes.
- Before and after walks, hiking, dog park visits and other outdoor activities, spray yourself and your dog with Cedarcide Original to prevent mosquito bites.
