Commentary by Patrick Lewis
According to the Office of the Indiana State Chemist, June and July are the peak months in our state for West Nile Virus to be spread. This means the next two months tend to be the busiest for our pesky little friends. Who wants to be unable to enjoy an evening on their patio without covering up in clothing and coating themselves in chemicals? With that in mind our company would like to give you some tips to keep your property mosquito free.
- Eliminate stagnant water and drainage – Mosquitoes require water for breeding. Ensure that there are not areas of stagnant water on your property such as clogged gutters, drainage ditches, low spots in your yard that collect water or even a flower pot that collects water.
- Remove clutter and debris – These could be as simple as tarps, children’s toys collecting water, a bird bath, an inoperable fountain or a bucket sitting upright in the yard. We recommend changing birdbath water weekly, ensuring toys are put away in a manner that they will not collect water, keeping tarps taught so that water will not puddle and flipping over buckets and containers.
- Ground cover and grass – Keep tall grass, weeds, and brush trimmed around your home. These are all areas where mosquitoes rest throughout the day.
- Don’t rely on bug zappers or citronella – These solutions are not very effective for mosquitoes like they are for other insects. This is because mosquitoes that are biting you are attracted to your heat and carbon dioxide, which cannot be masked with these things. Zappers catch some mosquitoes just by chance, but mosquitoes are not attracted to light like moths, flies, etc.
- Utilize residential mosquito services – Take back your yard with large-scale services to treat your entire backyard.
Patrick Lewis is a Hamilton County resident, Purdue graduate and owner of NoSquitoes – Outdoor Bug Control, a company that specializes in mosquito eradication services.