Tips for Mosquito Control This Summer

The Bug Man offers tips to help reduce the mosquito populations around your home.

There are a lot of different ways to approach mosquito control. You could dance if you want to. You could leave your friends behind.

A graduate student from the University of Florida Entomology program prefers the dance method. We found a video that features a ‘skeeter slap dance.’ Check it out below:

Not only is that video amusing, but it also offers a closer look at mosquitoes. Most of us slap them away too quickly to actually see what they look like.  Below we list steps you can take to help reduce the mosquito populations around your home.  While you may not achieve complete mosquito control, this will help.

Steps to help mosquito reduction and control.

• As you saw in that video, the student was wearing long pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt. When you’re out and about with mosquitoes out, it helps if you wear clothing that covers up your arms and legs.
• Emptying out areas of standing water is also really helpful for mosquito control. This includes kiddie pools, unused bird baths, tins in the yard, and even inside old tires.
• Change the water in birdbaths, plant pots, and drip trays at least once a week.
• Clean the debris out of your rain gutters to allow proper drainage.
• Use a mosquito repellent with deet when you’re outside.
• Check around outdoor faucets and air conditioning units and repair leaks or puddles.
• Cover trash containers to keep out rain water.