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How To Get Rid Of Mosquitoes Outdoors

How To Get Rid Of Mosquitoes Outdoors

How do you get rid of mosquitoes outdoors?

  1. Tidy up your outdoor area
  2. Clear up standing water
  3. Use mosquito repelling plants
  4. Install a fan
  5. Set up mosquito traps
  6. Use insecticides
  7. Hire a professional pest control team

Mosquitoes may be small, but they can be bothersome and annoying. Some mosquitoes bite people or animals and cause itching and swelling. Other than that, there are also mosquitoes that can spread pathogens that can make you sick too. Remember that it just takes a few infected mosquitoes to cause an outbreak in your community. That’s why it’s important to know how to get rid of mosquitoes outdoors. Keep on reading!

Tidy Up Your Outdoor Area

Tidy Up Your Outdoor Area

Mosquitoes love to live in dark and humid places. Some common examples are in tall grass, hollow trees, and under leaves. If you have much debris in your outdoor area, then it’s almost possible to make them leave. That’s why the first thing you do for pest management is to keep the outdoor area clean. Trim tall grass, get rid of weeds, and remove any fallen branches where mosquitoes may hide and breed. 

Clear Up Standing Water

By preventing mosquito breeding, you can get rid of mosquitoes for good. For reference, a female mosquito can lay more than 700 eggs in her lifespan. Through the first three stages of life of a mosquito — egg, larvae, and pupae — they depend on water. This is why one of the most effective ways to reduce the number of mosquitoes outdoors is to get rid of standing water!

Check for pooling water in plant pots, birdbaths, pet bowls, buckets, trash can lids, gutters, and more. Fix water leaks immediately to prevent this problem. 

Use Mosquito Repelling Plants

Use Mosquito Repelling Plants

The general rule of thumb is to move potted plants indoors if possible. This is because pots can fill up with excess water where mosquitoes can breed. But if you still want to beautify your landscape, then it’s beneficial to use mosquito-repelling plants outdoors. Some of these plants have fragrances and chemicals that can help get rid of these pests.

Examples of mosquito-repelling plants include citronella, lavender, eucalyptus, and peppermint. When using planter boxes, consider installing drainage pipes to prevent standing water.

Install A Fan

Mosquitoes are not very great flyers. They won’t be able to fly and navigate properly when exposed to streams of air. That’s why fans can help you mess with their flying ability. This can help you deter mosquitoes in the area. As a bonus, fans can also help keep you cool outdoors. This is useful when you need to stay outside for a prolonged time — such as when having an outdoor barbecue. 

Set Up Mosquito Traps

Mosquito traps can help control the population of mosquitoes in your outdoor area, as long as you do it right. There are traps with a sticky surface and others that use electrocution to get rid of mosquitoes.

To make the most out of a mosquito trap, place them in areas where these insects tend to stay and breed. You might have to move the trap around to find the best placement. Aside from that, you might also have to try out different traps to see what’s effective and what’s not. 

Use Insecticides

Use Insecticides

If you’ve done everything and mosquitoes are still a nuisance, then you can use an insecticide. This can kill eggs, larvae, and also adult mosquitoes. Make sure that you only do this as one of the last resort, as insecticides can also harm other insects, such as bees and butterflies — which are beneficial for the environment.

Hire A Professional Pest Control Team

Hire A Professional Pest Control Team

To save your time with trial and error with DIY methods, consider hiring a professional pest control team to help you get rid of mosquitoes outdoors. They are experts when it comes to dealing with different kinds of pests — including those pesky mosquitoes! Aside from that, they are knowledgeable about the safety practices needed when applying chemicals, so you don’t have to put your safety at risk when using insecticides.

Key Takeaway

Mosquitoes are a nuisance, even if they’re outdoors. Don’t wait for them to get into your home or office before doing what you can to get rid of them! Some mosquitoes can even spread pathogens, so it can put your family or community at risk.

If you want to know how to get rid of mosquitoes outdoors, you can contact us here at Topbest! Our specialists will use tried-and-tested methods to get rid of mosquitoes for good. You can schedule a free pest consultation for your home or office by clicking here.

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How Avoiding Moisture Buildup At Home Helps Prevent Dengue

Inspects your Property Thoroughly 

 

How does avoiding moisture buildup at home help in preventing dengue?

  1. It destroys dengue habitat
  2. It stops mosquitoes from breeding

 

The hot season in the country is at its peak with a smoldering record of 41.2 degrees celsius. Dengue fever is spreading in the Philippines at a faster rate now than any other season. According to a report, there have been 25,000 dengue cases reported in the first six weeks of 2020. This doesn’t come as a surprise because aside from high temperatures, stagnant water is also present everywhere in our country. This becomes conducive for dengue mosquitoes to breed. Prevent dengue by avoiding moisture buildup at home.

Read on to find out how avoiding moisture buildup at home can save your household from the next dengue outbreak.

 

It Destroys Dengue Habitat

A person wringing a cloth in a bucket

Before going into the specifics, be reminded of this basic information. The dengue virus can only be transmitted by mosquitoes in the genus Aedes. The Aedes aegypti is a minuscule, dark-colored mosquito with white leg markings on it. They are the vector mosquitoes that transmit the dengue virus.

The dengue virus is an endemic disease widely spread in places that have a tropical climate like the Caribbean, South America, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Once infected, a person can contract a wide spectrum of diseases. This can range from subclinical diseases to severe flu-like symptoms. If not managed properly, it can even result in death.

Dengue mosquitoes can live in multiple areas as long as there is water buildup. For example, if you unintentionally leave your trash can outside uncovered, tiny drops of rain can accumulate and collect at the bottom of the trashcan.

These pesky insects can also live on piles of scrap wood, mop buckets, leaky plumbing, unused shelves, and even worn-out tires. If an item can collect stagnant water, you can be sure that it can be turned into a mosquito habitat. In a typical Philippine household, you will commonly see large blue plastic drums used for storing water supplies. This is one of the prime examples of a shelter for dengue.

Avoiding moisture buildup means eliminating the possibility of harboring dengue mosquitoes. Why? This is because they rely on stagnant water to find food, shelter, protection, and mates for reproduction. They rely on moisture buildup for their whole life cycle!

So remember to keep your gutters clean, seal any water drums, and throw out the remaining water from mop buckets. If you happen to have a pond, clean them regularly. Moreover, if you have pets living in your house, ensure that their food and water bowls are cleaned often. Acting quickly by doing these simple habits is important. Because once a dengue mosquito finds a place to live in, they breed. You don’t want this to happen as the transitioning of a mosquito from an egg is extremely fast.

 

It Stops Mosquitoes From Breeding

Close up of a mosquito with dengue

If you didn’t already know, the Aedes aegypti likes to live and breed around wet areas, especially water buildups. This is primarily because they breed in water.

 

How They Breed

The process of a male and female dengue mosquito mating can be as quick as six to ten seconds. After the mosquitoes copulate, the female will need to nourish eggs. The male’s seminal fluid, which contains many proteins and peptides, modulates the female’s responses to seek hosts.

This is when the female dengue mosquito will go out and search for people and other organisms to bite. The host’s blood will then contract the dengue virus.

 

How Long It Takes To Hatch

A female mosquito is capable of laying 100 eggs at a time. Mosquitoes lay their eggs directly into bodies of water. Without water, the eggs cannot hatch. Once a female mosquito lays her eggs in water, the eggs will only need 24 to 48 hours to hatch into larvae.

If you look up close, you will be able to see them grow into pupae at the surface of inhabited waters. Once they transition into full-grown adults, they are now capable of flying. A dengue mosquito’s entire life cycle, from an egg to an adult, takes only about a week.

By avoiding moisture buildup at home, you are destroying the chance for dengue mosquitoes to breed and multiply. As much as possible, opt-out of leaving water unattended because mosquitoes will surely take the chance and inhabit it. Eliminating any amount of stagnant water eliminates the possibility of mosquitoes.

 

Key Takeaway

Avoiding moisture buildup will surely prevent the cultivation of dengue mosquitoes in your home because they live and breed in such areas.

While you’re at it, inquire from your local pest experts for a free pest inspection to find out where dengue mosquitoes may breed in your home. Or, prevent other unwanted pests such as cockroaches, rodents, termites, bed bugs, and black bugs from invading your home in general.

Prevent dengue and hire Topbest, the premier pest control service company in the Philippines today. With over 23 years of experience, we are committed to providing the best pest control solutions to both residential and commercial establishments in the Philippines.