Natural Solutions for Mosquito Control

Summer is here and the mosquito population in the Upstate is definitely on the rise. With over 60 species of mosquito making their home in our area, mosquitoes are not just a pest they can carry a variety of diseases such as diseases West Nile, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, La Crosse encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis virus, and dog/cat heart worms.

It seems that people will try anything to repel mosquitoes including:

Drink gin and tonic
Eat bananas
Spray Mouthwash on skin
Wipe Bounce Dryer Sheets on skin
Spray Alcohol/Clove solutions on skin
Wipe animal dung on skin

2015 Study on Mosquito Repellent Effectiveness

Chart shows the percentage of mosquitoes attracted to a host after application of various repellents

With the hazards of mosquitoes ranging from pest to serious illness, we wanted to present several ways to minimize the mosquito population at your home.

Eliminate Mosquito Breeding Areas

Most mosquitoes can fly no more than one to three miles, and some mosquitoes such as the Asian tiger mosquito have a flight range of just 100 yards or so. This means once they hatch, mosquitoes don’t go far. Make sure your hard isn’t their home by eliminating standing water by emptying the saucers for plants, hauling off old tires, cleaning rain gutters and frequently changing the water in birdbaths. Even inverted frisbees can be a mosquito birthplace.

Plant Some Repellents

Some herbs to consider: basil, lavender, lemongrass, lemon thyme, mint, rosemary and lemon balm.

If flowers sound more appealing, try marigolds or common lantanas to create a mosquito-free yard.

Use a Fan

Mosquitoes follow carbon dioxide to track their next target. A Michigan study showed that fans break up this carbon dioxide trail and actually reduce the number of mosquitoes in a given area.

Invite a Bat to Your Picnic

https://www.nwf.org/garden-for-wildlife/cover/build-a-bat-house

In one night, one single brown bat can eat 1,000 mosquito-sized insects. To get more bats in your area, consider building a bat house and affixing it to a south facing pole in your yard. Here’s some details on attracting bats to your yard.

Make a Mosquito Trap

A simple trap is made from a plastic bottle. Mosquitoes are attracted by the sugar and are trapped inside the bottles. Results reported across the Internet seem mixed so let us know how this works for you.