Clogged gutters are one of the most productive breeding sites for mosquitoes on residential properties. Leaves and debris can hold standing water for weeks and provide larvae with organic matter they can feed on.
You probably don’t think a lot about your gutters. After all, they’re out of sight and out of mind, and you clean them perhaps once a year after all the leaves drop. But that doesn’t change the fact that mosquitoes love to breed in clogged gutters.
It’s hard to find a better place for mosquitoes to start their lives than clogged gutters. For one, they need standing water to breed. A female mosquito can lay 100–300 eggs at a time when she finds a source of it. Clogged gutters are great at providing that. But they also are full of leaves, seed pods, and pine needles. That can all decay and become a source of food for the microorganisms that mosquito larvae eat. So not only do clogged gutters provide standing water, but they provide food as well. Corrugated downspout extensions have the same exact problem.
If you have mosquitoes on your property, one straightforward thing you can do is check for water spilling over the front edge of a gutter or trickling from a seam. If you see that, it means a block upstream. Sagging sections and plants sprouting from the gutter are also giveaways. You can often confirm this from a ladder or even a phone camera on a very long selfie stick.
If clogged gutters are an issue, one thing to do is clean them at least twice per year, or more if you’re under oaks or maples. Flush the downspouts to confirm flow. Correct any sag so water can’t pond. If you have a lot of tree cover, consider gutter guards. You may also want to swap corrugated drain extensions for smooth ones. And treat the shaded foliage where the resulting adults rest, which is the part of the cycle you can't reach with a ladder.
If mosquitoes are breeding in your gutters, Mosquito Squad of Chicago can help. Mosquito Squad treats the resting zones and finds breeding sources during property walkthroughs. This can help you protect your yard with up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
