Mosquitoes need water to breed and shade to survive the day, and most yards provide more of both than their owners think.
There’s nothing quite as annoying as going outside on your own lawn and going back inside covered in mosquito bites. And if you keep the lawn mowed and don’t have a pond, you might wonder how this is even happening in the first place.
Mosquitoes need places to breed and hide in order to support a population. As for breeding, that requires standing water. If you can remove sources of standing water from your yard, that alone can go a long way toward reducing the mosquito population.
Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water. The larvae inside the standing water develop over the course of 7–14 days. There are plenty of standing water sources in most residential yards that people wouldn’t think about, including clogged gutters, which can hold water for weeks. After gutters, other common culprits include the saucers under flower pots, corrugated downspout extensions, kids’ toys, wheelbarrows, tarps, and anything else that can hold water after a rain. In the Hartford area, summer thunderstorms refill these containers regularly.
Next, look at shade and vegetation. Mosquitoes spend most of the day resting in cool, humid spots. Dense shrubs, unmowed edges along fences, ivy, ground cover, and the underside of decks all provide resting habitat. The more of this your yard has, the more mosquitoes can survive on your property between feedings. A heavily landscaped lot with mature trees and thick borders is going to hold more mosquitoes than an open, sunny yard with minimal plantings.
It’s also worth considering what borders your yard. Mosquitoes don’t respect property lines. So mosquitoes could be flying over from another yard or nearby woodlands or wetlands. Yard maintenance alone can’t fully offset the effects of being next door to big mosquito habitats, but professional treatment can still help a lot.
If you're tired of dealing with excessive mosquitoes on your Hartford-area property, Mosquito Squad of Hartford can help. Mosquito Squad treats the resting and breeding areas across your yard, reducing mosquito populations by up to 90% for 21 days at a time with regular technician visits.
