Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Our processes for reducing the mosquito population in your outdoor environment vary upon on what we find in the space that you enjoy the most. Our promise is to eliminate the bite, and the associated health risks, from your environment. We pursue that goal to ensure your comfort and guarantee your satisfaction.

IPM used by Mosquito Squad Technicians:

• Cultural methods: We identify and reduce the conditions that ticks, mosquitoes and other pests need in order to feed and breed. They tend to gather in cool, dark, wet areas. If we see opportunities for the customer to change their plant selection or plant care, the technicians will make note of that opportunity.
• Chemical methods: Our unique barrier protection is designed to significantly reduce the population of ticks and mosquitoes below the satisfaction threshold. We target the chemical method in places that they are likely to feed and breed. They will not want to return to those locations for the next 21 days. If a technician identifies a permanent water source that can be treated with larvicide, that will be applied as recommended.
• Physical methods: Our technicians are trained to look for sources of standing water the size of a bottle cap or larger. If the source is a temporary movable object, we will dump the water from the object while we are there. If the source is a permanent structural source, we will agitate the water if we can and inform the customer so that they know about the potential source.

IPM not used by Mosquito Squad Technicians:

• Biological methods: Our technicians do not deploy natural predators, parasites or diseases of the unwanted pests, but we do appreciate some of the best biological methods used by our customers and encourage their use. The use of gold fish and guppies in horse tanks, rain water barrels and backyard ponds are common biological methods used in the Bluegrass. Other natural predators that increase the enjoyment of your outdoor space are birds. frogs, and turtles.
• Genetic methods: The agriculture industry develops pest-resistant plant varieties developed by classical plant breeding. Recently, this category has been expanded to include genetically engineered pest resistance. Genetic techniques can be performed on pests themselves. Releasing genetically altered "sterile male" Asian Tiger Mosquitos can prevent that species from reproducing. The Asian Tiger Mosquito is one of the worst of the nearly 60 mosquito species in the state of Kentucky as published by the University of Kentucky Entomology Department.
• Regulatory methods: Governmental agencies work to stop the entry or spread of pest into the country through a number of methods which include inspection, quarantine, and destruction.