No, the main problem is standing water like that found in marshes, flooded low ground, wooded shades, and containers found on your property. Open water has waves, fish, and breezes that keep it from becoming stagnant and allowing mosquitoes to breed.
Two cabins on the same Minnesota lake, a quarter mile apart, can have completely different mosquito situations. It’s useful to understand why. Because the simple fact is that the lake alone is not to blame for mosquito problems.
Open water is not a good habitat for mosquitoes. Mosquito larvae need still, shallow, protected water in order to breed. Open water is constantly circulating and there are also fish like minnows that feed on mosquito larvae. The breeze that comes off open water on most afternoons also helps because it grounds weak-flying mosquitoes and scatters the carbon dioxide plumes that they follow to find people to bite. The lakefront can be one of the more comfortable spots in the county when it comes to mosquitoes.
But the marshy, cattail-choked bays and boggy shorelines are a different story. Flooded low ground gives mosquitoes plenty of places to hatch in enormous synchronized broods. Dense woods right down to the water hold humidity and give adults the shaded daytime resting habitat they need to do well. Heavily wooded lots on calm bays are much worse than the lakefront itself.
Homeowners still have plenty of control, though. Seasonal properties often produce mosquitoes because no one is around to dump standing water. Clogged gutters, the tarp over the boat, a canoe left upright, buckets, tire swings, birdbaths, wheelbarrows, and the fish-cleaning table's drip pan all breed mosquitoes on roughly a week-long cycle. A cabin visited every other weekend gives them long stretches to breed unhindered.
If you are tired of dealing with mosquitoes on your property, Mosquito Squad of North Central Minnesota can help. Mosquito Squad treats the resting zones and flags breeding sources during walkthroughs. This can help you protect your lake time with up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
