Yards with standing water, dense vegetation, poor drainage, and heavy shade tend to have a lot more mosquitoes than open, well-maintained properties.
You might have noticed that some yards seem to have far worse mosquito problems than others, even in the same neighborhood. That's not random, but there's no denying it’s frustrating.
Mosquito populations need two things to take off: water to breed in and shade to rest in. Any yard that can provide these two things stands a real risk of being home to a swarm of mosquitoes by July.
Standing water, by far, is the biggest source of trouble. Female mosquitoes lay their eggs in or near water, and the larvae need it to develop. It doesn’t take a lot of standing water to do this, which is why a property with clogged gutters, low spots that hold water after rain, neglected birdbaths, or unmaintained drainage can—and often will—produce mosquitoes non-stop spring to fall.
The other big problem is shade. Mosquitoes are vulnerable when it comes to heat and direct sunlight. That’s why they need to rest during the day in cool, humid places. To do this, they will often go to the undersides of leaves, dense shrubs, tall grass, and shaded areas beneath decks and along fence lines. Yards sitting beneath a heavy tree canopy, though beautiful, often tend to have more mosquitoes for exactly this reason.
Sometimes, mosquito trouble comes from proximity to natural water sources outside of property lines. If your property borders a pond, stagnant creek, or wetland, you’ll always have more mosquitoes than someone a few blocks away.
You can’t control water on other properties, but you can always do yard maintenance and that matters a lot. Dumping standing water weekly and trimming vegetation, including mowing grass, goes a long way toward curtailing the obnoxious presence of mosquitoes.
If your Northwest Indiana property seems to attract more than its share of mosquitoes, Mosquito Squad of NW Indiana can help. Mosquito Squad treats the resting and breeding areas across your yard, reducing the mosquito population by up to 90% for 21 days at a time, regardless of what your yard's natural conditions look like.
