If your yard is overrun with mosquitoes, the cause is almost always some mix of standing water where they breed and cool, shady, humid vegetation where they rest. Even small, easily missed water sources and dense plantings can turn an ordinary yard into a mosquito factory.
When one yard is miserable with mosquitoes, it feels like bad luck. And sometimes it is. But you have more power than you think to push back on the mosquitoes. After all, mosquitoes need two things: places to breed and places to rest. If you deny them these, they won’t be able to annoy you as often.
Breeding water is the first and biggest factor. Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water, and it takes surprisingly little, a capful will do. The usual sources are containers and toys, clogged gutters, plant saucers, low spots that puddle, poor drainage, water features, and even tree holes. You can often make life a lot harder for mosquitoes simply by tipping over containers where water pools.
Adult mosquitoes spend the day sheltering in cool, humid, shaded spots, so a yard with dense shrubs, tall grass, heavy ground cover, deep mulch, and lots of shade gives them far more harborage than an open, sunny, well-trimmed one. Thinning vegetation and landscaping can deny adult mosquitoes these resting spots.
When in doubt, it’s a good idea to walk your property after a storm. This can help you find drainage issues and containers that hold water. Dump out any standing water you see and make a note to fix drainage problems if you have them. Beyond that, if you see mosquitoes clustering in specific shaded or vegetated areas, you can either trim back the vegetation or call an expert to help reduce the mosquito population.
If you're tired of a backyard you can't enjoy without getting eaten alive, Mosquito Squad of The Sandhills can help. Mosquito Squad combines source-reduction guidance with a barrier treatment on the resting zones. This can help you protect your yard with up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
