How Altitude Affects Mosquito Season Length

Why Are Mosquitoes Drawn to Highlands Ranch?

The altitude in Highlands Ranch should reduce and compress the mosquito season, but there are a few reasons why that isn’t always the case. Highlands Ranch’s location sits at a transition zone between the Rockies and the Denver Metro. This unique area creates a kind of mosquito pressure where cooler nights aren’t as stark as higher up within the mountains.

Residential neighborhoods in Highlands Ranch create micro-communities where mosquitoes can easily spread and thrive. The local drainage system creates a vast network of mosquito breeding grounds. When heavy rainfall happens, these drainage systems allow water to pool and stagnate away from the heat of the sun and predators, creating the perfect incubation area for mosquito breeding. Around homes, clogged gutters, leftover leaf litter, and damp grass help reduce the drying effects of the sun. This allows mosquitoes to live longer and rest underneath mature canopies, porch decks, and where flowers and plants are regularly watered.

The urban density of the West Denver area creates an artificial heat dome which allows temperatures to stay in the proper range for mosquito growth and activity. Additionally, as the first hard freeze shifts later and later into the seasons, the mosquito season cutoff tends to get extended past previously understood norms. Together, all of these environmental factors contribute to the growth and spread of mosquitoes despite the altitude.

Reduce Mosquito Activity at Your Highlands Ranch Home

When it comes to reducing mosquito activity around your home in Highlands Ranch, there are a few steps you can take on your own. Trim the areas around your yard which border parks, wooded lots, or areas of standing water. This helps to reduce the number of transition zones where mosquitoes can travel from a high area of mosquito activity into your yard. Allow grass or garden beds to dry out longer between waterings in order to reduce the conditions which allow mosquitoes to live longer. Dispose of leaf litter and brush which can accumulate small pockets of water where mosquitoes can nest and lay their eggs.

For repelling mosquitoes in Highlands Ranch, it’s important to understand that mosquitoes are drawn to sweat, CO2, body heat, and even dark clothing. Citronella candles can be used to deter mosquitoes for short periods of time while relaxing outdoors. Mosquito repellents such as DEET help to mask the scent of sweat which mosquitoes are drawn to. Mosquito dunks can be placed in backyard buckets or other areas where standing water tends to deeply pool. This mosquito control treatment limits the growth cycle of larvae through a bacteria which they feed on. 

For more information about reducing mosquito activity, read The 7 T’s of Mosquito Control and check out the dedicated West Denver blog.

Professional Mosquito Control Treatments in Highlands Ranch, CO

Mosquito Squad Plus is proud to offer comprehensive mosquito control treatments to residents of Highlands Ranch. Our traditional mosquito control treatment, Barrier Treatment Plus, is designed to reduce and control mosquitoes on a 3-week cycle. By using our potent insecticide, we can target areas around the perimeter of your home where mosquito nesting and breeding is common. This allows our barrier treatment to bind to the surface in order to repel mosquitoes and disrupt the cycle of breeding. Not only does Barrier Treatment Plus control mosquitoes, but it is known to reduce mosquito activity up to 85-90%.

Considering plant based mosquito treatments? We also offer a natural treatment blend of botanical oils which reduce and control mosquitoes for around 14 days.

For Reliable Mosquito Control in Highlands Ranch, CO Near You

Ready to take back your Highlands Ranch yard from mosquitoes? Call Mosquito Squad Plus of West Denver at (303) 997-0166 or contact us online for a free quote.