4 Yard Maintenance Tasks to Help Prevent Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are no one’s favorite pests. They aren’t only annoying, but they are just a nuisance. And they usually arrive when you’re just trying to have a little fun outdoors.

On top of just ruining a good time, mosquitoes can also be deadly. They have the potential to spread diseases like West Nile, malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, Zika, and more. 

Not cool.
 
Despite the terror these tiny bugs can bring, even at their most innocent, they are awfully pesky. All you want to do during summer nights is to relax in your landscape and possibly play with your children or sip cool drinks by the fire or catch up with friends. Unfortunately, mosquitoes can send all your guests running back in the house faster than you can say, “s’mores.”

It’s the whirring past your ears that is prequel to a bite, and then it’s those itchy welts that result and last for days. One bite and instead of focusing on the games or the fun, people can only think about dodging that next mosquito. 
 
While mosquitoes might aim to ruin every single outdoor adventure you embark on, there are some things you can do that can help you avoid going outside all year long. 

Let’s discuss how to keep mosquitoes away from your yard and talk about some tips for yard maintenance to prevent mosquitoes so that you can try to have more peaceful evenings in your Northern Virginia backyard.

The Mosquito Annoyance Problem: Understanding How These Pests Work

Mosquitoes are one of the most frustrating – if not THE most frustrating – pest you might encounter in your backyard. And they enjoy getting in the way of all of your fun – from campfires to kicking the soccer ball to having dinner al fresco.

On top of that, mosquitoes can carry some very horrid diseases that can threaten you when you’re just trying to enjoy some time in nature. As we mentioned above, the list of diseases mosquitoes can carry can leave some long-lasting and harmful impacts on you and your loved ones, including your pets. 
 
That’s why you can’t ignore important yard maintenance to prevent mosquitoes.

Prevent Mosquitoes In Your Yard With These 4 Key Tips

Your home is your safe haven, and you’d like to enjoy both the indoors and the outdoors. And why shouldn’t you? It’s your happy home, after all. 

Unfortunately, mosquitoes don’t care about your intentions or plans. In fact, all they care about is finding their next food source – and you are exactly what they are seeking. 
 
Check out the following tips to keep mosquitoes away from your yard in Northern Virginia so you can take back your nights outside.

1. Begin With Identifying and Eliminating Mosquito Breeding Grounds

Mosquitoes have a favorite place to hang out: near water. In fact, they spend the first 10 days of their lives in water where they dine on organic matter in stagnant water. Sounds fun, right? 

Once they do this, they become pupae that are partially encased in cocoons. After just a few more days, they turn into those buzzing, biting bugs that you wish wouldn’t ruin your favorite evenings by the fire pit. 
 
This means one of the best ways to prevent mosquitoes in your yard is to ensure you don’t have any standing water sitting around in your landscape. 

You can find standing water in places like bird baths, empty plant containers, pet food or water bowls, buckets, or anywhere you might see small puddles of water that will sit there for a while. The reason you want to eliminate this stagnant water is because it’s a magnet for mosquitoes. Once they find them, they breed fast, doubling or tripling their presence in your backyard and then bringing about all kinds of menacing issues to your space. 
 
To get rid of standing water, remember to empty anything you see out there that looks like it might collect water. If you enjoy having a bird bath out there, just make sure to regularly empty it and refill it with fresh water. 

Some sneaky places that might fill with water for periods of time are pool covers or gutters. Clean them out regularly so they don’t turn into mosquito breeding grounds. 

Being mindful of places where water collects ensures you don’t continue leaving an open invitation to mosquitoes and bringing them freely to your yard.

2. Try to Limit Mosquito Habitats and Hangouts  

Another thing you can do when you need to prevent mosquitoes in your yard is make sure you reduce the places where mosquitoes like to hang out.
 
Where, you ask, do mosquitoes enjoy hanging out and doing whatever it is they like to do when they aren’t annoying you? Mosquitoes are actually weak flyers even though they seem to fly around a lot when they are bothering you. This means they stop a lot to take breaks. When they stop, they are seeking safe areas, including tall grasses, overgrown shrubs, and wild vegetation. 

How do you limit these areas? Make sure to trim your plant material – shrubs, tall grasses, trees, plants, especially those planted at the outer edges of your yard. By doing this correct plant maintenance, you limit your mosquito hangouts, which means you reduce your overall mosquito populations. 

In addition to plant pruning, you must also limit wood piles or make sure to store them away from areas you like to hang out. 

Using yard treatment for mosquitoes to focus on these areas is another good way to battle the mosquitoes that escape your maintenance efforts and still find some places to congregate near your grasses and shrubs. 

3. Use Mosquito Repellent and Layers

While you’re outside, you can also add some mosquito repellent to help protect against pests that escape your yard maintenance to prevent mosquitoes. 

You can also use mosquito netting or wear long sleeves or pants during those peak evening hours when mosquitoes like to hang around. This can make your skin harder for mosquitoes to get to.

4. Try Yard Treatment For Mosquitoes on Mosquito Adults

Even if you control some of the mosquito hangouts in your own backyard, that doesn’t mean your neighbors are doing the same yard maintenance to prevent mosquitoes. And you know what this means? Mosquitoes are still nearby. 
 
And Northern Virginia mosquitoes can range in type from common house mosquitoes to yellow fever mosquitoes to Asian tiger mosquitoes. 
 
Since adult mosquitoes are the ones responsible for breeding and making more mosquitoes, applying a mosquito control treatment every 30 days from April through November can knock down these adults and help reduce future mosquito populations. 

While there are DIY control options, hiring a professional in Northern Virginia that knows how to correctly apply mosquito control in Leesburg, Ashburn, and Aldie, VA is a great option. To manage mosquitoes on your property, professionals will use a backpack mister and spray a fine mist to target mosquito’s favorite spots like underneath trees and shrubs, under decks, and near grasses and common harborages. 
 
Professional companies like Turf’s Up also use an organic, professional-grade mosquito product, which goes a long way in tackling mosquitoes. Organic products contain cedar oil, so they are safe for your pets and family members, while also being effective against mosquitoes. In fact, cedar oil blocks a pest’s scent receptors and disrupts their body’s systems naturally. 

Mosquito control experts can also offer you a custom approach to mosquito treatments, giving your yard a thorough assessment to determine which areas need attention, and giving you tips you can use to continue mosquito prevention. 
 
Remember, the mosquito populations you can control this year can mean fewer mosquitoes the following year. This absolutely helps keep these pests and the diseases they carry far away from your backyard. 

Embrace Mosquito Control in Leesburg, Ashburn, and Aldie, VA 

Mosquitoes are not your favorite friends to visit you in your backyard. You know it. We know it.
 
We hope these suggestions for yard maintenance to prevent mosquitoes help you prevent these pests in your Northern Virginia landscape. 

If these tips alone don’t help, contact Turf’s Up for mosquito control in Leesburg, Ashburn, and Aldie, VA. 

We can come to your property and do a thorough assessment and advise you on what to focus on to get rid of mosquitoes as quickly and effectively as possible. We can come to your property every 30 days from April to November and ensure mosquitoes stay away.
 
That way you can get rid of mosquitoes and the threat of diseases they carry. 
 
Ready to learn why Turf’s Up could be your totally awesome choice for mosquito control services in Leesburg, Ashburn, and Aldie, VA? We’re stoked to learn more about you and help you eliminate your mosquito problem once and for all. Get started today with a free quote. Together, we can prepare a customized plan that is perfect for you and your yard. 

Image Source: mosquito, water puddle