Your Comprehensive 10-Point Checklist For Removing Mosquitoes

Picture this: It’s a beautiful day outside, and you’ve planned something exciting. But the moment you step outdoors, you’re assaulted by a swarm of mosquitoes. They weren’t on the guest list, so what gives?

Mosquitoes are common in Canada, especially in more rural areas outside the city. There are 44 species of mosquitoes in Alberta. So, if you do nothing to discourage them from camping out around your house, you’re bound to come into contact with them.

Here’s what you should know about why mosquito control is essential to home safety and a comprehensive 10-point checklist you can follow right now to make your house much less appealing to these flying nuisances.

Why Is Good Mosquito Control Important?

Mosquitoes are bothersome little insects that consume the blood of humans and animals. They do so by piercing the skin with a particular part of their mouth called a proboscis. But this isn’t just one probing structure – The Daily Globe and Mail reports that it’s a complex, interconnected system of six tiny needles the mosquito uses to cut through the skin, inject saliva, and siphon blood into their bodies.

A mosquito’s saliva has anticoagulant properties, meaning it thins the blood and makes it easier for the mosquito to consume. This causes an allergic reaction, which is more severe in some people than others. The bite site will often swell, itch, turn red, and remain uncomfortable for several days.

The last thing you want when you’re outside trying to enjoy the nice weather or get some yard work done is to be accosted by these tiny winged vampires. When you take proper measures to reduce and deter mosquitoes near your home, your outdoors becomes a nicer, more pleasant place.

Potential Consequences of Mosquitoes Around Your Home

Good mosquito control around your house helps you enjoy more beautiful days outdoors and keeps you and your family safe from severe and sometimes even fatal diseases that certain mosquitoes carry.

The National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health reports that although the percentage of mosquitoes that carry disease in Canada is small, the most common conditions caused by these flying insects are West Nile virus, Jamestown Canyon virus, Eastern equine encephalitis, and the snowshoe hare virus, and Zika virus.

Climate change has significantly affected mosquito populations to human detriment. According to the 2019 Canada Communicable Disease Report, the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases (MBD) has increased by 10% over the last 20 years due to rising mosquito populations in warmer areas.

This means adequate mosquito control at home is more important now than ever.

Your 10-Point Checklist For Removing Mosquitoes

Want to know how to keep mosquitoes away? Follow these 10 steps to limit mosquitoes in your yard and around your home:

1. Keep Your Yard Maintained

Mosquitoes and other insects nest in piles of dead grass left over from mowing, boxes, old flower beds, and garbage bags left out for significant periods. Keeping your yard, driveway, and garden clear of potential places for bugs to hide is an excellent way to make your home less hospitable to unwanted pests.

2. Eliminate Standing Water

Standing water is the number one breeding ground for mosquitoes. In fact, they can’t breed without it – moving water like a stream or babbling brook will carry their delicate eggs away, disrupting the mosquito lifecycle in the area.

Mosquitoes take just 10 days to grow from egg to adult when the temperatures are favourable, and in places with a lot of standing water, there may be several generations of mosquitoes per season.

Look around your home and yard for puddles, buckets of water, drains, and other possible places where standing water might exist. Empty these areas and consider long-term solutions to prevent water accumulation, such as putting up additional gutters, levelling out your yard, or just keeping buckets inside when they’re not in use instead of leaving them out to collect water.

3. Use Outdoor Lighting Wisely

Like many insects and flying pests, mosquitoes are attracted to light sources at night. This is because mosquitoes use light as a navigation tool to help them find food sources. When turning on lights outside your home at night, remember that insects of all kinds will be attracted.

Consider using low lighting like candles, lanterns, or even twinkle lights instead of bright porch lights or flood lighting.

4. Plant Mosquito-Repelling Foliage

Mosquitoes are sensitive to many plants with strong naturally-repelling smells, like:

• Basil
• Catnip
• Cedarwood
• Citronella
• Clove
• Eucalyptus
• Floss flower
• Garlic
• Lavender
• Lemon balm
• Lemongrass
• Lemon thyme
• Marigolds
• Mint
• Pennyroyal
• Peppermint
• Rosemary
• Sage

Planting these around your home and in your garden beds is a great way to keep mosquitoes from nesting and even flying near your home, especially if you use a few varieties of mosquito-repelling plants. Fresh herbs like rosemary, sage, peppermint, and thyme are a delicious replacement for dried spices when cooking your favourite dishes.

5. Add An Outdoor Fan

Mosquitoes are most active when the air outside isn’t moving much. These pests are at their worst on hot, sticky days when the air is stagnant, especially around dawn and dusk.

You can discourage mosquitoes from flying around your patio and places you like to sit outside with an outdoor fan that keeps the air around you moving and unattractive to mosquitoes.

6. Stay Inside During Peak Mosquito Hours

Mosquitoes come out most often at sunrise and sunset and generally stay out at night. Their small, thin bodies are susceptible to dehydration, and the heat can quickly kill them, so you won’t find many mosquitoes when it’s sunny.

Consider staying indoors during the hours mosquitoes are most active, especially in areas of Canada with heavier mosquito populations like Ontario and Manitoba. If you go outside, wear long pants and sleeves covering your arms and legs or netting to keep insects from entering your immediate space.

7. Light A Fire

Like citronella and peppermint, mosquitoes also hate the smell of smoke and will generally head out of the area anytime there’s smoke.

If you plan to be outside during mosquito season, consider having a fire pit or a bonfire to create enough smoke to keep them away.

8. Make Sure Your Window Screens Are In Good Condition

If you open your windows, no matter the time of day or night, your screens must be in good condition without holes, tears, or other openings that mosquitoes could get in. Replace or repair any damaged screens – while you’re at it, check for cracks around window and door frames that need to be sealed to prevent mosquito entry.

9. Wear Light-Coloured Clothing Outside

Did you know that dark clothing attracts mosquitoes? According to CBC News, wearing dark colours absorbs more heat from the sun, which in turn causes you to make and exhale more carbon dioxide. And it’s the CO2 that identifies you to mosquitoes and attracts them to you.

Swap black t-shirts and sweatshirts for white or other light-coloured clothing and take steps to keep yourself cool, like drinking cold water or carrying a hand fan. The less hot and exerted you are, the fewer mosquitoes you’ll attract.

10. Call A Professional

Mosquitoes aren’t just a nuisance – they’re a danger to you and your family. Sometimes, even the best DIY pest control methods don’t work in Canada’s mosquito-laden provinces, and you need to contact a professional mosquito exterminator for help.

A pest control company can help you better understand how mosquito life cycles work and what you can do to reduce or eliminate them around your home. They can also use safe and effective insecticides and pest deterrents that destroy mosquito nests and make your home and yard unappealing to these tiny but problematic insects.

Get Superior Mosquito Control With Buzz Boss’ Effective Pest Control Programs

At Buzz Boss, we take mosquito control in Canada seriously. With our BuzzShield® Insect and BuzzShield® Complete programs, you can be confident that your yard, garden, and home will be protected from mosquitoes and enjoy as many beautiful days outdoors as the weather permits.

Contact us today for a quote or to learn more about our pest control services and how our professional exterminators can provide comprehensive and reliable insect removal and protection at one monthly price.