Everyone looks forward to the summer season’s vibes, the warm weather, and longer days. Nonetheless, summers usher in one of the most nagging problems- mosquitoes.
It is their perfect time to breed, and for us, the risk of contracting diseases such as Zika, malaria, and dengue proliferates. Hence, we need to get rid of them, but how do we do it?
There are many natural remedies to get mosquitos out of your yard. These include:
- Use a mosquito net
- Use collapsible water bowls
- Remove unnecessary items & junk
- Clean gutters & fix screens
- Create a natural breeze
- Make your yard tidy
- Treat the water you cannot drain using dunks
- Tie your tarps tightly
- Attract natural predators
- Make a DIY mosquito trap
You can use manufactured mosquito repellents such as insecticides. However, you risk polluting the environment, and they may be harmful to your health as well. Let us look at the natural alternatives that will effectively get mosquitoes off the yard.
What is the Fastest Way to Get Rid of Mosquitoes in Your Yard?
There is no particular fastest way of getting rid of mosquitoes from your yard. You will have to use a combination of techniques for the best results. Also, you must settle for natural remedies as they are safe for man and effective in dispelling insects.
You can get rid of mosquitoes without requiring the assistance of a professional exterminator. Nonetheless, if the problem is too profound, consider involving one. An exterminator will analyze your yard and make recommendations on what will work best for your case.
However, before you think of involving one, try out these natural remedies:
1. Use a Mosquito Net
It is one of the classical mosquito controlling techniques that is very effective. You can use it to maintain a mosquito problem over a small area in your yard.
For instance, say you want to shield your gazebo or patio from these nagging insects. Setting a mosquito net above will do the job effectively.
Also, if you are a camping or outdoor living enthusiast, a mosquito net is the way to go. Install the net above your small patio, and you will have a good night outside, free from mosquito bites.
The downside of this method is that you can only use it over a small area. Also, it does not repel the mosquitoes but only prevents them from biting you. Hence, combining it with other techniques is a fundamental imperative.
The upside is that it is a cheap option. Also, the net is small; hence it will not take up much space in your yard.
2. Use Collapsible Water Bowls
A small pool of water is enough for mosquitoes to lay eggs and raise a massive swarm of others. Therefore, you cannot control a mosquito problem if you have not eliminated stagnant water in your yard. Unfortunately, almost anything around your yard can collect water. It’s time you destroy them all.
A breeding ground does not have to be too big to support mosquito breeding. Even a bowl as small as 6 inches in diameter is enough.
The breeding time is also not too long. It’s only eight days after laying eggs, and you will have the next generation of mosquitoes tormenting you.
The Remedy: Remove all possible water collectors around your yard. These include birdbaths, dog bowls, and plant saucers.
Of course, you cannot avoid using the containers listed for your day-to-day activities. Just ensure that you replace the water daily to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
Also, overturn any possible water collector in your yard, such as kids’ toys and wading pools. Collapsible dog bowls will also be handy in controlling the mosquitoes breeding problem.
3. Remove Unnecessary Items & Junk
The unnecessary items lying all over could be why you cannot keep mosquitoes off your yard. It would help if you got rid of anything you do not need lying in your yard. It is essential, especially if the object is a possible water collector.
You must ensure that no old tires are lying around. They will provide the perfect mosquitoes breeding site by collecting pools of water.
Also, they will provide a warm environment that is another fundamental precursor for mosquitoes breeding. It would be best if you discarded them from the yard. Please place them in an enclosed place where they have no likelihood of collecting water.
How about if you are using a tire for a swing? It would be best if you also made it unconducive for holding a water pool. Make a hole in the trough area to prevent rainwater from collecting.
Be on the lookout for water collecting on items that you never consider problematic after rain. At such times, you will know what ought to remove from the yard.
4. Clean Gutters & Fix Screens
During winter, there is a chance that your gutters have a lot of debris. The trapped materials will, without a doubt, inhibit drainage.
You need to remove all the trash in the channels and runouts to facilitate efficient drainage. Otherwise, water will pool on the gutters when it rains, and this will encourage mosquito breeding.
Also, as you deal with the gutter problem, this is the ideal time to fix any gap on the screens. Mosquitoes will enter your house through such openings. Hence, it would help if you sealed them. It will prevent the mosquitoes that are outside from entering.
5. Create a Natural Breeze
Constructing a breeze to get rid of mosquitoes is the typical classical case of using a thief to catch another. Mosquitoes are flyers but not where there is a strong wind current. Therefore, increasing the speed of air is just one of the best ways to repel them off.
Place a fan on a deck or where you want to scare off mosquitoes in your yard. The size of the fan doesn’t matter, and thus any size will do the job. Also, set the speed depending on how things pan out.
The insects like the carbon dioxide that you emit when breathing, hence when you turn on the fan, they will be confused about where to find you as the wind will be erratically blowing.
6. Make Your Yard Tidy
An unkempt yard is one of the strong mosquito attractants. If your yard has long grass and shrubs, you will struggle to get rid of mosquitoes. The dark and damp environments encourage mosquito breeding.
They also act as mosquito hiding sites. Hence, the job will be half done when you get rid of water pools and still have long shrubs and grass.
Manicure your lawn regularly and cut down all the bushy shrubs that are around. Also, remove weeds, especially those near your house.
7. Treat the Water You Cannot Drain Using Dunks
Removing all stagnant water from your yard means draining even water in your pool. You cannot, without a doubt, do this as you still need the pool. The best option is to treat the stagnant water.
It would be best if you chlorinated your pools and also gave the filters a thorough cleaning. Do this regularly to make the pools unconducive for mosquitoes breeding. Too much chlorine may cause the water unfit for swimming in. Hence apply it in moderation.
Mosquitoes will also find swimming pools, stagnant ditches, and rain barrels ideal for breeding. For control in such areas, use Summit Mosquito Dunks. They will effectively exterminate mosquito larvae without harming other organisms in the pool, such as fish.
Dunks work via a selective mode and are a natural way of controlling larvae. They will release bacteria that will feed on the larvae.
It is natural, and thus you don’t have to worry about environmental safety. The dunks are cheap and keep your pools safe from mosquito infestation for about a month after application.
8. Tie Your Tarps Tightly
Say you have a pile of firewood or another item outside that you want to shield from rain. In such a case, you will have to use a tarp as a cover. It would be best if you tied it effectively to prevent water from collecting on the folds.
Also, consider removing the tarp and drying it once the rain ceases. The small pools that collect on the structure are likely mosquito breeding spots.
9. Attract Natural Predators
If you have an overwhelming infestation, attracting predators will do little to solve your mosquito problem. Nonetheless, if you aim to get rid of a few here and there, it is a valuable technique to try out.
Attract birds to feed on mosquitoes. Some of the common predator birds include swallows, purple martins, and waterfowls. Attracting these birds is easy when you have installed a bird feeder in your yard.
You can also plant a bathhouse to keep bats as they naturally feed on mosquitoes. With a bathhouse, you can consider your mosquito problem gone as bats feed on so many mosquitoes at a go. Construct this structure, then sit back and wait. The mosquitoes problem will be a thing of the past.
According to a reputable study, bats will eat approximately 1000 of the insects in an hour.
You can also use predators to get rid of mosquitoes in ponds and water pools. Fish species such as goldfish are known mosquito larvae feeders that will help solve the infestation problem.
Introduce them to your pond, and you won’t have to worry about mosquitoes breeding in the stagnant water. Other water animals that will also do the job include the red-eared slider turtle.
Using other insects to feed on mosquitoes is also an effective way of eliminating them. For example, attract spiders to your yard, and they will eat the mosquitoes that get trapped in their webs.
10. Make a DIY Mosquito Trap
You can trap mosquitoes using a simple DIY technique. However, this method will only control them to a lesser degree. It is effective in getting rid of mosquitoes trapped in a small area or those flying around.
For this trap, you will require a mixture of yeast and sugar in water. It will create a fermenting solution that will draw mosquitoes.
Put this mixture in a bottle covered with a funnel. The mosquitoes will enter the bottle to feed on the sugar paste and will not move out.
You will need to keep replacing the solution regularly. However, as earlier noted, the method will control mosquitoes to an insignificant degree.
What Can You Put in Your Yard to Keep Mosquitoes Away?
Preventing a mosquito infestation is not all about removing stuff from your yard. There are things that you can instead put in your yard to keep them off. Does that mean that you need manufactured repellents? Not at all.
Here are some of the natural stuff you can put in your yard to keep the insects at bay.
1. Basil
Basil or its oil extract is an effective mosquito repellent. Hence plant Basil in your yard or use it as a fence.
2. Camphor
If you’ve ever used camphor, you are familiar with its strong scent. You can use this smell to drive mosquitoes away from your yard. It, however, best works in an enclosed environment, although you can use it to get rid of mosquitoes from your deck area.
Light camphor in an enclosed patio and will drive the insects off. It is also safe for use in the house. Hence, you can give your home a sweet aroma while at the same time driving away mosquitoes.
3. Garlic
Your mosquito remedy is the kitchen away as garlic is one of the best repellants. It has a unique odor that will drive all the mosquitoes from the surrounding area.
Crush a few cloves of garlic and put it in water. Boil the mixture to homogeneity, and once ready, put it in a sprayer.
Spray the mixture around the yard, especially in dark areas where you want to scare off the mosquitoes. In a few minutes, there will be no mosquitoes left in the place.
But how about the irritating smell of garlic? It shouldn’t worry you as it dissipates after a short while. Your yard will therefore regain its natural scent shortly after application.
However, it would be best to keep applying the garlic spray for mosquito repelling, especially when there is a large infestation.
4. Coffee Grounds
It sounds crazy that you can use something considered as a waste like coffee grounds to rid mosquitoes from the yard. It is readily available in all homes, and thus you will not spend anything to make this repellent.
Apply coffee grounds to stagnant water in the yard. The coffee sap from the matter will remove oxygen from water. As a result, the eggs in the water will die.
The method is a fantastic way of putting away waste coffee grounds.
5. Lavender Oil
Lavender oil smells sweet, but mosquitoes find it annoying. Thus, they will come nowhere close to it. Apply lavender oil on surfaces around the yard, and it will repel the insects. Since its smell is strong, you will not have to keep applying it to exteriors.
You can also apply some lavender oil to yourself, especially if you plan to stay out late in the night. Mosquitoes will be running away from you.
6. Mint
You can also use mint to rid mosquitos off your yard. So, consider planting a few mint trees, and they will do the trick. The insects will find your yard unappealing and thus will avoid it.
The alternative to planting mint is buying pure mint oil. Apply it around your deck, and like other standard essential oils, it will repel mosquitoes. Mint oil is cheap, so this method is among the most affordable that you can use.
7. Alcohol or Beer
Does it sound reasonable that drinking beer around your yard will keep mosquitoes off? Well, it might be hard to believe it, but that is the truth.
Mosquitoes detest the smell of beer and thus avoid coming to your yard or house when it smells alcohol. It looks like a method you can try out next time you have a party, and it should work.
8. Dry Ice
If you aim to trap mosquitoes, place dry ice close to where they frequent. Dry ice emits carbon dioxide, and this gas will trap the mosquitoes that are flying around. It is a slow method of repelling mosquitoes, and it’s also not so effective.
Hence apply it together with other techniques. Also, remember you shouldn’t touch dry ice with bare hands as it hurts.
9. Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is another essential oil that will be handy in getting rid of mosquitoes in your yard. Apply it around the yard using cotton or wool. It also has antibacterial properties and will thus kill bacteria in the yard.
10. Pinion Wood
Are you thinking of making a bonfire in your yard? Use pinion wood. It has efficient mosquito repelling properties. When burnt, its smell irritates mosquitoes forcing them to take off or even killing them instantly.
Conclusion
A mosquito problem is one that nobody can withstand due to the nagging nature of the insects. They are also disease carriers. Thus encouraging them to frequent your yard attracts diseases such as Dengue fever, Zika, and malaria.
Many people will resort to using insecticides to rid mosquitoes. However, this method is inappropriate as it ends up killing other valuable insects. Insecticides are also pollutants, and thus using them is contributing to environmental degradation.
You can use natural mosquito-repelling techniques and achieve better results than using insecticides. Some of the methods such as those described above are also easy to apply and cheap. Hence, put them to practice, and your mosquito problem will be a thing of the past.
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