Stop raising mosquitoes in your yard and home

If there are any places around your home where water collects, such as old tires, kiddie pools, clogged gutters, wheelbarrows, etc. you may be raising mosquitoes! Homeowners can help reduce annoyance caused by mosquitoes breeding around their homes by removing or modifying potential mosquito breeding areas to eliminate standing water. Start with a thorough inspection of your property to determine obvious and not-so-obvious sources of standing water.

Here are some places to check:

• Water-holding containers of any kind: Get rid of old tires, tin cans, bottles, jars, buckets, drums, etc., or keep them empty. Small boats, wheelbarrows, etc. should be stored upside down.
• Wading pools/swimming pools: Children’s wading pools should be emptied weekly and stored indoors or upside down when not in use. Infrequently used swimming pools should be emptied or tightly covered. Back wash from pools should be properly disposed of and not allowed to puddle on the ground. When pool is drained, do so properly so that no run-off is allowed to accumulate.
• Pet dishes, birdbaths: Empty watering pans of pets and chickens daily; scrub and change water in bird baths twice weekly. Animal pens/paddocks should be kept cleaned and maintained free from any standing water or wastes.
• Cut flowers and plant cuttings: Change water and scrub vases holding flowers or cuttings twice each week (both inside and outside the house), or grow cuttings in sand.
• Roofs and gutters: Check eave-troughs and rain leaders to see if any are stopped up or sagging. Flat roofs should also be checked for standing water and roof drains inspected to insure they are free of obstructions.
• Leaky faucets and hoses: Repair all leaking exterior faucets, hose bibs, hose nozzles and hose connection.
• Drainage basins: Monitor “sump pump” pits, dry wells or drainage basins to eliminate stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed.
• Cesspools and septic tanks: Insure that cesspools or septic tanks are operating properly and not overflowing. Failed septic systems must be repaired or connected to the town sewerage system when and where available.
• Ornamental ponds: Consider stocking ponds with fish. Certain fish will feed on mosquito larvae.
• Brooks and drains: Be sure not to dump trash, leaves, grass or tree trimmings in brooks and drains so that water may flow as freely as possible.
• Hollow tree stumps: Fill hollow stumps with sand so that standing water cannot collect.
• Landscaping: Homeowners who are carrying out landscaping projects on their grounds should make sure that grading work does not create low areas where puddles could form.

It’s a fact:

All mosquitoes need water in which to pass their early life stages. Adult flying mosquitoes frequently rest in grass, shrubbery or other foliage, but they never develop there. Some mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water where they hatch in a day or two. Other mosquitoes lay their eggs in old tires, tin cans, or other water-holding containers in which they may remain unhatched for weeks or months until they are covered with water. With both types of mosquitoes, the wigglers or larvae grow quickly and turn into tumblers or pupae. Soon the skin of the tumbler splits open and out climbs another hungry mosquito.