Mosquito Control in Stockton: Pest Experts Share 5 Helpful Tips

Mosquitoes are some of the most annoying flying pests around. And it’s not just because they will hover around you noisily until you swat them; mosquitoes also transmit a variety of potentially dangerous diseases, including:

Zika virus
West Nile virus
Eastern Equine and St. Louis encephalitis
Malaria
Yellow fever

To protect yourself and your family from these diseases, you have to follow the right practices for mosquito control in Stockton. Stockton pest control experts share five useful tips and practices:

Always keep your grass short

Keep grasses as short as possible to limit the mosquitoes’ potential resting and breeding places. Make sure all your garden beds and ornamental grasses are well-trimmed since they can also harbor mosquitoes.

Eliminate or minimize standing water

Mosquitoes need water to breed. To keep these pesky pests at bay, you need to get rid of all the watery areas they might be living in.

Go around your yard and look for places or containers with standing water. Standing water tends to collect in empty pots, watering cans, pet bowls, and buckets. Turn over these containers or cover them so that they won’t collect water.

If you have a birdbath or pond, you can treat it with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a naturally occurring strain of bacteria that kills mosquito larvae that isn’t harmful to humans or animals.

Grow mosquito-repelling plants in your yard

There are several plants that naturally repel mosquitoes which you should have on your lawn. These include:

Ageratum or flossflowers. This plant has coumarin, a substance that emits an odor that mosquitoes hate. Coumarin is used in many commercial mosquito repellents.
Horsemint. This fast-growing, perennial plant repels mosquitoes much the same as citronella. Horsemint gives off a strong incense-like odor which masks the smell of their usual hosts, thereby confusing the mosquitoes.
Marigolds. This flowering plant contains pyrethrum which gives off a distinctive smell that mosquitoes find offensive.
Light citronella candles around the perimeter of your outdoor living space

To keep mosquitoes away whenever you are out on your patio or balcony at night, light citronella candles containing the natural essence of this plant. Make sure you buy candles with the essential oil and not ones with a synthetic citronella scent.

Use a mosquito trap

Mosquito traps can control the population of mosquitoes across your property. The machine burns propane and emits a steady stream of carbon dioxide which attracts mosquitoes. When the mosquitoes come near the machine, they are sucked into a net and killed.

If you have a huge mosquito infestation problem, contact your Stockton pest control experts so they can inspect areas in your yard where these pests could be breeding. They will then treat these areas to kill the adult mosquitoes. They will also give you tips on how to prevent future problems.