Apr 11, 2011 – Fight The Bite At Home
QUESTION:
What is the best way to control mosquitoes around a home?
ANSWER:
It is very important to educate the homeowner on their role in managing mosquito problems around their own home, including the need to simply wear long sleeved shirt and pants during evening activities outdoors when mosquitoes are most likely to be present. They still may be able to bite through material, but not nearly as easily as if bare skin is presented to them. In addition, people active outdoors during mosquito times of the day should wear a repellent that is effective, and reapply it as needed during the day if they are outside for long periods. This sounds elementary, but people often just don't consider these basic steps. Finally, to keep the interior of the home as mosquito-free as possible they need to make a real effort to keep windows screened properly and keep doors closed whenever possible. All of this helps to minimize the need for pesticide applications.
You should make a visual inspection of the customer's property as well, noting IN WRITING on your inspection form just where you are finding conditions that contribute to the breeding of mosquitoes on their property. After all the rain we have had in California this could be many possible aquatic sites, and mosquito larvae must live in standing water - wet foliage will not be sufficient. So, inspect rain gutters to make sure they are draining properly, empty all containers of water, empty water off tarps and other covers over boats or firewood, empty buckets and other containers, empty the catch pans under potted plants, fill in depressions in the soil. If there are large trees on the property examine them for tree-holes that may be full of water, as these breed many mosquitoes. These can be filled with sand or a hole drilled into them to drain them. If there are permanent aquatic sites such as ponds, these may be treated with a larvicide, but you may only have the authority to treat sites actually on your customer's property, and anything substantial you find off their property will need to be dealt with in another way, including notifying the local Mosquito Abatement district.
Effective suppression of adult mosquitoes can be done with Barrier Treatments, and evidence indicates a really good drop in the numbers of biting adult mosquitoes from treating their resting areas on the property with a residual insecticide. A number of the synthetic pyrethroids have been used with success, so contact your local Univar sales rep for some suggestions. Active ingredients include permethrin, bifenthrin, and lambda-cyhalothrin. You really should get the mosquitoes in your area identified so you know what the enemy is. Different kinds of mosquitoes choose different breeding and resting sites. Some may choose to be higher up in trees, such as Culex, and others may choose shaded alcoves such as the eaves or outbuildings on the property. Some may prefer to rest in shrubbery closer to the ground. If you focus on places to treat and miss the ones of importance it is going to be a setback to the effectiveness. Barrier treatments may be used immediately prior to some outdoor event for the best results, but some university testing did show that several weeks of dramatically lower populations of adult mosquitoes might be expected.
Fogging is also used to kill adult mosquitoes, and this is nearly always with pyrethrum, which continues to be in short supply in 2011, so it should be used judiciously. If you have some pending outdoor event, such as a wedding reception or a party, you could fog the area that morning or the day before to kill most adult mosquitoes present. The problem with fogging is that you cannot control where the wind takes the fog, and in a neighborhood you could have nearby neighbors who do not want the pesticide on their property, and could raise an issue about it. California's mosquito problems tend to be very seasonal, usually in the spring, and once the annual summer drought hits the problems go away. This is not the case for homes around permanent bodies of water of course. Where mosquitoes are present year-round the use of installed misting systems is also popular. Be careful on these, and check with your local regulatory agencies on their use, as some states are not fond of the misting systems and may restrict their use. These use a timer to release a short fog of pyrethrum on a regular interval, and like any other fogging that mist may drift onto adjacent properties.
Don't ignore the habitat modification and removal of breeding sites, as this is critical for success, along with the customer understanding that they should change their habits if necessary and wear long sleeves and repellents to prevent bites.
What is the best way to control mosquitoes around a home?
ANSWER:
It is very important to educate the homeowner on their role in managing mosquito problems around their own home, including the need to simply wear long sleeved shirt and pants during evening activities outdoors when mosquitoes are most likely to be present. They still may be able to bite through material, but not nearly as easily as if bare skin is presented to them. In addition, people active outdoors during mosquito times of the day should wear a repellent that is effective, and reapply it as needed during the day if they are outside for long periods. This sounds elementary, but people often just don't consider these basic steps. Finally, to keep the interior of the home as mosquito-free as possible they need to make a real effort to keep windows screened properly and keep doors closed whenever possible. All of this helps to minimize the need for pesticide applications.
You should make a visual inspection of the customer's property as well, noting IN WRITING on your inspection form just where you are finding conditions that contribute to the breeding of mosquitoes on their property. After all the rain we have had in California this could be many possible aquatic sites, and mosquito larvae must live in standing water - wet foliage will not be sufficient. So, inspect rain gutters to make sure they are draining properly, empty all containers of water, empty water off tarps and other covers over boats or firewood, empty buckets and other containers, empty the catch pans under potted plants, fill in depressions in the soil. If there are large trees on the property examine them for tree-holes that may be full of water, as these breed many mosquitoes. These can be filled with sand or a hole drilled into them to drain them. If there are permanent aquatic sites such as ponds, these may be treated with a larvicide, but you may only have the authority to treat sites actually on your customer's property, and anything substantial you find off their property will need to be dealt with in another way, including notifying the local Mosquito Abatement district.
Effective suppression of adult mosquitoes can be done with Barrier Treatments, and evidence indicates a really good drop in the numbers of biting adult mosquitoes from treating their resting areas on the property with a residual insecticide. A number of the synthetic pyrethroids have been used with success, so contact your local Univar sales rep for some suggestions. Active ingredients include permethrin, bifenthrin, and lambda-cyhalothrin. You really should get the mosquitoes in your area identified so you know what the enemy is. Different kinds of mosquitoes choose different breeding and resting sites. Some may choose to be higher up in trees, such as Culex, and others may choose shaded alcoves such as the eaves or outbuildings on the property. Some may prefer to rest in shrubbery closer to the ground. If you focus on places to treat and miss the ones of importance it is going to be a setback to the effectiveness. Barrier treatments may be used immediately prior to some outdoor event for the best results, but some university testing did show that several weeks of dramatically lower populations of adult mosquitoes might be expected.
Fogging is also used to kill adult mosquitoes, and this is nearly always with pyrethrum, which continues to be in short supply in 2011, so it should be used judiciously. If you have some pending outdoor event, such as a wedding reception or a party, you could fog the area that morning or the day before to kill most adult mosquitoes present. The problem with fogging is that you cannot control where the wind takes the fog, and in a neighborhood you could have nearby neighbors who do not want the pesticide on their property, and could raise an issue about it. California's mosquito problems tend to be very seasonal, usually in the spring, and once the annual summer drought hits the problems go away. This is not the case for homes around permanent bodies of water of course. Where mosquitoes are present year-round the use of installed misting systems is also popular. Be careful on these, and check with your local regulatory agencies on their use, as some states are not fond of the misting systems and may restrict their use. These use a timer to release a short fog of pyrethrum on a regular interval, and like any other fogging that mist may drift onto adjacent properties.
Don't ignore the habitat modification and removal of breeding sites, as this is critical for success, along with the customer understanding that they should change their habits if necessary and wear long sleeves and repellents to prevent bites.
