Mosquito Wars – Tips To Hold Them At Bay
There was a time when, in North America, mosquitoes were considered
a nuisance--nothing more, nothing less. Sure, it was a real
health problem some places, carrying things such as Lyme Disease
and Malaria. But those were mostly problems in third world
countries and jungles. Here in the United States, mosquitoes
just mostly caused a lot of irritating little insect bites.
That
was until the past decade. Now, mosquitoes pose a
very real problem, even for those of us in the States.
The problem is a very deadly disease called West Nile Virus.
The first case documented in the U.S. was reported in the
spring of 2004, with several more instances since then.
How do we fight off the mosquito threat? There are steps
you can take, and most them center around one basic fact:
Mosquitoes breed around stagnant water. This is where
they lay their eggs. It doesn't have to be a large
body of water either. It could be something as tiny as the
still water on a morning leaf. Here, then, is what
you need to do to win the "Mosquito Wars."
1)
First and most importantly, check your entire yard, front
and back, for any freestanding water. If there is any, get
rid of it. This includes not only puddles, but buckets,
flower beds, vases--anything that does not provide a way
for the water to escape.
2) Keep the gutters on your house cleaned out.
3) Believe it or not, mosquitoes will even gather on the
tiny bit of water on grass clippings and leaves, so be sure
to keep your yard free of them, especially in warm-weather
months.
4) Likewise, mosquitoes will gather around the water on
toys, so keep them picked up out of the yard.
5) Cover your swimming pool when it's not in use. And be
sure the cover itself does not have standing water on it.
6) You might not like bats, but they are one of the best
ways to keep your yard free of mosquitoes. So are some birds.
Therefore, make sure your yard is friendly to all of these
winged creatures.
7) Most people don't like to cover their garden pond, if
they have one, since that tends to destroy the whole purpose
of it. Therefore, if you have a garden pond, ask someone
at the home-and-garden section of the local department store
about chemicals to keep mosquitoes away from it. Another
solution is to stock the pond with fish.
8) Look around for tin cats or any other water-holding containers
on your land, and get rid of them.
9) If you have a pet dish outside, empty it every day or
two, whether it needs it or not, to discourage the mosquitoes.
10) If you have recycle containers outside, drill holes
in the bottoms of them. This will allow the water to drain
out so that mosquitoes are not tempted to breed in them.
In
all of these above suggestions, remember the Rule of 4:
Mosquitoes tend to develop on any freestanding water that
is there for more than four days. So beat them to
the punch, get rid of their would-be dwellings--and win
the Mosquito Wars!
Houston Pool Repair