We don't need to tell you that mosquitoes bite, or that there are diseases carried by mosquitoes. Sanford residents are all too aware of the potential harm mosquitoes can cause. What you may not know is how mosquitoes get these diseases and how they transmit them to you, or how your lawn and landscaping play a role in providing mosquitoes with what they need to get up close and personal. Join us today as we share some fun facts about mosquitoes that you may not know. These fun facts will provide insight into how mosquitoes spread, how they spread diseases, and most importantly, how to get rid of mosquitoes in your yard. We'll even tell you what will give you the best chance of having no mosquitoes in your yard. If you would like to speak to someone in person, we can help you with that too. At any time, navigate to our contact page for effective mosquito pest control in Sanford. The Hawkeye Home & Pest Solutions team is happy to assist you.
Mosquitoes Are Needed To Maintain Our Eco-System
When you hear that irritating buzz and feel that annoying pinprick on your skin, you have to wonder what purpose these insects have in the world. When you watch the news and hear about yet another mosquito virus outbreak, you have even more reason to wonder. Are those pests only on the planet to torment us? Before you start wishing for a world without mosquitoes, you should know a few things. Mosquitoes play two key roles in our environment. One of them can give you some insight into what can help keep them out of your yard.
Food Source: Mosquitoes are a food source for many living creatures. Without the massive number of mosquitoes worldwide, these animals would not survive. Mosquitoes are near the base of the food chain and they are vital. Unfortunately, as they are providing themselves as food, they are also presenting a threat to us.
Pollination: Mosquitoes help with pollination worldwide. Really? Yes, really. It is commonly believed that mosquitoes live on blood, but they actually eat nectar and plant sap for sustenance. A yard with lots of flowering plants is ideal for a population of mosquitoes. Mosquitoes draw nectar from flowers and sap from the stems. In fact, the same needle-like mouth a female mosquito uses to draw blood from your skin is used to draw sap from a plant. Nectar and plant sap are one of the reasons mosquitoes rest in landscaping.
It isn't practical to remove all the flowers and vegetation from your yard, and you don't have to remove the vegetation you love to rid your yard of mosquitoes. The weeds that come and attempt to take over your lawn are what mosquitoes see first. They don't know that you have flowers and plants next to your home. They encroach upon your property, notice flowering weeds or weed stems, and feed. As they move across your yard, they notice all of the wonderful vegetation next to your home. Therefore, addressing yard weeds actually helps with mosquito control. Is it the best way to keep mosquitoes out of your yard? No. But simple solutions like this combined with other simple solutions can create layers of protection that keep mosquitoes away.
The Role Mosquitoes Play In Spreading Dangerous Diseases
Mosquitoes have an important role to play. Like bees, it is okay for mosquitoes to visit your yard. What you don't want is for them to stay. When they stay, they grow a population quickly. A female mosquito lays a hundred eggs at a time. The mosquitoes that hatch from those eggs are the mosquitoes that will bite you most because they live on your property, and not only are mosquito bites irritating, there is a chance you could get sick from a mosquito-borne virus. How does that work? Are mosquitoes in your yard born with these viruses? No. There are two ways a mosquito can get you sick.
Animal To Mosquito: Mosquitoes bite animals. When a mosquito bites an animal, it can pick up a virus if the animal has it. The diseases that concern us most are viruses found in local animal populations, such as West Nile virus. These come back year after year. A virus, like Zika or malaria, only spreads during outbreaks. An outbreak occurs when a traveler brings a mosquito-borne disease with them from another county. The mosquitoes in your yard can get viruses from animals that enter your yard, and those animals can get a virus from contact with a mosquito that has bitten a human.
Human To Mosquito: Mosquitoes bite people. If someone in your household goes out for the day and is bitten by an infected mosquito, a virus may return home with them. Any mosquito that bites them in your yard can contract the disease and spread it to you if the mosquito species has the ability to incubate the disease in its gut. Not every mosquito that bites you can spread every human pathogen.
It is important to point out a few facts about mosquito-borne diseases. It is possible to get a mosquito-borne virus and have no symptoms, even if it is a dangerous disease. When someone has a disease and shows no symptoms, they are called asymptomatic. An asymptomatic individual is a carrier. Someone in your home can have a mosquito-borne virus and you may not know it. While certainly a cause for concern, keep in mind that you may have no symptoms, or only have light symptoms. The greatest issue mosquitoes present is that they cause cold or flu-like symptoms, and Sandford residents don't realize they have a mosquito-borne virus or that mosquito control in their yard could have helped to prevent the illness. The chances of catching a disease and getting deathly ill is actually quite rare. You don't need to live in fear of mosquitoes. Mosquito control is more about reducing how often you're sick.
If you take steps to keep mosquitoes out of your yard, you will significantly reduce the threat of mosquito-borne viral outbreaks, but you won't have complete protection. You and everyone in your home must take precautions while away from home to prevent mosquito bites.
What Are The Benefits Of A Mosquito Misting System?
More and more, we're seeing mosquito misting systems popping up in Sandford. These are mechanical systems installed on properties for sustained mosquito control. Do they work? Yes, they do a great job. A mosquito misting system releases a control material into the air and works as a knockdown agent and a repellent. When mosquitoes enter your yard and attempt to rest near your home, they may immediately avoid treated areas or regret resting near your home when your system activates. Here are two more benefits of a misting system:
- A misting system can deploy organically-derived materials frequently enough to maintain effective control. Organically-derived materials wear out quickly.
- You can activate a misting system before an important outdoor event and prepare your property long before your guests arrive.
A mosquito misting system is a great idea, but is it the best solution? It can provide the best solution when combined with other methods, but it isn't a standalone solution. We recommend hiring a licensed professional with training and experience to evaluate your property and give you several options to address mosquito activity.
The Best Mosquito Control Solution For Sanford Properties
While continual applications of control materials in your yard will provide a sustained suppression of mosquito activity, and the products used in these systems are often organically-derived, there is an even better way to deal with mosquitoes. Ongoing maintenance of your landscaping and lawn combined with expert advice and monthly treatments provides the highest level of control.
- When your landscaping and lawn are maintained, the food source that attracts mosquitoes is partly addressed. Your technician will also evaluate water usage and consider ways to prevent standing water resources that provide breeding sites for mosquitoes.
- When you have an expert visit your yard, you get advice for ways you can address conducive conditions that bring mosquitoes into your yard. There are a surprising number of easy and practical ways to deter mosquitoes.
- When you have monthly treatments applied to key areas, mosquitoes aren't allowed to live on your property and female mosquitoes aren't able to lay eggs by the hundreds.
Hawkeye Home & Pest Solutions uses all of these to stop mosquitoes in their tracks. Our technicians are highly-trained and experienced pest management professionals. We apply science to provide our customers with sustainable and effective mosquito control that requires the least amount of materials.
Would you like to learn more about how we do mosquito control? Contact us and speak with someone on our team. We are excited to share our unique methodology for lawn and shrub care combined with mosquito abatement. What do you have to lose but mosquito bites?