30 Ways to Fight Mosquitoes

30 Ways to Fight Mosquitoes

Ready to take a stand against the mosquitoes that make your yard intolerable?

Mosquito Magnet® is ready to help with our innovative CO2 mosquito traps, which eliminate mosquitoes and other biting insects. With our traps, you can capture and remove female mosquitoes from the breeding cycle. Once trapped inside a Mosquito Magnet® machine, they die of dehydration in about 24 hours.

Of course, using a Mosquito Magnet® CO2 mosquito trap is just one step in your home or business pest control plan! In fact, we came up with 30 tips to help you take back your yard! Check out the graphic below for all the details!

How to Protect Against Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes pose a major risk to your family’s safety as well as the public in general. These insects are “vectors” for many diseases, meaning they can help spread deadly viruses to humans, including West Nile, Zika, malaria, and dengue. Aside from those major concerns, biting mosquitoes lead to itchy skin, swelling, and additional complications.

To protect against mosquitoes, you can take steps to keep yourself, your family, your pets, and even your community safe. This list from Mosquito Magnet®, maker of CO2 mosquito traps, provides 30 ideas to eliminate mosquitoes:

personal mosquito repellents

Personal Protection

Mosquito control should start on a personal level, and there are many options to keep these biting insects from attacking. With these solutions, you can cut down the number of mosquitoes that bite you and your family.

  1. Use Repellents – DEET and other insect repellents really do work! The CDC says their use is one of the most effective mosquito repelling tactics you can implement.
  2. Make Simple Diet Changes – Do you have a diet that includes a lot of sugars and processed foods? Then watch out, you may be a mosquito magnet! Studies suggest switching to more whole grains, fruits, and veggies makes you less attractive to biters.
  3. Avoid Alcohol – Drinking beer and other alcohol appears to attract more mosquitoes, the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association reports. If you want to stay bite-free, don’t indulge before going outside.
  4. Use Mosquito-Repelling Clothing –Special clothing is available that uses permethrin in its manufacture. This chemical is literally “built in” to the fabric, which repels mosquitoes and other insects.
  5. Wear Light-Colored Clothing –earing light colors will help you blend into the background and make you less noticeable to mosquitoes, experts say. Light-colored clothing also makes you sweat less, the smell of which is a mosquito attractant.
  6. Avoid Peak Mosquito Hours –When you’re trying to prevent mosquito bites, a simple tactic is to avoid being active when they’re most active. For most mosquitoes, that’s within a few hours before and after dawn and dusk.
  7. Use Extra Mosquito Protection – Aside from the clothing options listed above, seek out and wear clothing that keeps mosquitoes away from your skin, including long-sleeved shirts, full-length pants and heavy-weave fabrics. With less exposed flesh, you’ll experience fewer bites.
  8. Treat Personal Goods – Certain mosquito repellents may be applied to clothing and other personal goods. Manufacturers advise you to follow label directions if you want to spray shoes, hats, backpacks, tents and sleeping bags.
protect your pets with baths

Pet Protection

Your pets may be suffering from mosquitoes as much as you are -- it’s just that it’s harder for them to complain about it. Handling mosquito control for pets is easy when done in conjunction with your own efforts.

  1. Apply Topical Treatments – Many topical treatments are available for your pets that provide protection from mosquitoes, fleas and ticks. Use these as directed by the manufacturer and continue the treatments throughout the year.
  2. After-Bath Scents – After you’ve bathed your pet to remove your pet’s natural odors that may attract mosquitoes, rub mosquito-repelling geranium oil or soybean oil into their coat. Test this oil on a small area first to avoid a bad reaction.
  3. Staying indoors – Another mosquito protection for your pets is to just keep them inside where they aren’t exposed to mosquitoes. If that’s impossible, then only take your pet out in the hours around noontime, when mosquitoes are least active.
  4. Watch the Weather -- Remember that mosquitoes have a hard time flying when it’s raining or in breezy conditions, so take advantage of those opportunities to take your pet outside.
repair window screens

Home Protection

Mosquitoes can make a meal out of your family if these bugs can make it inside your home. Take a few of these simple steps to keep mosquitoes outside.

  1. Keep Doors and Windows Closed – “Were you born in a barn?” Follow your mother’s advice about shutting the door!, Keep mosquitoes out by simply making sure your doors and windows are closed. While you’re at it, check for gaps around them that could let a mosquito inside.
  2. Fix Window and Door screens – If you want the fresh air coming into your home, then screens are the way to let it happen. However, regularly check those screens for tears and rips that could allow mosquitoes into your home. Repairing them is an easy task, too.
  3. Run Fans – Mosquitoes are terrible fliers, so the breeze from a fan can actually keep them at bay. Give them an even harder time by using oscillating fans which add an extra degree of difficulty to mosquito maneuverability.
  4. Keep Indoor Humidity Low – Your air conditioner, your key to summertime comfort, is also perfect to fight the mosquitoes in your home. It functions to remove your scent and dry them out if they stay inside for too long.
  5. Add Citronella Candles to Outdoor Living Areas – Citronella candles can be hit or miss. The scents they produce do repel mosquitoes, but if the wind direction changes the mosquitoes may return. Still, any mosquito protection is good!
mosquito magnet mosquito traps

Yard Protection

Your yard may inadvertently be a haven for mosquitoes! Take these steps to limit the number of breeding sites and protective cover that mosquitoes rely on.

  1. Invest in Mosquito Magnet® CO2 Mosquito Traps – Mosquito traps use attractants that draw mosquitoes to the trap where they are sucked inside. With Mosquito Magnet® mosquito traps, you can protect up to 1 acre of property by breaking up the mosquito breeding cycle.
  2. Eliminate Standing Water in Containers – Mosquitoes breed in standing water, so it’s important to limit these sites. Dump out water that collects in flower pots, toys, tires, tarps, trays and gutters. Also, regularly change the water in bird baths and fountains.
  3. Fill in Ruts and Puddles – Low-lying areas in your yard can collect water, too. Add rocks and topsoil to the puddles and ruts in your yard that collect water. Remember that areas of a property that get heavy use are most likely to develop these water-collecting depressions.
  4. Place Screens Over Rain Barrels – Mosquitoes may also breed inside of rain barrels that are not properly covered. A screen fastened over a rain barrel will block their access while serving as a debris filter.
  5. Circulate Pond/Pool Water – Another potential breeding site for mosquitoes is your ornamental pond or swimming pool. Be sure to keep circulating these waters at least once a day for several hours. Also, remove pool covers regularly to eliminate standing water.
  6. Trim Tall Grasses – Tall grass and thick vegetation provide protective cover for mosquitoes during the heat of the day. By eliminating these mosquito-friendly plants from your yard, you can make mosquitoes fly farther for this protection.
  7. Add Mosquito-Repelling Plants – Add the plants to your yard that mosquitoes hate, including Lemon Balm, Catnip, Basil, and Lavender. These aren’t complicated plants, either. After planting, they pretty much take care of themselves.
plant trees for your community

Community Protection

Involving your entire community is vital to managing any mosquito problem properly. Talk about mosquito control with your neighbors, family, local organizations, and the municipal government.

  1. Report Standing Water – If you see standing water in your community, it very likely is a major source of mosquitoes. If you see a significant amount of stagnant water, report it to your local health agency so it can be eliminated.
  2. Get the Right Trees Planted – If standing water is a problem in a particular area of your community, ask the property owner (or volunteer) to plant trees that will soak up all that extra water. Ideal trees include Willow, Red Maple, Pin Oak, Pear, or Swamp Cottonwood.
  3. Support Mosquito Control Efforts – Let your local and state government know that you welcome and appreciate mosquito eradication efforts in your area. This simple communication can have a huge impact on future budgeting plans.
  4. Protect Wildlife – No, we don’t mean you should protect mosquitoes! Instead, work to protect the animals that eat mosquitoes, including bats, spiders, birds and other insects.
  5. Share This List with Your Community – Do you know someone who needs some guidance on controlling mosquitoes? Or want to start a conversation about mosquito control in your area? Share this list and start making a difference today!

Download a PDF of the 30 WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST MOSQUITOES graphic.

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