What you can you do about mosquito annoyance
The best form of control is prevention. Mosquitoes need water to breed and grow, but not much water. Almost anything that will hold water for a week or so can become a breeding place for mosquitoes. So eliminating opportunities for water to collect around your home will cut down on the amount of mosquitoes that hatch around your home.
To reduce the chance of mosquito breeding
- Cover barrels and buckets, or other receptacles that can hold water.
- Empty standing water in flower pot dishes.
- Turn over wheelbarrows and plastic wading pools when not in use.
- Recycle used tires, old bottles, buckets and cans. Check for containers in the trash, storage places, and other areas that may be hard to see.
- Change water in birdbaths weekly, clean garden ponds, and stock them with fish (they eat mosquito larvae).
- Clean clogged gutters in the spring and fall; make sure they drain properly
- Repair leaky faucets and sprinklers.
- Keep water in animal troughs and watering dishes fresh. Drain standing water from around stock troughs.
To reduce the chance of mosquito bites
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Dress young children for mosquito protection while outside |
Make sure window and door screens are in good repair.
- Stay indoors at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
- Wear long sleeves, long pants, socks and a hat when going into mosquito-infested woods or wetlands; dress your children to protect them from mosquitoes while playing outside.
- Use mosquito repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) for longest lasting protection; and use any mosquito repellent according to directions only.
- Place mosquito netting over infant carriers when outdoors.
More mosquito control information
- http://www.tumblebooks.com/town.swf; an online children's book about a town that worked together to reduce the mosquito population
- CCMCD brochure Preventing and Controlling West Nile Virus (PDF- 1340K)
- CCMCD brochure: Mosquito Control at Home (26K PDF)
- CCMCD Ridgefield WA Mosquito Control brochure (80K PDF)
- Washington State Department of Health (DOH) West Nile virus information
- DOH children's flyer: Mosquito Problems Start at Home (882K PDF)
- DOH brochure: Mosquitoes - Take the Bite Out of the Bug! (204K PDF)
- DOH brochure: West Nile Virus - Do You Know What's Biting You? (English, 122K PDF)
- DOH brochure: West Nile Virus - Do You Know What's Biting You? (Spanish, 124K PDF)
- DOH brochure: Mosquito Repellent - How to Use it Safely(105K PDF)
