KEEP MOSQUITOES AWAY FROM PATIO LANGHORNE, PA
Summertime is the season for enjoying the outdoors. Sometimes, that means camping or hiking, but other times it's more about staying home.
Many families in Langhorne enjoy spending evenings on the porch. Whether they are eating dinner, telling ghost stories or sitting around the outdoor fireplace, these are opportunities for bonding and creating memories.
There's time to bond and create memories, that is, unless the family is being plagued by mosquitoes. What do you do if mosquitoes are spoiling your porch time? Do you have to put up with it?
The answer is "no." You have options when it comes to keeping mosquitoes away from your porch.
Put these strategies into action, and your family can go back to spending quality time outdoors.
HOW TO GET RID OF MOSQUITOES ON PORCH
It's happening again. Your family is gathering on the porch for an evening under the stars.
Unfortunately, uninvited guests are crashing the party. Species such as the common house mosquito and the Asian tiger mosquito are swarming. They smell you, and the females are hungry for your blood.
Before long, the whole family is swatting at mosquitoes and scratching at itchy bites. You finally decide to return indoors. If you're lucky, none of these pests will come inside with you.
How can you get back the ability to enjoy your porch?
There's no single answer to this question. The reality is that you'll have to use several approaches to minimize the number of mosquitoes that are trying to bite your family.
The good news is that there are things you can do. It further is possible to contact a licensed pest management professional who can employ specialized products that are guaranteed to get the results you want.
If you're serious about getting rid of mosquitoes on your porch, then it's essential to locate any standing water in the area. Any clutter around your porch that's holding water is going to become a mosquito breeding ground.
Is a leaky hose or sprinkler dripping somewhere in the vicinity of your porch? If so, then it's time to fix that leak. Water drainage issues also attract mosquitoes. Scattering some sand beneath your deck can clear up small puddles. Correcting larger puddles may involve installing additional drainage features.
Do you have any standing water features close to your porch? Mosquitoes will be attracted to this, especially if the water isn't being agitated or changed on a regular basis. Install a pump to keep the water moving or treat the water with bacteria that is toxic only to mosquitoes. These mosquito dunks can be a useful tool for keeping pests out of your water feature.
HOW TO KEEP MOSQUITOES AWAY FROM PORCH
Of course, it's ideal if you can find a way to keep mosquitoes from congregating around your porch in the first place. With mosquitoes being so numerous, is it possible to do so?
You can make changes around the porch area that are likely to translate to seeing fewer mosquitoes.
For example, did you know that clogged gutters and downspouts are magnets for mosquitoes? These pests love it when your gutters aren't running the way they should because the debris in the gutter creates pools of water in which they can lay eggs. Keep your gutters flowing freely, and you are less likely to be bothered by mosquitoes.
Although they are winged insects, some mosquito species are not especially strong fliers. This means that the installation of one or two oscillating fans on your porch can help to keep it mosquito free. Plus, the extra breeze on a hot evening is definitely welcome.
Another strategy will help to keep mosquitoes away and make your porch look great at the same time. It simply involves using plants that mosquitoes do not like. Place them in the ground around the border of the porch or in planters right on the porch. Popular varieties that naturally repel mosquitoes include lavender, marigolds, citronella grass, catmint, rosemary, basil, bee balm, mint, sage and allium.
Keeping mosquitoes away from your porch only gets harder when your lawn is tall and your foliage is unkempt. That is because these pests like to use thick shrubbery and tall grass as places to rest. Deprive them of this habitat, and you will force them to go elsewhere.
If you have taken these precautions and are still being bugged by mosquitoes, then it is time to take serious action. Ask a pest management professional about how they can take care of mosquito problems for you.
HOW TO KEEP MOSQUITOES AWAY FROM DECK
When mosquitoes are preventing you from making the most of your deck, do not just go inside. Take action instead.
Some property owners actually decide to enclose their deck with screens. It may not be the most affordable choice, but good-quality screens really do keep mosquitoes and other pests outdoors where they belong.
Unfortunately, adding screens to your deck will not kill any mosquitoes. If you venture beyond the confines of your deck, you are still going to get bitten and harassed.
You could spray or slather on insect repellent. Many of these are effective and perfectly safe to use. Once applied, you will probably notice that you are no longer having trouble with mosquitoes.
A similar option is to burn a citronella candle or torch on the deck. Mosquitoes are repelled by the scent of citronella. Some property owners also try burning incense that has a scent that is repellent to mosquitoes. Both of these strategies have limited effectiveness. As long as you are sitting or standing right next to them, they may offer some protection. Once again, these methods do not eliminate any pests.
It further may be helpful to attract mosquito predators to your yard. Mostly, this means finding ways to encourage birds and bats to visit you.
How can you encourage birds and bats? It really is pretty easy. Consider adding a birdbath to your landscaping. This will bring in both birds and bats, and it will not increase the mosquito population as long as you change the water at least once or twice a week. You also might install plants that are native to the region in your yard, and put out nesting boxes for birds and bat boxes for bats. Put up feeders for the birds, too. If there is an old, dead tree in your landscaping, think about letting it remain. These attract birds and bats as possible roosting sites.
HOW TO GET RID OF MOSQUITOES UNDER THE DECK
This is an annoying situation that can drive even the calmest property owner crazy. However, it is possible to get rid of mosquitoes, even the ones that are clever enough to hide beneath your deck.
The first step is to determine why the mosquitoes are gathering there. Water is a huge draw for mosquitoes, so if they are living under your deck, then it is safe to assume that they have found water there.
Sprinkling some bags of sand beneath the deck helps to soak up any smaller puddles that may be hiding there. This may be a process that needs to be repeated a few times depending upon soil drainage and rainfall.
If the sand just is not enough to dry up conditions beneath your deck, then more drastic measures are called for. Additional drainage can help the water to flow away from beneath the deck, which may help to eliminate the problem.
If your deck is still plagued by mosquitoes, then you need the help of a qualified pest management professional in Langhorne.
HOW TO KEEP MOSQUITOES AWAY WHILE SITTING OUTSIDE
It seems like it should be such a simple thing to be able to sit outside in the evening. Unfortunately, mosquitoes have other ideas.
If you have tried everything you can think of and are still being confronted by mosquitoes, then it is time to call in the reinforcements.
In most cases, this means hiring an exterminator. These experienced professionals understand mosquito biology, and they have the specialized products that are required to put an end to the mosquito life cycle.
Up until this point, all of the strategies that are mentioned in this post have limited effectiveness. Each one has the ability to make you slightly more comfortable, but none of them can truly end a mosquito infestation.
This is why pest control professionals are an essential part of the equation. If you are serious about ridding your deck or porch of mosquitoes, then this is the most critical thing that you can do.
Using their specialized products, exterminators can safely, effectively and efficiently stop mosquitoes and their eggs. These treatment methods are lethal to pests, but they do no harm to people, pets or the environment.
Accordingly, pest control technicians make it possible to get rid of mosquitoes around the porch while still allowing you to spend time outdoors.
It's time to stop letting mosquitoes call the shots on your porch. Contact a pest control company in Langhorne today.
