Finding and Removing Mosquito Breeding Water

Standing Water Source Reduction

Every mosquito biting you in your yard started life in standing water, and most of that water is close by. Mosquitoes do not need much. A bottle cap holds enough for larvae to develop. Water that has been sitting for about a week in warm weather is enough to produce adults. So the fastest way to reduce a mosquito population is to take away the water it grows in, and that is work a homeowner can do a great deal of on their own.

Source reduction begins with a walk of the property. Your technician goes around the house and yard with you and points out what is holding water. Some of it is obvious once it is named: clogged gutters, the saucers under potted plants, a wheelbarrow left upright, a tarp over a woodpile or a boat, an old tire, a bird bath, a child's toy in the grass, a bucket by the hose. Some of it is less obvious: the cupped leaves of certain plants, a low spot in the lawn that stays soft after rain, the tray under an air conditioner, a length of corrugated pipe lying in the yard with water in the ridges, a boat cover sagging into a pool.

Then the list splits in two. The first part is what you can remove or change. Tip out and turn over containers. Empty and refill bird baths and pet bowls every few days. Clear the gutters so water runs instead of pooling. Store tarps, buckets and toys where they stay dry. Fill or drain low spots where you can. Those changes cost nothing and they remove breeding sites for the rest of the season.

The second part is what we treat. Some water cannot be removed: an ornamental pond, a rain barrel, a drainage structure, a low wooded area that holds water for weeks. For those we use larvicide, which stops larvae in that water from developing into adults. It is aimed at the water, not the yard, and it is what makes the barrier treatment on the resting sites hold up better.

Around Lake Gaston and on wooded lots across southern Virginia and northern North Carolina, the shade keeps water from evaporating and the leaf litter holds moisture for a long time. Those properties benefit most from a careful walk, because the breeding sites are spread out and easy to overlook.

Source reduction is part of every mosquito service we do rather than a separate purchase. Removing the water you can, and treating the water you cannot, is what makes the rest of the work last.