The Gulf Coast of Mississippi has so much to offer to its residents year-round. The warm weather and beautiful shores draw many of us outside. But, going outside to enjoy the bounty that nature offers brings with it the most common pest: the Mosquito.

Mosquito bites can be dangerous, carrying the chance of contracting the Zeka Virus, West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever, and many other diseases. For this purpose, it’s best to avoid being bit in the first place. While you can’t control mosquitoes in nature, you can control their infestation in your own yard.

Do’s For Mosquito Control:

While there are many resources to take care of your home and yard, here are proven methods to help with mosquito control:

Use Mosquito Traps: Traps that kill mosquitoes are different than common bug zappers. These traps can emit carbon dioxide, heat through a UV lamp, or a combination of the two. This mimics a human or animal that mosquitoes feed on. Once the mosquito is trapped, they die inside the trap.
Remove Standing Water: No puddle is truly too shallow to become a problem. Mosquitoes can lay their eggs in as shallow as half an inch of water. Remove any standing water from your property by emptying containers that hold water and fixing broken or leaking faucets.
Add Natural Predators to Water Features: If you have a pond or similar body of water on your property, introducing natural predators is an extremely easy method of mosquito prevention. Mosquitofish or dragonfly larvae will eat large amounts of the mosquito larvae population meaning less adults will emerge to bite you.

What To Avoid in Mosquito Control:

Granted there’s tons you can do to exterminate or keep mosquitoes out of your property there’s a lot of myths and bad information out there in regard to mosquito prevention. Below are two popular ways of mosquito prevention that do not work:

Using Coffee Grounds: While if applied in very specific manners it can keep eggs from hatching or larvae from growing, but it’s widely ineffective at keeping the mature adults from getting to you and biting you.
Using Essential Oils: Essential oils can work as a mosquito repellant, but only briefly. They evaporate from the skin quickly and will soon leave you exposed to getting bitten. Considering essential oils can vary in potency from one manufacturer to another, it’s best to go with an EPA-approved mosquito repellent containing DEET or Picaridin.

Expert Mosquito Extermination

At the end of the day, rather than pulling your hair out (and itching your skin) over these pests, let the experts take care of your yard. From homes to businesses, the professional exterminators at Southern Pest Control can make mosquito control worry-free for everyone. We have offered year-round protection to our clients since 1975. By tailoring pest control practices to your needs, this ensures a personalized approach to your problem. Leave the pest control projects to the experts – contact Southern today for a free estimate and to start a pest-free* living!