“Nothing makes me as happy as when all of our kids and the grandkids are here,” Brenda said. The Norwood homeowner is currently planning a party for a six-year old grandson, complete with a bouncy house and pinata. “But with all of this rain we’ve been having, the mosquitoes are terrible. Is there anything I can do to keep mosquitoes off of my property?”
We provide mosquito control services in Norwood and surrounding communities. These tips are based in our experience and are geared toward things the typical homeowner can do without a lot of difficulty:
Mosquito Control Tip #1: Get Rid of Standing Water
Mosquitoes breed in standing water. If you have puddles on your property, they could be harboring hundreds, even thousands, of young mosquitoes. The first thing a homeowner can do is go around their property to identify and eliminate any standing water. Things like children’s splash pools, pet dishes, and the saucers underneath potted plants are common problem areas.
If you have an area on your property where puddles regularly form after rain events, consider having those areas filled in. This may be something you do on your own, or have a landscaping contractor do for you. Any ditches you have on or bordering your property should be kept free of debris and trimmed to allow for the free passage of water.
Mosquito Control Tip #2: Be Mindful of Mulch
Here in the Norwood area it’s not unusual for homeowners to surround foundational plantings with lots of mulch. There’s good reasons to do this – a few inches of mulch can keep the weeds under control, as well as keeping your plants from drying out – but mulch’s moisture-storing capability makes it highly attractive to mosquitoes. We’re not saying eliminate mulch from the landscape, but if mosquitoes are a problem, you might want to keep mulch to a minimum.
