It’s well and truly the time of year when we love to be outside enjoying the warmer nights with friends and family. Right now in the Newcastle region, there is one pest that seems to be everywhere and will ruin the summer outdoor activities at your house. Mosquito’s. With the public health warning issued in March 2014 combined with the unusual wet weather we have been receiving created many potential breeding sites, this is one pest that you can’t afford to ignore.
When enjoying the outdoors in the evening, it’s also usually time to light the mosquito candles, coils and other utilise other repelling techniques in an attempt to keep them away from their meal, your blood. There is much more you can do to manage mosquitos at your home.
If you have a problem in your backyard with mosquitos, dig a little bit deeper around your home and talk to Amalgamated Pest Control. You’ll see that there is much more that you can do that in many cases that can leave you property Mosquito free.
Where do Mosquitos Breed?
The first thing you should be looking at is stagnant water. This is the number one thing you can do. Inspect your property for containers or reservoirs that can hold rain water. Mosquitoes will breed up in anything that can hold water. It could be a plant pot, container, bottles, cans, ponds or even a tarp that’s been lying around. If you come across anything like this you should be able to tell if weather or not this is their breeding site. If it is you should see mosquito’s hanging around and their larvae in the water. These larvae are referred to as wrigglers due to the way they ‘wriggle’ around in the water. They are very easy to spot.
The next areas you want to check are gutters, if blocked and holding water they will be an ideal place for breeding. Look also for tree hollows and check to see if you have open rainwater tanks that they could be utilising.
Drains are a big one. Often water can be sitting in a drain because it may in some cases be blocked or it may hold water. Pictured below is a drain at one of our customer’s places in Blacktown. She called us because that they had a big mosquito problem in their yard. She said that she looked for water sources and spoke to the neighbours also. We had a look around and found this drain down the side of her home. You can clearly see mosquitos resting in the drain, but you can also see the larvae in the water at the bottom.
How to Get Rid of Mosquitos?
When we find a breeding site such as the drains pictured above, we apply a larvacide desgined to place a thin film over the water surface killing the immature stages of the mosquito and disrupting the lifecylce.
Aside from treating the water surfaces where required, we will apply a residual barrier treatments strategic areas around the outside of your home which greatly reduces the number of mosquitoes that will frequent your yard. Resting surfaces on structures such as external walls, eaves, patio ceilings, BBQ areas. Treatments are targeted at areas mosquitoes fly to and rest on when they first arrive in your property.
All foliage areas where mosquitoes and midges are likely to rest and includes low shrubs, bushes and small trees. If you have a mosquito problem and have low shrubs and bushes in your yard, brush or shake them. You should see mosquitos fly away. They love to rest under leaves and in dense foliage.
If a mosquito barrier treatments are applied correctly it can last for up to six weeks. We have provided many treatments for mosquitoes and have had great results and feedback from customers. A treatment such as this at the start of summer will provide excellent relief from these pests.
If you’re concerned about mosquitoes and are looking for Summer Protection against these and other summer pests, call Amalgamated Pest Control Newcastle today.