The time of year for gardening, barbeques, and enjoying the warmer weather outdoors is just around the corner. Unfortunately, the onset of mild temperatures also brings a persnickety pest – mosquitoes.
With mosquito season coming up in Saratoga County, it’s important to take precautions to reduce or eliminate the population of mosquitoes around your home. Some mosquitoes are more dangerous than others when it comes to carrying and transmitting disease, but it is almost impossible for the average person to identify a species of mosquito.
Here in Saratoga County, you may encounter the Asian tiger mosquito, the Yellow fever mosquito, and the most common species, the house mosquito. Since you are not likely to try and identify these pests on your own, you should take precautions that will rid your Saratoga County yard of all mosquito activity to preserve both your health and your sanity.
Why Are Mosquitos So Dangerous?
Many mosquitoes carry germs, bacteria, and diseases that can cause everything from mild or severe allergic reactions. Pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes may cause sickness and even death. While mosquitoes feed on sweet nectar and honeydew for sugar, they need protein to produce eggs, which they get from animal blood. To a mosquito, humans are as good a source for this blood as any. This means they will use their sharp, straw-like mouths to pierce your skin, which can, in turn, transmit several contagious diseases into your bloodstream.
Only females bite because they need blood. Dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika virus, and the very common West Nile virus are just a few of the diseases that mosquito transmit to humans.
Zika virus is unique among the diseases transmitted by mosquitoes because, once infected, people can transmit this disease to each other through sexual intercourse. Symptoms that may appear after a mosquito bite includes body aches, dizziness, rashes, swelling, confusion, and more serious signs that you’re getting sick. Headaches, joint pain, red eyes, and muscle pain are some of the distinct symptoms of Zika virus.
What Attracts Mosquitos To My Saratoga County Yard?
While it can be difficult to eliminate a mosquito problem in your Saratoga County yard, you can take some measures to reduce the number. Having a lot of flowers in your yard that supplying nectar to mosquitos will increase the population.
Also, standing water or swimming pools left untreated will attract mosquitoes. This is because mosquitoes lay clusters of eggs on standing stagnant water. It’s important to pick up any receptacle for water in your yard and cover swimming pools. They need very little water to lay their eggs. Even a small bottle cap with stagnant water in it is enough. Eliminating all sources of standing water is beneficial in the reduction of mosquitoes in your yard. This includes cleaning out birdbaths regularly, checking tire swings, cleaning gutters, and checking tarps or other areas where water will pool.
Though reducing stagnant water is the most effective way to begin mosquito control, you can also use citronella candles, fans, bug zappers, and mosquito repellants. These methods, however, are only temporary fixes at best. Some over-the-counter mosquito sprays can even cause allergic reactions in sensitive people.
Despite your best efforts, you will likely still have mosquitoes in your yard. That’s why you need to contact the Professionals at Old School Pest Control. They will identify issues that are inviting mosquitoes into your Saratoga yard and set up a mosquito control plan so that you can enjoy being outside again. Call Old School Pest Control today and let us be your mosquito warriors.