Enjoy a Bug Free Backyard this Summer
Our southern summers provide plenty of challenges, including the kinds of insects that can quickly make time outdoors even more unpleasant. Here’s our quick guide to reducing the local populations of mosquitos and fire ants.
Minimize Mosquitos
Mosquitos are undoubtedly among the most annoying bugs we regularly encounter. If the buzzing around your ears doesn’t drive you crazy, the lingering itch of their bites will. Worse yet, these pests also transmit diseases like the West Nile and Zika viruses. Fortunately, there are several ways that you can reduce their presence, making your southern lawn a safer and more comfortable place to linger.
Add Some Plants They Don’t Like: Mosquitos tend to avoid garlic, peppermint, lemon balm, and marigolds. You can rub leaves from these plants on your skin for additional bug protection.
Refresh Standing Water: Birdbaths and outdoor water dishes for pets are excellent places for mosquitos to lay eggs, but we wouldn’t want to do without them. To reduce breeding activity, change this water daily, or even more frequently. In summer there will always be thirsty plants nearby that will welcome a drink.
Fire Up Citronella: Most people know that mosquitos strongly dislike this familiar scent. It’s important to remember that the zone of protection doesn’t extend far from an individual candle or torch.
Don’t Spare the Bug Spray: There’s a reason why this old reliable tip appears in every anti-mosquito list. For best results, choose an option with DEET — the higher the concentration, the fewer times you’ll have to apply it.
Fire Ants Be Gone!
Swarms of these tiny terrors build unattractive, intimidating mounds in southern lawns throughout the summer, and you don’t even want to think about their massive tunnel networks underground. While we can be grateful that they don’t directly harm grass, they can certainly deliver memorable stings to friends, family members, and pets. Needless to say, fire ants in your yard are a serious problem. To fight back:
Drench Those Mounds: Pour two circles of liquid insecticide around the ant mound and then pour the remaining chemical into its center. Don’t give the ants warning by disturbing the mound before the soaking, or the queen ant will retreat further underground and restart the operation nearby, possibly elsewhere in your yard.
Throw a Fire Ant Dinner Party: If you distribute granular bait, the ants will carry it to their colony’s underground nest, where the grains will slowly break down into liquid poison.
Contact the Professionals
You’re always the first line of defense for you yard, but if these strategies don’t solve your bug problem, we’re here to deliver safe, reliable applications of insecticides. For mosquitos, we offer a barrier treatment that is applied to shrubs, low-hanging limbs and patio areas. It is odorless and completely safe for your family and your pets. We apply this spray once a month, approximately every 24 days, between April and October. We can also provide a fire ant treatment that remains effective for 12 full months.
Don’t let insects stop you from enjoying your lawn this summer! Try these tips, and contact us if you would like to learn more about our summer pest control options.
