From bottle caps to bird baths: How the DC-area can prevent mosquitoes this season
This summer may be tough for a lot of us in the D.C. region due to the deadliest animal in the world.
Mosquito season normally starts in April and lasts until October depending on temperatures and rainfall. Experts are predicting this year to be one of the worst for mosquitoes in recent memory, thanks to a “topsy turvy” winter.
“We’ve had spikes of very nice, warm days,” said Douglass Miles, president of Mosquito Shield of Northern Virginia. “Next thing you know, the forecasters are talking about inches to a foot of snow.”
The soggy conditions caused by saturated ground are perfect for breeding spots for mosquitoes.
“So, all of that moisture being around sooner than later allows them to hatch eggs earlier in the year than normal,” Miles said, “And it promotes growth, because mosquitoes love to lay eggs in the water — standing water.”
Miles said a “mosquito only needs a bottle cap of water to lay eggs,” and then a week after they’re hatched, they’re flying and biting.
“If you’ve got toys in the yard, like upside down Frisbees, you’ve got some old tires laying around, you’ve got tarps, you’ve got even on top of the trash can after a heavy rain, where you’ve got the water that pools, that’s where they’re going to lay eggs,” Miles pointed out.
Bird baths are another hot spot for mosquitoes.
“You can put in mosquito dunks. They’re relatively inexpensive,” Miles said. “It’s very, very, very low toxicity to humans, mammals, pets, birds, fish.”
According to Miles, mosquitoes normally start getting a tad frisky when the temperature is 80 degrees, “They’re going to populate extremely fast, and overwhelmingly.”
“The life cycle of mosquitoes from egg to adult is 18 to 19 days,” Miles said.
“So once that mosquito becomes an adult, starts to lay the eggs and they become adults. If you don’t do anything by the end of June, you’re not going to be able to enjoy your outdoor space.”
Now you may be thinking, “I’ll be fine because I have tiki torches, citronella candles and bug lights.”
“What that does is it attracts mosquitoes in your yard and in the space that you’re trying to enjoy,” Miles said.
“They lie in wait all day long. As soon as the sun sets and it becomes dark, that’s when they become the nuisance that they are”
What if you want to be able to spend time outside on your property all hours of day and night without getting swarmed by mosquitoes?
“Finding the right company that provides biweekly service, along with keeping the standing water at zero. Those are the most healthy things you can do,” Miles advised.