Step 1 To Ultimate Mosquito Control - How to Kill Mosquito Larvae
Hi I’m Melissa from Northline Express, and I am here to talk to you about Step 1 in our 4 Step Process to Ultimate Mosquito Control. Step 1 is going to be the most important step in our 4 Step Process, because this is actually going to eliminate the Mosquito larvae before they ever have the chance to become biting pesky adult mosquitoes. It is way easier to kill a thousand Mosquito larvae then it is to kill a thousand adult Mosquitoes. So let’s get started by talking about some of the areas on your property that you should search out and identify as perfect mosquito breeding zones. Any type of property that has water standing on it, whether it be a pond, a swampy area, or even a low spot on your property that may hold water on a very rainy day are potential breeding zones for mosquitoes.
Now why are we so worried about these? One female mosquito is going to lay up to 300 eggs every time she reproduces and in that mosquito’s lifetime she can lay up to 3,000 eggs. Pretty scary statistics aren’t they? Once you start thinking about how many mosquitoes there are out there. That is why it is so important to take care of those mosquito problem areas before they ever become a true problem. So the first thing you want to do is take a little tour around your property, or around your backyard, or outdoor living space, and look for some areas that may hold any type of water.
Here are some examples of things that you may have in your outdoor living space right now that can collect water and potentially create the ultimate mosquito breeding haven. Let’s start with tires, if you have tires laying around or you have a tire swing in your backyard, tires collect water and create a pool which is going to be a mosquito breeding source. Next you may have flower pots on your patio or around your yard, the water collection plate or overflow plate that most flower pots have usually have water in them, especially if it’s been raining, and again another source mosquitoes could breed in.
Also, clogged rain gutters. They pool water all the time especially if it is very rainy this is another source that mosquitoes could breed in. You have bird baths, again these are always full of water because that’s what they’re designed to be used for definitely should be treated, or changed at least every 2 to 3 weeks to prevent mosquito larvae from breeding. You may also have flower or vegetable gardens that you may be watering regularly, and they may have low spots in them or the plants themselves can collect that water, and that’s going to also create another source for mosquitoes to breed.
Now why am I so worried about these little amounts of water? It only takes 2 tablespoons of water to be enough water for a female mosquito to lay her eggs and eventually create that mosquito larva. It is very important to treat areas like this or eliminate them. Now of course on your property they could have areas that you just can’t remove so what do you do with areas like that? You treat them.
For example, this pond, or I guess you could call it a swampy area behind me, is probably a mosquito haven. It is stagnant water, there’s no flow to it, no type of circulation, and it has lots of grasses, shade, and water (the most important key). Areas like this would definitely be something that you should treat if you can’t eliminate it. So how do we treat?
I’m going to go over some products that are great to help kill mosquito larvae. So let’s get started talking about our mosquito larvicide products. The first product I want to talk about is going to be Garlic Barrier. Now this can also be used as a mosquito repellent, but it’s a nice product because it has a dual purpose. You can use it mixed with some Canola Oil, or Vegetable Oil, and it’s going to cover on the surface of the water that you want to treat, and it’s actually going to smother the mosquito larvae so they never have a chance to turn into adult pests. Another great feature about mosquito barrier is that it is all natural. It is a concentrate made of 100% Garlic Juice, so not only is it going to kill those mosquito larvae you can use it with assurance that you don’t have to worry about any type of pesticide’s or chemical’s making it’s perfectly safe for your pets or children to play in that area. It does have a Garlic scent, but it’s going to go away about 20 minutes after you spray the product. It is a great product to use and definitely effective when it comes to killing those mosquito larvae.
The next product I’m going to talk about is our Mosquito Bits. These are great for treating those small areas like your bird baths, flower gardens, flower pots, or any other small areas that collect water on your property. They’re very easy to use, you simply shake them in and they’re going to do the work. Now these again are natural and safe. It is a BTI Bacteria that is only going to affect the mosquito larvae. They are very susceptible to this BTI Bacteria so it’s going to kill them right off, but again it’s safe to use in bird baths because that BTI will not affect the health of birds, pets, or children. This product is available in different sizes, you can get it in the size I show here, and they also have it in larger varieties.
The next one I would like to talk about is Mosquito Dunks. These are a very effective way to kill mosquito larvae. Just like the Mosquito Bits the Mosquito Dunks use that BTI Bacteria to affect the mosquito larvae and kill them off. They come in different quantities, you can get them in a 3 pack, a 6 pack, or a 20 pack as seen here. The best way to determine which size you’re going to need is to determine the size of the area you are going to treat. Each Dunk, which is this size here in my hand, is going to treat 100 square feet of surface area for about 30 days. These Dunks are also very simple to use, you are going to simply toss one into the area you’re treating. These are great to use if you have ponds on your property, low areas that flood occasionally, or those swampy areas maybe on the edge of your property. Low areas are famous for being wet, drying up, and then becoming wet again, that is why these Mosquito Dunks are perfect for these types of applications because the Mosquito Dunk is still going to remain effective. Again, dunks are another great larvicide to help control the mosquito larvae.
Okay so I’ve given you all of the information about Step 1, now it’s up to you to go out on your property, take a little bit of time to find those areas on your property that may be collecting water creating mosquito breeding zones, and eliminate them. Of course there’s going to be some that you don’t want to, or can’t eliminate, those are the ones you need to treat by choosing the correct mosquito larvicide that’s going to work for your situation. I hope you found this information helpful. Don’t forget to check out Step 2 in our Ultimate Mosquito Control Process in our next video.