Rain, Rain, Go Away ….

Spring has Arrived!

It’s a little earlier than usual, but spring has sprung. If you are skeptical go find someone who has allergies. They’ll tell you for sure. Aside from the amount of pollen in the air and the warmer weather there are other indicators. You may have noticed that the crane flies (among other insects) are valiantly frolicking about in droves and rain is in the forecast more often.   While rain is great for our plants and gardens, it is even better for insects. Mosquitoes need standing water to breed the next generation of their kind. They can lay hundreds of eggs in the amount of water that a thimble can hold, so you can imagine the kind of chaos a heavy storm can produce. It takes anywhere from four to fourteen days for mosquito eggs to go through a complete metamorphosis (egg – larva – pupa – adult), and the warmer it is the quicker they complete the cycle.

Rain = More Mosquitoes!

When it rains in the springtime you can bet you are a week or two away from seeing an influx in the little blood suckers. They are most active when the temps are in the high sixties to the low eighties. That’s why at summertime they are the worst at dawn and dusk, but here in the spring that can be all day. There’s plenty you can do to protect yourself from mosquitoes when you are outside. You can wear long sleeves, so your skin isn’t exposed. You can wear bug repellant to keep them away from you. You sit in front of a large fan to blow the suckers away from you. You can even set up bug zappers around your yard to kill them. Keep in mind those do draw bugs in, so you’ll want to be strategic in where you place them. Check the box to determine the radius of protection it gives to help you decide.

Prevention is Key!

The best way to protect yourself, however, is prevention. The biggest component of mosquito control is to remove breeding grounds before they become breeding ground, but you can’t prevent heavy rains from creating those breeding grounds. At Mosquito Hunters, we look for those areas where pooling can occur and we strategically place larvicide in these areas so the metamorphosis ends at the larvae phase. Our barrier treatment is highly effective at knocking down the population, but the fewer mosquitoes there are to knock down, the more effective our barrier treatment will be! If you want to get ahead of the mosquitoes and ensure your home is well protected throughout the year, it is best to start early. Reach out to us with any questions you have. We look forward to serving you!