How to Keep Mosquitoes Away in West Palm Beach
Donating blood should always be a safe and fulfilling experience. After all, it’s nice to help others! But it all depends on who is drawing your blood.
Trained medical professionals know what they’re doing and always use sterilized equipment to ensure minimal discomfort. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, do it quick and dirty - often leaving behind an itchy red spot that bothers you for days on end.
If you’re anything like me, you get to experience the joys of mosquito bites every time you go outside on a warm Florida evening. With the weather heating up and the rain pouring down, how can you keep mosquitoes away from your home?
In this blog, we’ll go over our best secrets we tell our customers for effective mosquito prevention in West Palm Beach, FL.
What Are Mosquitoes?
There are over 200 documented species of mosquito in the United States. Fun fact: male mosquitoes actually live on a diet of nectar, aphid honeydew, and plant juices rather than blood. Females are the ones equipped with needle-like mouthparts, which they use to draw blood that provides nutrients to their eggs.
Understanding mosquito breeding habits is essential for effective mosquito control. Mosquitoes in Florida experience a four-stage lifecycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Female mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant water sources - this can include ponds, bird baths, and anywhere rainwater has collected in your yard.
Although they aren't water pests when fully grown, all mosquitoes start in the water. For eggs to hatch, the water they are in has to remain undisturbed for their gestation length, which can be anywhere from five days to several months depending on the season. Florida’s warm, humid climate provides an ideal breeding environment for mosquitoes, which is why you may see them more as those warm summer rains come in.
Do Mosquitoes Benefit the Ecosystem?
If you’re environmentally conscious, you may be concerned about any negative effects that decreasing the mosquito population has on your local ecosystem. Rest assured knowing that mosquitoes have absolutely no positive impact on the ecosystem. This means if you’re trying to get rid of them, you’re helping the world move one more step in the right direction.
Mosquitoes are one of many food sources for birds, amphibians, and fish in Florida. When the mosquito population is too high, these animals rely too heavily on them as a food source which affects population dynamics throughout the ecosystem. Reducing the mosquito population promotes other natural food sources for these predators, leading to a more balanced ecosystem.
Decreasing mosquito populations also benefits public health. While the risk of diseases spread by mosquitoes is already very low in Florida, lowering mosquito populations will diminish the chances even further, so that’s a win!
How To Get Rid of Mosquitoes Naturally
Mosquitoes only need two things to breed on your property: blood, and a source of stagnant water. The more you limit their access to these things, the fewer mosquitoes there'll be. To get rid of mosquitoes naturally, consider these simple tips:
- Pour out water that has collected in items around your yard.
- Make sure your gutters are clear and working properly.
- Eliminate other sources of water buildup around your yard.
- Change the water in birdbaths and ornate pools at least once every four days.
- If you have a pond, stock it with mosquito-killing fish.
Keep in mind that mosquitoes don't just breed on your lawn — they breed on your neighbors' lawns as well. It might be difficult to arrange community-wide efforts for mosquito control, so if you go on daily runs, you’re still likely to get bitten. But if you follow our tips, you won’t have to worry about them when you’re relaxing in your backyard.
How to Prevent Mosquito Bites
Even if you can’t get rid of the mosquitoes beyond your home, you can at least know how to keep these pests from biting you. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid going outside during dusk and dawn in the rainy season, since this is when mosquitoes come out to bite.
However, if you do go outside during peak mosquito times, here are a few ways to prevent mosquito bites:
- Wear lighter-colored clothing.
- Avoid dense mosquito areas such as swamps and marshlands.
- Apply mosquito repellent before going outside.
The heat you put off, the carbon dioxide you breathe out, and certain blood types also attract mosquitoes. Unfortunately, there's often not much you can do to control these factors, but you can increase your odds of avoiding mosquito bites if you follow the above tips.
Can Mosquitoes Bite Through Clothes?
As soon as the weather starts warming up and getting more humid, many Floridians start looking for any and all tips and tricks that can help prevent mosquito bites - I know I do. Like me, you may have come across advice saying to wear long sleeves and pants to avoid bites. In this Florida heat? Yeah, right!
In fact, mosquitoes can still reach skin through thin cloths like cotton and linen. Only thick, tightly-woven fabrics like denim and tight-knit wool are difficult for mosquitoes to bite through.
However, wearing more clothes will still deter mosquitoes from landing on you, as they’ll try to seek out bare skin that’s easier to bite. If you’re comfortable wearing jeans then feel free, but I would never recommend wearing wool on a hot Florida day!
When is Mosquito Season in Florida?
Florida’s warm, wet weather is ideal for mosquitoes. Generally, mosquito season runs from around March to October, peaking during the rainy season between June to October.
However, it’s never too early to start prepping your yard for mosquitoes. Some parts of South Florida will even see mosquitoes all year-round.
The Best Mosquito Control in West Palm Beach
Because of Mother Nature’s ways, you may have trouble keeping mosquitoes away despite your best efforts. If this is happening to you, it might be time to consider professional mosquito control.
At Native Pest Management, our goal is to keep mosquitoes away from your lawn so you can enjoy those warm West Palm Beach evenings without worry. We provide pet friendly recurring mosquito fogging services to deter mosquitoes from your lawn, as well as a combination of larvicide application and insect growth regulators to disrupt the mosquito breeding cycle. This will rapidly decrease mosquito populations around your home.
If you’re looking for the best mosquito control in West Palm Beach, we have the perfect plan for your home so you can enjoy your yard without mosquitoes ruining the fun. If you would like more information about our mosquito services or if you’re ready to schedule your first appointment, request a free quote or give us a call today!