Cooperative Extension

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If April showers bring May flowers, what do deluges from summer storms and hurricanes bring?

Mosquitoes.

Anyone who has ever swatted at those buzzing insects surely will agree that mosquitoes are a nuisance, not to mention unwelcome pests. But in addition to their general peskiness, mosquitoes also transmit diseases to humans and wild and domesticated animals, and Cooperative Extension Technician Wayne Rowland provides several tips to help reduce the mosquito population.

We associate heightened mosquito activity during twilight and nighttime hours, but the state’s most common mosquito – the Asian tiger mosquito – is aggressive during daytime hours.

So what works best for mosquito control?

Rowland recommends an integrated pest management approach, which basically means bundling together a variety of strategies that interrupt the insects’ life cycle.

Mosquitoes need water to complete their life cycle, but fish and predatory insects like dragonflies do a number on mosquitoes that may be near lakes and ponds.

It’s stagnant, standing water that make the perfect breeding location, so Rowland said it’s a good idea to get rid of containers and old tires – anything that collects water around your yard or property. If you can’t remove the containers, at least tip them over to remove the water after rains, he said.

Cover rain barrels with screening to keep mosquitoes from getting to the water collected in the barrel.

Pesticides may offer relief, but they provide short-term solutions, he added.

pesticides are only a short-term solution.

Visit https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu/ to learn more.

 

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