Photo: Tree Swallows, John Pennell/Audubon Photography Awards
Deidra Bryant
It’s that time of year again, and, even though we’ve had a couple of cool, rainy days in May, summer is upon us. That means the dreaded mosquitoes are beginning to make their move.
For me, mosquitoes are the absolute worst part of summer. It’s hot, but if you expose too much skin in an effort to cool down and forget to put on bug repellent, you’re likely to become a victim to these blood-sucking pests. As a result, I tend to cover my bases and wear long sleeves and long pants regardless of the temperature, and for good measure I’ll spray a generous amount of bug spray on my body AND my clothes.
Many people in our area opt for a more war-like approach, hiring a company to spray or fog their yards with chemicals as a way to reduce mosquito populations. That approach may be tempting, particularly if you are hosting outdoor parties or get-togethers, or simply plan on spending a lot of time outdoors on your property. But, please RECONSIDER.
Mosquito sprays usually work in one of two ways. Permanent systems may be used (like an irrigation system) to spray an insecticide solution all day long, as a way to constantly and continuously eliminate insect pests (regardless if there are any pests there at all). Or, a company may schedule treatment sessions that target both adult and larval mosquitoes every few weeks. The treatments used by mosquito control companies can provide some immediate and residual effects depending on the chemicals used, but that comes at a high cost.
The most important thing to know is that many chemicals used in mosquito sprays also kill other insects that are a beneficial food source for birds. The chemicals also may be absorbed by plants and then transferred to the insects that eat those plants via bioaccumulation, affecting insect reproduction and brain function.
Don’t be fooled. Company marketing will boast that their sprays and foggers are regulated and approved for use by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t have negative effects on the environment. For example, foggers and sprays affect the delicate ecosystem in not only your yard, but also your neighborhood. Chemicals in sprays get leached from lawns and migrate to local water sources, poisoning fish and crustaceans in local streams. They also can be harmful to dogs if they drink the polluted water.
Another thing to note is that some companies may SAY their treatments are “all natural,” but what they’re actually referring to is pyrethrum, a range of plants (some species of chrysanthemums) which contain insect neurotoxins. Their extracted chemicals are pyrethroids. Some mosquito pesticides are man-made pyrethroids, such as:
Bifenthrin -- affects the nervous system of fish, other aquatic organisms and is highly toxic to bees
Deltamethrin -- kills insects on contact or if it is consumed, and disrupts their nervous systems
Permethrin -- also disrupts the nervous system in insects, causing muscle spasms, paralysis and death; highly toxic to birds when aerosolized and inhaled; highly toxic to bees and other beneficial bugs and pollinating insects
Please do your research on the chemicals used in these treatments.
Overall, broad spectrum mosquito spraying and fogging kills native bees, dragonflies, caterpillars, ladybugs, butterflies, frogs, and a range of other wildlife. No matter how many native plant species you may grow outside, it won’t matter if the yard doesn’t support a truly healthy food web for birds and is loaded with harmful pesticides. So, what can you do? Well, there are a few things you can do to avoid those annoying mosquitoes this summer.
Get an agitator or “water wiggler” for your bird bath. Mosquitoes will develop from larva if they hatch in standing water, so adding an agitator will prevent them from multiplying in your yard. Moving water also tends to attract more birds, so make sure to clean your bird bath frequently.
Use an electric fan. When I was growing up, air conditioning was only turned on during REALLY hot days (90+). Even if it was 88 degrees, we just had to suffer through it indoors, or go outside and play in the sprinkler, kiddie pools, or water slides, or duel with water pistols. We also had fans turned on all day in almost every room, and outside, too, if the cord was long enough. Mosquitoes are poor fliers and can’t land on you if there is a strong breeze.
Eliminate other breeding grounds. Mosquitoes can breed in many places: water in clogged gutters, large puddles of standing water, water pooling in outdoor children’s play equipment, flower-pot saucers, some yard debris, and dense groundcover like invasive English Ivy. Again, mosquito larvae require stagnant water to develop. Clearing the space of standing water or making it turbulent will greatly reduce mosquito populations.
Mosquito dunks. If there is a location where you can’t eliminate water (like a backyard pond, or some stormwater drains), use mosquito dunks, which are toxic only to the larvae of mosquitoes and other biting flies and are nontoxic to other wildlife. The dunks contain Bacillus thuringiensis or “Bt,” a bacterium naturally found in soil. The spores made by Bt damage the gut of insect larvae after they eat them. As a result, within 5 days the insect larvae will die of infection and starvation. You also can make mosquito larva traps using dunks.
Encourage mosquito-eating birds. There are lots of birds that eat mosquitoes, and we can encourage them to help us by making our yards and neighborhoods bird-friendly. So, do what you can to welcome Purple Martins and other swallows, Northern Cardinals, Eastern Bluebirds, and local flycatchers like Eastern Phoebe. Bats are also great mosquito-eaters, so put up a bat house or two if you have a likely spot.
I, unfortunately, am a mosquito magnet, and like many other people I absolutely loathe being itchy. The “remedies” do not work, scratching makes it worse, showering becomes a miserable experience, certain clothes become uncomfortable to wear, and I can’t escape my own skin! My skin is already extremely sensitive, and it takes a very long time for the hyperpigmentation to go away once the swelling goes down. As a result, I have found solutions that work for me: wearing long pants, shirts with long sleeves, and a hat with a mesh covering my face (which allows me to keep insect repellent away from my eyes), putting bug repellant all over my body, setting oscillating electric fans on “high,” and getting rid of any still water. I know how tempting it is to go completely “scorched-earth” with these frustrating bugs, but please do not risk harm to the local environment with lethal chemicals. There are better and safer ways to protect yourself and cut mosquito populations.