The National Pest Management Association, a trade group, advocates for backyard spraying, citing the importance of controlling diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks.
“Trained pest control professionals understand the specific challenges of each property and have the experience necessary to create a targeted plan that effectively reduces mosquito and tick populations while minimizing the impact on non-target insects and the environment. “the association wrote in a statement. For example, technicians can avoid treating areas around flowering plants, which attract pollinators.
Beyond fumigation, there are devices like bug zappers, which attract flying insects to their deaths. But research shows that, overwhelmingly, they kill the wrong ones.
There are also tabletop and clip-on products that diffuse or emit insecticides. While one study found that one such device did not appear to harm bees, the Xerces Society advises against such products due to concerns about their potential impact on native bees and other insects.
Meet the ‘cube of doom’
You probably already know Step 1 of mosquito control: Eliminate standing water, which is where mosquito larvae hatch and grow.
Clogged gutters, drain pipes and pots are the biggest problems people often overlook, said Aimée Code, director of the Xerces Society’s pesticide program.
And, he urges, recruit your neighbors. Effective mosquito prevention is a community effort.
To take it a step further, conservation organizations recommend a method sometimes called “the bucket of doom.” Put water in a bucket along with some hay or straw to make it more irresistible. Next, add a mosquito control matte, which you can get at a hardware store. They contain a bacteria that kills mosquito larvae and some other aquatic flies with minimal additional effects.
(In theory, you could attract the mosquitoes without the mate and simply pour the water onto the pavement to kill the larvae. But, as Dr. Tallamy points out, this approach requires vigilance: “If you don’t do it for two or three days, “You just did it.” produced 10,000 mosquitoes.
Dunks also work in many places where standing water cannot be removed.