As summer temperatures increase, the life-cycle of the mosquito accelerates. When temperatures are in the upper nineties and higher, a mosquito can mature from an egg into a flying, biting mosquito, in less than 7 days. So, when it’s hot outside it’s even more important to check everywhere that might hold water.
Here are a few tips to put the chill on places where mosquitoes can breed:
· Check for standing water once a week: plastic covers and tarps, toys, trash cans, paint and other containers, potted plant saucers: flush out saucers with a hose or dump every week, change water in bird baths at least once per week.
· Don’t connect downspouts directly to underground pipes; maintenance and cleaning is not possible and becomes a place for mosquitoes to enter drains. Use catch basins with insect screen below downspouts instead.
· Don’t install flexible drainpipe; use rigid pipe instead and make sure it’s laid so that there are no low spots where water can collect.
