If you have ever watched your toddler come in from ten minutes in the yard covered in red, swollen bites, you know the problem. Mosquitoes are not only a nuisance. They’re a health problem for kids and pets that most parents don’t think about until it’s too late.
I want to go over what professional mosquito control services actually do, why DIY sprays usually don’t cut it, and what to look for if you’re hiring someone to treat your yard.
Why mosquitoes are a bigger problem for kids and pets
A mosquito can be slapped off an adult’s arm. You can’t baby in a stroller. A dog rolling in the grass can’t. That is part of the reason children and pets are more affected.
And the body size piece as well. A bite that causes a mild itchy lump can result in a small child having a swollen welt as big as a golf ball. Pediatricians call this “skeeter syndrome,” and while it’s not dangerous itself, it terrifies the daylights out of parents who’ve never seen it before.
Heartworm is the bigger threat to pets. “There are confirmed cases in all 50 states,” says the American Heartworm Society, “and the only way dogs get it is from an infected mosquito. Treatment is costly, hard on the dog, and not always successful. It’s all about prevention.
Then there are the diseases people don’t like to think about: West Nile virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Zika, and dengue. You don’t see them very often in most U.S. neighbourhoods, but the CDC keeps track of new cases each year, and the geographic range keeps shifting.
What Mosquito Control Services Really Do
Most people think of a guy with a backpack sprayer fogging the yard. That’s part of it. But there are many levels to a real treatment plan.
Site visit. A good technician will first walk the property. Mosquitoes don’t just drop eggs anywhere. They require standing water, and they are satisfied with surprisingly little of it. A bottle cap. A stopped-up gutter. A saucer under a planter. A fold in a tarp. The first job is to find out where they breed.
Larvicide when appropriate. If you have a pond, a rain barrel, or a low spot that collects water after every storm, it is more effective to kill larvae before they hatch than to chase adults later on. Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) is a bacterial larvicide that kills mosquito larvae and is safe to use around fish, birds, pets, and people.
Barrier treatment. This is the spray section. The technician applies the treatment to the undersides of leaves, shrubs, fence lines and other areas where adult mosquitoes rest during the day. Most of the products used today are synthetic pyrethroids, which break down in sunlight and bind to the foliage rather than running off into the soil.
Schedule re-treatment. Treatment is about three weeks long during active mosquito season. That is why most mosquito control services operate on a monthly cycle from spring until the first hard frost.
Is professional mosquito control safe for children and pets?
This is the first question all parents ask, and it deserves a real answer, not “yes, totally safe.”
EPA has registered the products that licensed mosquito control services use for residential applications. They are used in low concentrations on foliage, not on grass, children’s roll-on or food gardens. Once the spray is dry – usually in about 30 minutes – the treated areas are safe to re-enter.
In any case, a few practical things to do:
Keep children and pets inside during application.
- Release them when the leaves are dry.
- Bring pet water bowls inside before treatment or empty and fill after treatment.
- If you have outdoor toys, koi ponds, and beehives, cover them or move them.
If you have a highly sensitive child, a pet with breathing issues, or if you raise honeybees, speak to the company about a botanical-based treatment. Garlic oil and essential oil formulations do not last as long as synthetics, but are an option. That’s why Knock Out Mosquito provides conventional and natural treatment plans.
Why DIY mosquito control seldom works
I used the citronella candles. I gave the bug zapper a try. I tried the ultrasonic plug-in thing that my neighbour said would work. That didn’t work, and the research backs it up.
Citronella has a little effect about three feet from the candle. Bug zappers kill mainly non-biting insects, including beneficials like moths. Ultrasonic repellents have been tested repeatedly and don’t work. The American Mosquito Control Association is pretty frank about the last one.
Store-bought yard sprays can knock down adults for a day or two, but don’t hit breeding sites and are easy to misapply. The biggest problem is that mosquitoes come in from the neighbours’ yards, from ditches and wooded areas. Once a month with a hose-end bottle spray is not going to cut it.
What to look for in mosquito control service
But not every company is so careful. Things to ask yourself before you sign up:
Are the technicians State-licensed pesticide applicators? Most states require it by law, but there are plenty of fly-by-night operations that skip it.
Is there something natural or botanical? Maybe you don’t need it, but a company that only does one kind of treatment is not being honest about trade-offs.
Do they tend the adults and the larvae, or do they only spray? The not-so-glamorous work is larvicide work. If companies don’t get it, they tend to underperform.
If the mosquitoes return before your next scheduled visit, will they re-treat at no charge? Most decent companies will do.
Do they have insurance? This is important in case something goes wrong. It is a simple measure of how seriously the business is run.
What you can do in between treatments
The heavy lifting is done with a professional treatment, but the small habits are more important than people think.
Walk your yard weekly and dump anything that collects water. The vacant flower plate. The wheelbarrow is leaning against the fence. The kiddie pool that nobody touched since Tuesday. It only takes five minutes and eliminates hundreds of potential breeding sites.
Keep your gutters clear. Between fall cleanings, very few people check clogged gutters, one of the most reliable mosquito factories on any property.
Use a fan on the patio. Mosquitoes do not fly well. A box fan on the back porch will keep them off your dinner better than any candle.
For children older than 2 months of age, use EPA-registered repellents if you will be outside for a long period of time. All of them work: DEET, picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus (for kids over three). The AAP has specific guidance on this.
When to Call
If you have a yard with standing water, dense plantings, a pool, a wooded edge, or just a mosquito problem that won’t quit, professional mosquito control services are typically worth the cost. The math is easier than you think: a months-long course of treatment generally costs about the same as a single emergency visit to the vet for heartworm, or a course of antibiotics for a badly infected bite.
I don’t want to roll those dice with my kid or my dog.
If you are in our service area and want to see what a treatment plan would look like for your specific yard, request a free quote, and a technician will walk the property with you.
Questions & Answers
1. How soon can my children/pets go back into the yard after a mosquito treatment?
Most products are safe when dry, typically in about 30 minutes. Your technician will give you a specific window based on the product used and the weather for that day.
2. Does mosquito control kill bees?
Most treatments use synthetic pyrethroids, which are contact toxic to bees. A responsible applicator does not spray flowering plants, sprays early or late in the day when pollinators are less active, and avoids working around any hives on the property. If you have bees, let the company know before they schedule.
3. How often do I need to be treated?
Most plans occur every three to four weeks during mosquito season. In humid or coastal climates, this may extend from March through November. The season of activity in the northern states is shorter.
4. One treatment will not eradicate all the mosquitoes.
No, and any company that promises that is lying. A first treatment typically kills 85 to 95 percent of the adult population on your property within a few days. Mosquitoes will continue to fly in from outside the treated area, so ongoing service matters.
5. Is mosquito control harmful to my dog?
At low concentrations, the treatments dry quickly when applied to foliage. Once dry, dogs brushing against treated leaves are not at significant risk. Do not allow them to eat treated grass or drink from puddles after treatment.
