Standing Water Can Attract Mosquitoes

While the April showers in Oklahoma may have come a little late this year, the increased rainfall has led to widespread flooding. Although this can make your lawn look less than appealing, it can also be attracting unwanted pests; particularly mosquitoes. In this article, we will look at some of the ways standing water can attract mosquitoes and why eliminating these trouble spots on your property is critical for limiting their presence.

Mosquitoes will most often use pools of standing or stagnant water to deposit their larvae to grow. As these larvae reach adulthood, they will continue the process and potentially make you a target for their characteristically itchy bites and welts. Even a small amount of standing water is suitable for mosquitoes to deposit their larvae. For this reason, it is important to eliminate any standing water you may find on your property.

With the weather warming up, there’s a good chance that you are preparing your pool for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. In most cases, mosquitoes will avoid water that has been treated with chlorine and is actively being filtered; however, the same can’t be said for small children’s pools or pools that can be used by your dog to cool off. If you are using these small pools, take the time to drain and dry them completely when not in use and refill them as needed to limit standing water options that may be available.

Rain gutters are frequently overlooked when eliminating suitable habitats for mosquito development. If you haven’t cleaned out your gutters recently, there is a good chance that you have leaf litter that is retaining moisture and limiting the opportunity rainfall has to drain properly. Removing this problem can eliminate the presence of a wide variety of pests, including mosquitoes.