The Battle with Mosquitoes is On

With summertime comes our yearly battle to reduce the number of blood-sucking pests in our lives. Yes, we’re talking about mosquitoes.

You can’t completely get rid of these winged pests, but there are things you can do to reduce the swarms of mosquitoes invading your space.

Mosquitoes breed in water, so anything you can do to reduce the amount of standing water you have near your property will help. It doesn’t take much water for mosquitoes to multiply, so pay attention to any small place that water can collect, such as cans, plastic containers or old tires.

In places where you can’t eliminate the water, you can treat it with agents that stop mosquitoes from breeding.

Since we’re all concerned about the use of dangerous chemicals – especially around kids and pets — it’s good to know that there are non-toxic remedies on the market.

One company that provides them, Summit Responsible Solutions, has a range of products that make use of BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis), a bacterium that naturally kills mosquito larvae.

According to Summit, BTI is deadly to mosquito larvae, but harmless to people, pets, fish, wildlife and beneficial insects (it’s labeled for organic gardening by the EPA).

The company’s products include Mosquito Dunks, a donut-shaped source of BTI that is placed in standing water. One Dunk will kill mosquito larvae for up to 30 days.

Another BTI product, called Mosquito Bits, consists of granules that can be sprinkled into places where water can collect. You can use the Mosquito Bits as a “shock treatment” in water where immediate larval control is needed.

Find these products at: Here

It’s good to know that there are natural solutions to our mosquito problems, and that they might actually work.