The 2021 mosquito season has officially kicked off in Texas! In fact, many residents feel as though they can only enjoy their patios for a few minutes before being run inside by mosquitoes.
The combination of dead foliage from the ice/snow storm in February combined with an extremely rainy past few weeks, means North DFW residents should expect high mosquito activity.
While male mosquitoes feed on plant nectar, the females hunt by smelling exhaled carbon dioxide from humans and our four legged friends, putting both at risk of getting encephalitis and West Nile River – a disease that has become a serious threat in the U.S. over the past few years.
To reduce your family’s exposure to mosquito-borne disease, and to add a layer of comfort to your outdoor experience, homeowners should consider deploying a prevention strategy to their properties.
Such a strategy should include best practices such as removing ALL standing water and dead plants from your property. Dead debris needs to be pulled out of the ground and thrown away or recycled into mulch. Cleaning gutters, removing dead tree stumps, and dumping water from containers are all recommended practices alongside raising low spots in the yard and properly disposing animal feces from pets and livestock.
After these past few weeks of heavy rain, it is also recommended to agitate your mulch because extra moisture combined with higher humidity and heat will provide the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Even with best practices applied, most yards require additional measures to REPEL mosquitoes from your property. Common options are store-bought repellants, misting systems, and traps that you hang from trees. Unfortunately, the repellants have to be reapplied often and have harsh chemicals like DEET, misting systems are extremely expensive and traps actually attract mosquitoes on your property.
Nearly 200 species of mosquitoes can be found in North America, with 85 of those calling Texas home. The most common mosquitoes in our area are the house mosquito, the southern mosquito, and the Asian tiger mosquito – each of which breed in still waters that include ponds, floodwaters, storm drains and water found in old tires and tree holes. They reproduce every 10-14 days and cannot be killed in the Larva and Egg stages, making them a uniquely challenging pest to contain and avoid. In fact, mosquito eggs can survive for up to a year outside of water, only needing a tablespoon of water to activate their life cycle.
Specialists, such as Mosquito Shield of North DFW, are often the more secure answer.
Founded in 2001, Mosquito Shield has invested nearly two decades of research and development in the perfection of its Mosquito Protection Barrier, which turns any treated property into a mosquito-free zone. Mosquito Shield is the only local company that employs a tailored treatment schedule determined by pest activity, population analysis, and local weather conditions, rather than spraying according to a predetermined schedule. This custom approach applies a proprietary blend of all-natural oils and select control products that KILLS adult mosquitoes, MASKS the mosquito-alluring CO2 that humans and animals produce, and REPELS mosquitoes around the properties on which it is applied. The service is performed entirely outdoors and no interaction with technicians is needed.
If you are interested in implementing a Mosquito Protection Barrier on your property, Mosquito Shield of North DFW can be reached at 214-513-BITE. New customers who mention The Cross Timbers Gazette will receive a $50 discount off their full season of service.
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