Orlando residents reluctantly face an annual event: The Battle of the Backyard.
The battle pits people against mosquitoes, wasps, bees and other outdoor creepy-crawlies in an epic confrontation for land usage. Despite exhaustive research, we have found nary a trace of evidence suggesting pests recognize white flags of truce; additionally, peaceful negotiation attempts with mosquitoes over backyard rights have never reached a satisfactory conclusion. Pest control measures keep the critters out of your house, but what can you do when you invade the bugs’ turf?
Mosquito Dangers
For years Florida residents have known the dangers of West Nile virus and Dengue. Other diseases, like malaria, are not so much of a threat but are still well-known to be spread by mosquitoes. Now, we have a new danger: Zika Virus.
As of July 13, 2016, there have been 293 reported cases of Zika in the whole state. Boward, Miami-dade, and Orange counties have the highest rate of reported infections so far. The number is expected to grow, and mosquito season, as we all know, is nowhere near over for 2016. Stay tuned on the ABC Facebook page for updates about Zika in Florida and Orlando.
Protecting Your Patio and Your Party
White flags and negotiation won’t work, but we can provide helpful tactics to help you win your backyard skirmish. Your guests won’t provide mosquitoes with a main course at your barbecue parties if you take two steps: Eradicate breeding grounds and control future backyard infestations.
If you eradicate the breeding grounds, you reduce your yard’s population of these flying disease carriers.
- Dump all standing water to prevent a single female mosquito from producing hundreds of offspring that, in turn, produce hundreds of their own.
- Keep shrubbery trimmed to eliminate hiding spots.
- Remove debris, trash, or other objects from the yard. Even plant pots and gardening supplies can harbor mosquitoes.
- Once you’ve removed the standing water in order to eliminate prime breeding conditions, ABC Orlando can come in and apply larvicide to terminate the production cycle. Baby mosquitoes will not be able to grow up in your back yard.
However, mosquitoes have wings and winged creatures fly. It’s a given that mosquitoes will lurk in shadowy areas (ignoring “Invite Only” signs) and fly in droves to feast at your gathering of warm human bodies. Effective pest control breaks the life cycle, but it will also include elimination of the adults that hide in bushes and trees, beneath decks and in any other shaded areas of your property. Power misters target all areas in which mosquitoes skulk, regardless of how high or inaccessible.
Let the pest experts do what actually works.
Unlike do-it-yourself foggers, professional treatments endure over a couple of months, so you can enjoy an entire summer of mosquito-free backyard barbecues and parties.
This manner of keeping pests away from your outdoor parties is anticlimactic: The Battle of the Backyard ends before it begins. The gatherers at your party will no longer suffer the itching, slapping and lumpy bites experienced by other casualties of mosquito confrontations.