Nothing can ruin a cookout on a gorgeous night quicker than pests. Although the Bay Area has a reputation for being less hospitable to mosquitoes than other areas of the nation, they’re out there, and also can function as the driving force keeping you indoors on a summer night. Taking steps to make your yard unfriendly to mosquitoes and other insect pests will enhance your yard and outdoor gatherings. Keep in mind that mosquitoes can migrate several miles, so advocate for neighborhood and city-wide measures to help your own efforts to maintain your yard insect-free.
Survey your yard and empty anything that holds water for several days after a rainfall. Mosquitoes are the most likely pest you want to repel, and removing their breeding grounds is a significant step. Less than 1/2 inch of water might be enough for mosquitoes to breed. While you’re most likely to notice the birdbaths or baby pools accumulating water, hidden sources such as the back of a toy dump truck or the folds at a grill cover gather sufficient water to cause problems, too.
Identify different places with standing water than can not be emptied. Try “mosquito dunks,” that are treatments of larvicide that kill mosquito larvae but won’t harm humans, pets, or other animals. Analyze your yard for low spots which might have damp places or standing water that doesn’t drain in just a day or 2 after a rainfall. Fill the region with topsoil to level it. Immediately dispose of piles of weeds or brush so they don’t provide the damp habitat that mosquitoes want.
Resist questionable and expensive insect spraysthat have not been proven to have lasting, successful outcomes. Homemade solutions with hot or garlic pepper are touted for their repellent effects, but also have not been shown to work nicely. A specialist yard treatment, while expensive, is an option to clear your yard of insects for a short amount of time try this option to prepare for an outdoor gathering, but do not expect the results to last through the subsequent day.
Grow plants that attract beneficial insects and decrease the pest pests in your yard. Herbs such as parsley, basil, and garlic chives, have flowers that attract beneficial insects to prey on pests. Permit your broccoli and lettuce plants flower to attract beneficial insects as well. This technique works better than planting aromatic plants, such as garlic and marigolds, theorized to maintain pests away as their efficacy has not been proven.
Discourage ticks in your yard by putting a boundary between your yard and wooded areas that may border it. Gravel or mulch will dissuade the ticks from crossing over into your yard. Discouraging deer will also help lessen the ticks they bring in the yard.