How to (Mostly) Rid Your Yard of Insects

by Kevin Smith Author

Let's face it: summer in Jacksonville isn't for everyone. It's very hot and humid, which makes it an ideal habitat for mosquitoes and other bugs. If you own a home with a yard, you know firsthand that insects alone can make a backyard a miserable place to be.

But you didn't get the house with the killer patio so you could look at it out the window, so it's worth a little effort to make your yard more hospitable to humans. The challenges of outdoor pest control in Jacksonville, FL, can be daunting, but don't give up hope. If you've had enough, here are some tips on making your backyard less welcome to mosquitoes and other nuisance bugs.

Eliminate Standing Water on Your Property

Pools of stagnant water are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, so keep an eye out for standing water around your house. If you have a birdbath, make sure you change the water frequently. Don't leave any open buckets, trash cans, or anything else that can collect water laying around your yard. If you have drainage issues on your property, make sure you remedy them as soon as possible. While removing and preventing standing water won't completely eliminate mosquitoes around your home, it can greatly reduce their numbers by ensuring they reproduce elsewhere.

Spray or Fog Your Yard

If ridding your yard of standing water didn't quite do the trick, you can attempt to treat your yard on your own by fogging or spraying with insecticides. This can be helpful if you're having an outdoor gathering, like a cookout, and you want to buy yourself a few bug-free hours. However, spraying or fogging on your own is not an effective long-term solution. If you do choose to go this route, be sure to carefully follow the instructions, and always exercise caution when applying chemicals to your yard.

Call in the Experts

When it comes to outdoor pest control in Jacksonville, FL, it's often best to leave it to the professionals. A good pest control company will do everything described above, and much more, to eliminate as many pests from your yard as humanly, and safely, possible. By eliminating breeding areas, and periodically applying insecticide treatments, a pest control service can greatly reduce your mosquito population for an extended period of time. While these services aren't always cheap, it's often worth it to be able to use your yard the way you've always wanted to.