This is going to be a tough mosquito week.
All this rain left standing water everywhere, and the incoming heatwave will speed up hatching. One female lays 100-plus eggs at a time, and in this heat, those eggs can go from puddle to biting adult in as little as 5 days. Plus, with the holiday weekend, a lot of itty bitty items might slip.
I fell for this myself last week. I left for a long weekend with a clean yard and came back to a small swarm. I'd gotten overconfident and let some basics slide and I'm now doubling down trying to catch back up. Don't be me. Take ten minutes this week and run through the list:
- Check your alley cans. Trash and recycling cans fill with water fast. Tip them out, or toss in some mosquito bits.
- Walk your property.Â
- Toss water in toys, gardening gear, downspout extenders, buckets, firepit covers - anything that holds as little as a capful of water.Â
- Make sure rain barrels, water features, and drains are current on mosquito dunks and bits.
- Top off your traps. Fresh dunks, sticky cards, and sweetscent sachets.
- Mosquitaire owners: no CO2 canisters? Try DIYing it. My catch rate jumped 5x even with the homemade version.
- Look down on your walks. Check grates and catch basins around your neighborhood. Report any standing water to DC Health (and CC hello@ittybittymosquitocommittee.org)
- Remind your neighbors. One untended yard affects the whole block.
Thanks for staying on top of the itty bitty stuff. It really does add up. You've got this!
Michelle | 