TOSS standing water
The most effective thing you can do costs nothing. Mosquitoes need only a bottle cap of standing water to breed and they can complete their entire larval cycle in about a week — even less time if it’s really hot out!
Walk your yard once a week and tip, toss, or drain anything holding water.
Some repeat offenders include:
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Trash and recycling bins.
Dump the water that collects at the bottom, particularly after a storm. Or drill small drainage holes in the bottom!
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Yard toys
Slides, toy cars, water tables, kiddie pools… all are prime targets for collecting water.
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Tarps, furniture and grill covers
Those little folds in the fabric? Mosquito heaven. Give it a quick shake!
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Gutters and downspout
Clogged gutters are one of the sneakiest breeding sites around — out of sight, out of mind, and full of exactly the kind of stagnant, leafy water mosquitoess love.
Got a corrugated downspout extension running along the ground? Those ridges are basically a mosquito condo — swap it for a smooth one!
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Planter saucers and empty pots
Tip out any extra water collecting in your planter saucers… or ditch them ! You don’t need them outside!
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Big-leafed plants
Some plants cup and hold enough water to create little mosquito apartments.