Your pool is your haven. It is your sanctuary after a stressful work week. A pool can also be your means to have your regular exercise. Having a pool in your yard also attracts many opportunistic organisms such as fungi, bacteria, and insects such as mosquitoes.
As you know, mosquitoes are parasites that live and thrive in places with stagnant water. Unfortunately, your pool is surrounded by many sources of stagnant water. The surrounding yard can very well be the main source of irritating mosquitoes in your living space.
Many diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes. Dengue, malaria, and Zika are the three most well-known mosquito-borne diseases. One bite from an infected female mosquito can result in the infection of the host. The last thing you want is to have your pool party guests, friends, and family members afflicted with any of the given diseases.
Mosquitoes are known to be a nuisance because of the discomfort they bring everyone. Once mosquitoes invade your patio and pool area, they make a meal out of everyone. They ruin any occasion you celebrate in and around your pool. Mosquitoes move about more when the temperature is hot. They lay more eggs and their eggs hatch faster. A female mosquito can produce up to 300 eggs in a lifetime and bout 3,000 eggs in one lifetime. A mosquito undergoes the egg stage, larvae stage, pupa stage, and the flying adult stage in just a week.
Why Do Mosquitoes Bite You?
Male mosquitoes frequent the plants. It’s the female mosquitoes that pierce the skin, bite you, and leave the nasty red bumps. They are attracted by the sweat, the breath (carbon dioxide), and the heat that come from human bodies. The females need warm, fresh blood from warm-blooded creatures like humans to nourish and lay their eggs. Because of this urgent need, female mosquitoes rely on their hosts to survive and thrive. They always hunt for precious blood. Male mosquitoes feed on flower nectar, so you don’t have to worry about them.
Why Water Attracts Mosquitoes
After mating, female mosquitoes deposit their fertilized eggs in slow-moving or stagnant water. Water must be still so that they can land and layer up their eggs on the water’s surface. Mosquito-friendly bodies of water are found in puddles, ponds, buckets, gutters, storm drains, and empty cans. If your swimming pool if maintained regularly, it won’t be an ideal environment for mosquitoes. Make your pool pump run for a few hours a day, so that water circulation continues every day. This water movement prevents mosquitoes from landing on the pool water’s surface.
Pathogens Mosquito Carry
Several diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are effective transmitters of pathogens from animals or other humans. Malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis, West Nile, and Zika are some of the well-known illnesses that can be transmitted from one person to another or from one animal to another. You can avoid these infections by making your pool and your yard mosquito-free.
How to Keep Mosquitoes Away from Your Pool
Below are some of the effective means to eliminate mosquitoes from your pool area:
1.Remove stagnant water. Stagnant water is the perfect incubator for the baby mosquitoes. There, they hatch and they grow, giving way to new batches of adult mosquitoes. Standing water can be found anywhere in your yard. Check constantly for sources of stagnant water such as kiddy pools, cans, pots, ponds, and drainages. Remember, mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant water. A container as small as a tiny bottle cap is an ideal breeding area for mosquitoes. It is an advantage that mosquitoes cannot fly very far. If you remove all sources of stagnant water around your pool, then you will significantly decrease the number of mosquitoes in and around your home. Before you start your next pool side picnic, make sure you drain water in your yard. Turn over buckets, kiddie pool, empty pots, and other sources of fresh water. Your pool needs to be well-filtered and chlorinated.
2.Get a professional to check the hidden breeding spots. You can always hire an exterminator to inspect hidden breeding spots for mosquitoes. Such spots are gutters. Also, inspect the screens on your doors and windows if they are not fitted, broken, or ripped. Pay attention to them when you are in a southern, humid state.
3.Plant natural mosquito repellents. It is best to have naturally occurring mosquito repellents in your yard. This way, your property can be safe from pests such as mosquitoes. These plants release chemicals as a form of their defense. To trigger the release, you must rough them up before you let your guests come into your pool area.
5.Always cover and protect your feet. Bacteria and sweat from skin attract mosquitoes. That is why your toes are their best feeding spots. Aedes aegypti is a species of mosquito that spreads Zika. It is very attracted to feet. Wear high socks and high-top sneakers when you hang out in your backyard, before and after you take a swim.
6.Wear the right clothes. Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors. It is best for you to wear light-colored and lightweight clothes that cover your legs and arms. Always wear whites and pastels during the summer season.
7.Have your meals indoors. Since Zika mosquitoes bite during the day and at night, make sure that you serve meals inside your home. Consider this if you are living in the South.
8.Spray ahead of time. If you know you are going to entertain guests outside, be sure to spray repellent and insecticide in your pool area, a day before the party.
9.Install a tent. It is best that you install a tent at the pool area, where your guests will be having meals. This prevents the repellents from getting into their food. Tents also keep away flies and bees. Look for companies that make tents with nets you can attach to your outdoor umbrellas and tents equipped with accessories that keep away mosquitoes.
11.Put up mosquito traps. There are available mosquito traps in the market these days. These traps capture annoying insects in your yard. They work without releasing chemicals such as pesticides in your backyard. The traps stimulate elements which make animals and humans attractive to them. Some products give off propane, which is then converter to carbon dioxide. This simulates human breath. A tiny amount of carbon dioxide in the air is not harmful to pets or humans. Other traps make use of bait that have LED lights, carbon dioxide, and UV lights. These baits attract insects because they also imitate movements of humans. A specific mosquito trap called Dynatrap uses titanium dioxide to produce carbon dioxide. When a mosquito trap is activated, the insect is sucked into the vacuum feature and is then contained in a cage or net. The insect dies in a day. Place the trap near water sources in your yard, and as far away from where the people are. Propane traps are better options because they catch and eliminate more mosquitoes. One can set you back 300 to 700 USD.
12.Get a mosquito misting system. This mist creates a defensive line across your entire yard. It involves a sequence of insecticide sprays, placed every ten to fifteen feet around the perimeter of your yard. Hang the nozzles from stakes, trees, or fences. The nozzles connect to tubes, which contain the insecticides. There is a timer that activates the dispersion of the vapors that kill mosquitoes. You can save aa lot if you install the mist sprayers on your own. Most manufacturers include instructions to set thing p properly. They also tell you how many nozzles you need for your yard. More nozzles equals a better repelling job. Though it does repel mosquitoes, the system sprays toxic substances that can affect humans and pets, once they are exposed. Some municipalities have certain regulations that do not allow the operation of these mist systems. Research about your area’s rules about mosquito mist systems.
13.Keep caring for your landscape. Tall grass, untrimmed hedges, and weeds invite mosquitoes to frolic and thrive in your yard. Mosquitoes use the thickened vegetation as refuge from hot summer days. It is not good to prep your yard to attract mosquitoes during summer. Always maintain your yard, Trim and cut what you need to so that mosquitoes do not have anywhere to hide. Be sure that there are no small puddles of water. These small puddles are ideal breeding spots for mosquitoes. Encourage your neighbors to maintain their yards, too, especially if their yard is very close to yours.
14.Build a screen enclosure. A screen room is a semi-permanent structure of fine netting and steel. Its mesh walls with steel supports can stand eight feet to fourteen feet. You can have them built around your landscaping, swimming pool, deck, or spa. It is a popular addition to properties in tropical areas such as the Gulf Coast. Screen rooms are also called lanais. They protect patios from insects and bugs. A thirty-foot lanai can set you back 5,000 to 12,000 USD. Check tears or holes on occasion to make sure that bugs do not enter it.
15.Check you pool cover regularly. Even if there is only a thimble-sized puddle of stagnant water, it is still a great breeding spot for mosquitoes. The heat of the sun can evaporate the tiny puddles, but the larger puddles may take longer to dry out. If they sit on your pool cover for a week, expect more mosquitoes in your pool area. Remove the accumulated water and sweep it off onto the nearby lawn and dry your pool cover with old towels.
16.Use larvicides. After selecting sources of standing water, it is ideal to use larvicides on them. Larvicides destroy larvae and eggs of mosquitoes. They prevent your pool area from becoming a skeeter nursery. You can use these products in your gutters, bird baths, fountains, pools, and ponds, so that they can be protected from mosquitoes for about a month. Larvicide manufacturers say that their products are not harmful to people, pets, plants, and the local wildlife.
17.Spray and add fans. Make use of resmethrin or pyrethrin in spraying your backyard. Spray the on your hedges, shrubs, and trees, especially those that surround your pool. They will kill mosquitoes that land on them. They are effective for up to one day. You can also bring out more fans in your pool area. Since mosquitoes are very light, they have a difficult time landing on their targets. Fans are non-toxic tools in warding off mosquitoes.
Never let mosquitoes ruin your fun. Your pool area is supposed to be your piece of sanctuary. You have invested in it and you have people to enjoy it. Mosquitoes make every gathering unforgettable in a negative way. Keep them away from your pool area through the different tactics given earlier. With determination, you can make your pool area mosquito-free.
