ST. LOUIS – The rain is gone and the temperatures are nice but the recent wet weather causes a high activity of mosquitos.
“They need moisture to reproduce. And then you back it up with some warm temperatures,” said Jay Everitt, technical director at Rottler Pest Solutions.
A mosquito can go from an egg to an adult in less than five days. After that, they need to feed.
“We can actually be more attractive to them this time of the year as it starts cooling off. They pick up on our body temperature and that’s what they migrate towards because they know that’s potential food,” Everitt said.
Everitt said to eliminate the chance of breeding mosquitos, you have to get rid of your property’s standing water.
“Make sure your gutters are clear. You don’t have any children’s toys or trash cans lids that are gathering and holding that water,” he said.
For standing water such as ponds, there are larvicides that go in the water which is safe for birds and fish. Bug sprays will help while on a walk or at a sporting event. Everitt said turning on a fan can also help to get rid of the pest.
“If you are out on the back porch, one of the easiest things to do is turn on a fan. They aren’t a very strong flier,” he said.
Everitt said besides mosquitos, flies are also bad right now.
“They’ve had all spring and summer to enlarge their families, so there is a bunch of them out there,” he said.
The flies can smell things upwards of a mile away.
“For homeowners that have pets with the droppings in the yards, keeping those things cleaned up. Keeping your trash can lids covered,” Everitt said.
Everitt said to also watch for stinging insects. They’ve taken a lot of yellow jacket calls at Rottler.
“At this point, the population is getting into the hundreds, even the thousands in some nests. If you are out there raking leaves or cutting grass, just be aware of that,” he said.
