Mosquitoes, yep, it is that time of year.

Continuing to work on the thematic rewrite of Dream Pirates. My Editor, Jenna, had some excellent advice, and I am working to make the necessary changes. It is hard work, but so exciting to see this story grow!

The following is my weekly article found in Listening for the Sounds of Summer! Enjoy. Thanks for taking the time to read my work. Your comments are welcome.

You have been sitting out on your back porch all spring with nearly a fly or a buzzing insect to bug you. But summer is here, and it can become hot, muggy, and buggy. Like millions of American homeowners, you might be tempted to hire a company that advertises its ability to eliminate mosquitoes from your yard. Be wary!

Before going further, just to be clear, I am not advocating you; just live with the mosquitoes and suck it up! Or let them suck it up and live with the mosquitoes. I am saying; there are practical and responsible strategies for dealing with this seasonal pest. Which should not include spaying toxic chemicals designed to kill insects. Unless public health is threatened, mosquito sprays that kill adult mosquitoes should be highly restricted. Because those sprays also kill many beneficial insects that live in harmony alongside us.

To start with, I am not a fan of mosquitoes. When they are a problem, I act. I may go inside at dusk to avoid being bitten. If I wish to stay outside, I may spray mosquito repellent on my exposed skin to avoid being bitten. Wearing long sleeves could be an option depending on the temperature. If sitting on my porch or in an area where mosquitoes frequent, I can turn on my Thermacell, giving me a mosquito-free zone of approximately 20ft. These are all responsible and practical ways to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.

Fact: Citronella candles are not effective mosquito repellents!

Stop Buying them!

Why, then, do we see them everywhere? The mosquito repellent candles industry was worth 27.9 million in 2018. We hate mosquitoes, and we love the idea of Citronella candles working, and therefore we buy what the snake oil salesperson is selling us.

My family and friends spend much of our time outdoors during these warmer months. And we encounter mosquitoes. I live in Wisconsin and there where there are 56 different species of mosquitoes.

I know that other places in the country and the world have more to worry about from mosquito-borne diseases than some of us. Still, there are disease vectors found in Wisconsin as well. We avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. I also understand the need to monitor and, in some instances, decrease mosquito populations to limit disease spread. But there is no reason for indiscriminately spraying mosquitoes.

And I appreciate that most government institutions, at least in the United States, approach to limiting disease spread by mosquitoes includes programs to monitor local mosquito populations. Sampling not just the number of mosquitoes but also the types of potentially harmful germs and diseases found within the local populations. Then only acting to protect public health.

But as a property owner, I don’t respond by killing all the mosquitoes, along with the bees, butterflies, and other insects in my yard, so I can sit on my back porch unmolested by mosquitoes.

Think about it.

Choice 1 Guy Next door.     Hires a Mosquito control company.

As advertised, the company periodically sprays the bushes and yard perimeter with pyrethrins or other related insecticides that kill mosquitos. On average, it costs $150 per application. The applications last a little over a month. So, three or four applications should do the trick. $600 later, all is well. The mosquitoes are all dead.

They also indiscriminately kill a whole host of other beneficial insects that could have lived on your property. Killing bumble bees, honeybees, butterflies, and many others.

The advertisement should read: For six hundred dollars, we will come by and poison your vegetation and kill thousands of organisms living in and around your home through the use of a highly toxic chemical. You will be safe. It will, however, kill the common species of insects such as crickets, grasshoppers, and beetles as well as those populations already considered threatened. It will kill insects indiscriminately, both beneficial and pests. You won’t have to worry about being bugged by a mosquito or a bee of any kind. Birds won’t be a problem either, as 80% of the birds that once visited your yard are insectivores and live or, in some cases, lived as in past tense by hunting and eating insects. You will be left alone!

Choice 2

Use Mosquito repellent or wear long sleeves. Turn on your Themacell.

Mosquitoes do not fly a long way to find food. Their maximum range might be as far as half a football field. The mosquitoes that are biting originated close by. So, you can successfully limit their numbers by taking these simple, practical, effective, and ethical steps.

Make sure to remove larval habitats. Get rid of standing water. Female mosquitoes lay their eggs in stagnant water. Anywhere water inadvertently pools can be a source for mosquitoes. Drip trays for your air conditioner, plastic play sets, children’s toys in the yard, and even unattended bird baths can serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Simply by eliminating these breeding areas, you can substantially reduce a local mosquito populations.

Use the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis or “Bt,” which will kill the mosquito larva before they become flying pests. These treatments can kill larvae in stagnant water sources within your property that you do not wish to drain. What’s more, they are not harmful to humans or insects living in your bushes and gathering nectar in your yard.

Nerdy paragraph – the BT is actually the spore form of a bacterium. Mosquitoes larvae in the water eating everything in sight, ingest the BT. The bacterium activates in the gut of the larval mosquito and releases its toxin. The pH of larval mosquito is close to 9, making it much less acidic than human stomach acid. Thus, it does not have the same effect on humans but kills the larval form of the mosquito.

Interesting right? Everyone knows bats eat bugs. The little brown bats that circle my perennial native flower garden each evening can eat as many as 4,500 mosquitoes a night. Ah, thanks for that.

You can encourage bats by placing bat houses on your property. From Bat conservation international – All bat houses should be mounted at least 10 feet above the ground, and 12 to 20 feet is better. Choose a sunny location on your house’s East or South facing side. Bat houses work best with at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight (if only partial day sun is available- morning sun is preferable).

Dragonflies are acrobatic dynamos. They can consume up to 100 mosquitoes a day. Way to go!

How do you attract dragonflies to your yard? One stop spraying toxic chemicals on your lawn and fogging your bushes. Step two, build a water feature and plant-pollinator plants.

Still, millions of normally thoughtful and considerate homeowners simply hire a service to kill the insects in their yards. The mosquito spraying industry is a multimillion-dollar business. Over 600 million dollars in revenue in 2015 alone. As stated in earlier articles. We land owners deploy ten times more toxic poisons on our properties than farmers do in growing their crops. I stopped using chemicals on my lawn with fantastic results.

Why do so many people spend their hard-earned money on mosquito spraying services? It is not because we are lazy. People put in an inordinate amount of effort to produce the look of a manicured lawn.

It is not because it is less expensive. Lawns are expensive when measured by any standard. Professional Mosquito spraying companies are everywhere, making millions of dollars off homeowners.

I am hoping we choose to kill indiscriminately because we do not contemplate or fully understand the impact of lawns and the chemicals associated with lawns on the world around us. I am convinced if we take a moment to think about it, we can make better choices. If this is true, then we can truly make a difference by spreading the word and Saving the World – One Yard at a Time.

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