Three ways that Clark reduces the threat of mosquitoes
Mosquitoes in winter? Is it possible? The public usually associates heightened mosquito activity with the heat of summer – and rightly so. But these annoying insects can get their start much earlier in the year, especially in the aftermath of the “bomb cyclone” storms that dumped record rainfall on California.
Blair Smith, Clark Pest Control’s corporate manager of QA & Technical Development, recently appeared on Fox 40 news, a Sacramento television station, to discuss the mosquito threat.
“Many pests, especially mosquitoes, are very resilient and can endure a variety of weather conditions,” Smith shared. “The soil is more stable for pests during the winter, and we can expect to see increased pest and mosquito activity as the weather warms up.”
Why are mosquitoes challenging? Smith said that mosquitoes breed in standing water, and when a huge storm comes along and leaves water behind in yards, agriculture fields, rivers, and streams, it creates perfect mosquito breeding sites.
“Standing water is ideal for mosquitoes to breed in,” Smith said, “and with some species capable of traveling up to 10 miles from their breeding site, the threat to homeowners increases.”
The mosquito threat
Although more than 50 mosquito species can be found in California, the three species that pose the biggest threat are Culex, Aedes, and Anopheles.
Mosquitoes can breed in as small a space as a bottlecap. They can carry and transmit many disease pathogens, including chikungunya, dengue, eastern equine and Japanese encephalitis, malaria, West Nile virus, yellow fever, and Zika. They are such a threat to public health that many county governments have set up special agencies to control these flying, disease-carrying pests. But quite often, those vector control agencies’ hard work doesn’t go far enough, and your home will need extra protection.
The Clark mosquito solution
Because water is home to the first three of a mosquito’s four life stages – egg, larva, and pupa – effective control depends upon eliminating sources of standing water around your property. Remember: Only a small amount of water is needed for mosquito eggs to hatch and grow into airborne adults.
Public mosquito and vector control agencies monitor and treat for mosquitoes in waterways, catch basins, and areas accessible to the public, but private property is often outside those agencies’ range of influence.
Clark Pest Control’s Swat-Away mosquito control service uses a three-pronged approach to target mosquitoes at different life stages.
1. Remove and treat breeding sites: First, standing water, a breeding source for mosquitoes, is removed. In any standing water that remains, larvicide tablets are applied to kill any mosquito larvae left in the water.
2. Install and service a mosquito defense station: Next, a station is installed to impede egg-laying female mosquitoes. This is important, as female mosquitoes – which need a protein from blood meals to create eggs – are the ones that bite. The station contaminates them with a biological fungus that eventually kills the insects, but not before it can be transmitted to other mosquitoes when she travels to other bodies of water to lay more eggs. This targeted treatment turns the mosquitoes’ own biology against them, passing the fungus to any hidden breeding sites in your yard.
3. Treat mosquito resting areas: Finally, Clark technicians will apply a product designed for long-lasting mosquito control to foliage and shady areas where mosquitoes are known to rest. While Clark’s Pest-Away service targets treatment to cracks and crevices where crawling pests hide, the Swat-Away mosquito control service uses a broadcast application to cover mosquito resting areas. This thorough coverage will ensure that the product remains effective against resting mosquitoes until the next time your property is serviced.
To get ahead of mosquito season this year, call or text Clark Pest Control at (800) WE-NEED-YOU (936-3339) or email us at clarkcares@clarkpest.com.
Until next time, the pest management professionals at Clark Pest Control thank you for helping to keep unwanted pests out of your home and yard.