How to prevent mosquitoes breeding in your yard

Do you have a mosquito problem? Here are some tips to reduce mosquitos in your yard:

Mosquitoes will hang around areas with good breeding sites. So instead of looking at ways to kill the adults, look at ways to prevent them from breeding in your yard altogether.

How do I manage breeding mosquitoes?

First, let’s look at their breeding cycle.

Egg stage

The life cycle of your average mosquito is about 12 days, from egg to adult.
The females will search for a suitable spot to deposit their eggs. They will favour forks in trees, or manmade reservoirs like old (car) tyres, empty bottles, vases, flower pot dishes and even something as small as plastic bottle caps. The eggs can resist dry periods of time and will start to hatch after rain or flooding.

Larval stage

After 2-3 days the eggs will start to hatch and enter four larvae stages. The four larvae stages will last from 6 to 8 days in total. During this time, the larvae will hang from the water surface and breathe via a ‘snorkel’. After surviving the larvae stage they will turn into a pupa.

Pupa stage

The pupa stage is relatively short and after 1 to 2 days the pupa will turn into an adult mosquito.

Adult stage

The male and female adult life stage is quite different. After a male mosquito has successfully mated, he will only live for another three to five days. Males are recognised by their large antennae and believe it or not, males do not bite humans. Males feed on fruit juices and plant nectar. Female mosquitoes on the other hand require a blood meal for egg development, so only female mosquitoes bite humans.

After a female has been fertilized once by a male, she is able to produce about 300 eggs during her lifetime, lasting anywhere from one to two months. During this time she will lay anywhere between 100 – 300 eggs.

Prevent Mosquitoes from taking over your yard

Now you understand the mosquito breeding cycle, let’s take a look how to prevent them from becoming a nuisance in your yard.

Mosquito breeding hubs:

Mosquitoes don’t need cosy homes or candlelit dinners to reproduce. Most will only need a very small amount of still water. Mosquito breeding grounds can include:

• Flower pots
• Ponds, marshes and bogs
• Bird baths
• Puddles
• Rainwater barrels
• Empty tires or debris in the yard – they can fill up with water after a rain
• Ditches
• Untended yards
• Heavy shaded areas and long grasses

Any place with still water or heavy vegetation can be enough of a breeding ground, and mosquitoes can especially thrive after flooding because of all the still water. They don’t need a flood, though. Since their eggs are so tiny, a mosquito can even use a single water bottle cap filled with water to lay eggs.

How to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds

Here are several ways you can create fewer places for mosquitoes to lay their eggs:

1. Practice good breeding site mosquito control. If you have a pond or still water on your property, you may not be able to remove it. You can make it less of a mosquito haven, by using Aquatain AMF. Aquatain AMF forms a thin silicone layer that disrupts the surface tension of the water ever so slightly but it is enough for the female mosquitoes to notice which deters them from laying their eggs at that site. Aquatain AMF also prevents the mosquito’s larvae from breaching the surface of the water with their snorkel, effectively drowning them before they are able to make it to adults.
2. Cover rainwater barrels. Keep your barrels covered with a fine mesh fabric to prevent mosquitoes from getting through or put a permanent cover on. You can also tip out the collected water after a rain event to prevent any mosquito eggs from hatching.
3. Have a running birdbath. Instead of a still bird bath, make it a feature of your garden by adding some running water, subtle enough as to not scare the birds away!
4. Eliminate debris and hiding spots on your property. Regular garden maintenance and frequent cleaning of any rubbish or debris can help reduce any potential mosquito breeding sites.
5. Take a close look at your garden. Garden ornaments, flowerpots, and even paving stones can collect water and become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. For potted plants, encourage good drainage. This will improve the health of your plants, while also preventing mosquitoes. For garden ornaments, look for hollow pieces with small drilled holes to allow water to drain away.