Simple Mosquito Control that is Safer for Everyone

Mosquito control can be difficult to deal with, especially if you need to steer clear of techniques that are harmful for children and pets. Fortunately, there are many different methods that you can utilize to vanquish mosquitoes from your property without putting your family at risk. As an added bonus, it is not necessary to do something that requires a lot of time and energy. Keep in mind that mosquitoes have been linked to several potentially deadly issues such as the West Nile virus, and this makes it imperative to take steps to remove them from your yard.

 

1. Hire a Landscaping Professional

Mosquitoes can easily become a major problem in your lawn, especially if your property has areas that are prone to holding water. Professional landscapers have the necessary knowledge and tools to treat your entire lawn, including your shrubs, without using harmful insecticides that will be dangerous for your four-legged companions and young children. Additionally, they can fill in problematic areas so that you do not need to worry about dealing with standing water in the future.

 

2. Utilize Plants that are Natural

There are a wide variety of plants and herbs that you can place around your property to help stave off mosquito infestations that are natural mosquito repellents. One of the best options is catnip, and this can serve multiple purposes since you can also give it to your cats as a treat. Other options include citronella plants, marigolds, basil, tansies, rosemary, lemongrass, and garlic.

 

3. Keep Your Gutters Clean

Many homeowners fail to clean their rain gutters on a regular basis, and this can provide the perfect environment for mosquito breeding activity. Therefore, you will need to keep your gutters clean on a regular basis throughout the mosquito season in order to reduce your odds of developing an infestation on your property.

 

4. Use Citronella Candles

Even if you carefully take care of your entire lawn to minimize your mosquito risk, it is still possible that you may encounter some of them while you are outside during the evening. Therefore, you should keep some citronella candles by your lawn furniture so that it is easy to burn them whenever necessary.

 

5. Do Not Leave Buckets in Your Yard

Everyone has inadvertently left a bucket outside after washing their car or doing some lawn work. Unfortunately, buckets become major breeding grounds for mosquitoes as soon as they get rainwater in them. If this happens to you, you can kill the mosquitoes by putting vinegar in the bucket before you empty it.

 

6. Never Keep Old Tires Around

Unless you are going to quickly repurpose an old tire, it is always best to simply recycle it instead of leaving it on your lawn. In fact, tires are an extremely attractive habitat to mosquitoes because they tend to be warm, dark and wet, and this makes it very easy for them to breed. Therefore, unless you want to deal with a lot of mosquitoes, you should never keep old tires.

 

With all of the potential complications that can arise from having mosquitoes on your property, it simply makes good sense to take steps to eliminate their prime breeding areas. It is also important to keep your lawn and shrubs properly maintained at all times because overgrown areas are a well-known mosquito hang out. Fortunately, you can easily turn to a professional landscaping company that uses kid and pet friendly insecticides to help you deal with any problems that have already occurred, and you can also take a proactive approach to protect your family from these hazardous pests in the future.

 

Lisa Coleman shares some natural and safe ways that a person can stave off mosquitos. She recently viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egVlbi86kug how a professionally trained landscape specialist can help with safer treatments for this type of control.

Categories: citronella candles, insecticides, landscaping specialists, mosquito control, mosquito repellents, West Nile Virus

West Nile Virus – Could You Be Infected?

When you think of mosquitoes, the first health concern you probably think of is malaria. However, these nasty little gnats can also threaten your wellbeing with West Nile infection. The worst thing about this virus is that it often doesn’t present with any signs or symptoms, or you may experience minor ones like a fever and mild headache, so it can be hard to tell if your wellness has been compromised. Still, as some people who become infected with West Nile virus develop a life-threatening illness that includes inflammation of the brain, it’s important to understand what you’re up against.

 

The main cause of the infection is through exposure to mosquitoes, especially during warmer weather. At this time of year, many Brits seek sunnier climes and head to these mosquito-risk areas, partly because the flights are much cheaper! If you’re off to areas of the world where mosquitoes are live and kicking, you can reduce your risk of getting West Nile infection, as well as malaria, by using mosquito repellent and wearing clothing that covers your skin. But what do you do if you do become infected?

 

The good thing about the mild signs and symptoms of a West Nile virus infection is that they generally go away on their own, so even if you’re unaware you’ve been infected you’ll probably be OK anyway, albeit none-the-wiser. However, if you are struck by severe signs and symptoms — such as a severe headache, fever, disorientation or sudden weakness — you will require immediate attention. Again, most people infected with the West Nile virus have no signs or symptoms, but about 20% of people develop a mild infection called West Nile fever. The common warning signs and symptoms of West Nile fever include:

 

• Fever


• Headache


• Body aches


• Fatigue


• Back pain


• Skin rash (occasional)


• Swollen lymph glands (occasional)


• Eye pain (occasional)

 

The above symptoms – or lack thereof – cover the vast majority of those infected with West Nile virus. However, in less than 1% of infected people, the virus leads to a serious neurological infection. If this happens to you, your brain may become inflamed, which is a condition known as encephalitis, or the inflammation may occur in both your brain and its surrounding membranes, which is known as meningoencephalitis. Other outcomes of a serious infection include meningitis, in which the membranes surrounding your brain and spinal cord become infected and inflamed; West Nile poliomyelitis, in which your spinal cord becomes inflamed, and acute flaccid paralysis, in which your arms, legs or breathing muscles suddenly become weak.

 

You may be at risk for one of these diseases if you display any of the following signs and symptoms:

• High fever


• Severe headache


• Stiff neck


• Disorientation or confusion


• Stupor or coma


• Tremors or muscle jerking


• Lack of coordination


• Convulsions


• Pain


• Partial paralysis or sudden muscle weakness

 

As we’ve previously covered, if you develop West Nile fever, this will usually last for a few days and go away. However, the signs and symptoms of encephalitis or meningitis can linger for weeks, and certain neurological effects, such as muscle weakness, may be permanent. Therefore, if you do experience the signs or symptoms of a serious infection – such as severe headaches, stiff neck, disorientation or confusion – it’s vital that you seek medical attention right away. Generally, a serious West Nile virus infection requires hospitalisation, so if you’ve been in contact with mosquitoes and think you may be at risk, contact your doctor immediately.

Categories: Mosquitoes, muscle weakness, neck disorientation, nile fever, nile virus, severe headache, spinal cord, stiff neck, Symptoms, virus infection, west nile, West Nile Virus