The key to preventing mosquitoes from taking over your yard in Indiana is to remove possible breeding and hiding spots. Yard debris, standing water, clogged gutters, and tall grass provide mosquitoes a suitable location to start reproducing and provide the perfect living environment for them.

There are ways you can make your property less inhabitable for these pests, like keeping a clean yard and mowing your grass regularly. However, hiring a professional mosquito control service provider stands out because they target mosquitoes in their hiding spots. Keep reading to learn more about how you can keep these buzzing insects away from your home.

1. Yard Debris

The first thing you need to understand about mosquitoes and how to keep them away from your home is that mosquitoes love water. Remember that pile of leaves you left on your lawn yesterday? It's probably not a good idea to let it sit there longer. Yard debris can garner moisture and rainwater, making them good hiding and breeding spots for mosquitoes. Keep your yard free from these:

• Piles of leaves
• Overgrown plants
• Grass clippings
• Compost piles

Mosquitoes prefer dark and shaded places, and the inside of the pile of leaves on your lawn provides the perfect spot for them to hide from the sun. However, if you remove any form of debris on your yard promptly, that's one less area for mosquitoes to lurk.

2. Standing Water

As mentioned above, standing water provides an ideal breeding spot for mosquitoes. You might not realize it, but many areas on your property can quickly collect water and become stagnant. Female mosquitoes lay their eggs on standing water and can lay up to 300 eggs at a time, depending on their species. These eggs become larvae or wrigglers after about 48 hours, and they cannot survive out of water. Here are some common sources of standing water in your yard:

• Ponds and other water features with no circulation
• Birdbaths
• Pet water dishes
• Trash cans and their lids
• Pools
• Old tires
• Plant pots

Water features like ponds and water gardens should have water circulation to ensure that mosquitoes won't be able to lay their eggs in them.

3. Clogged gutters

Gutters on your property can get clogged from leaves and twigs that get trapped in them. Clogged gutters cause water to build up. Because they are near the roof, their inaccessibility results in most homeowners overlooking the cleanup of their gutter, leaving the water to become stagnant.

To make matters worse, the accumulated leaves stuck on your gutter become a source of nourishment for mosquitoes. We recommend that you have your gutters regularly cleaned and maintained, especially after a heavy storm. By removing possible breeding spots for mosquitoes, you prevent female mosquitoes from laying the next generation of pesky pests that may harm you and your loved ones.

4. Tall Grass

Mosquitoes need to protect themselves from the sun's heat and the wind that may blow them away, and they find that tall grasses provide them with this much-needed protection. Letting your grass grow too tall is essentially providing mosquitoes a suitable place to survive. The key to preventing mosquitoes from hiding in your grass is to mow regularly. A regular mowing regimen will keep your lawn short and take away these buzzing pests' hiding spots. Homeowners usually mow their lawn to keep it looking neat and manicured, but it also helps deter mosquitoes away from your yard.

Contact us today to get an estimate on our mosquito control services!

Ultimately, a professional mosquito control treatment is the best course of action to prevent mosquitoes from taking over your property. Our team at Sprout Lawn & Landscape offers mosquito control treatment to properties in Noblesville, Carmel, Westfield, IN and surrounding communities. We highly suggest that you schedule our services early because mosquitoes in our area can start buzzing around your property as early as May and stick around until October. Call us today at (317) 900-7151 to get an estimate.