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Mosquito safety
Protect yourself from West Nile in the garden using these green tips
West Nile disease is no longer just a headline. It’s a reality that Canadian gardeners must live with each summer. That said, just because you have to be more careful to protect yourself from mosquitoes doesn’t mean you’re doomed to planting indoors while staring mournfully out the window.
And, just because West Nile disease is a threat to be taken seriously, protecting yourself doesn’t have to mean using harsh chemicals and pesticides. Regular maintenance of your yard and garden, along with wearing the right clothing, can reduce or eliminate your need to use products containing DEET. Mosquitoes do not fly very far away from their breeding grounds so eliminating these areas in your yard makes it less likely they will stick around. For some great non-chemical products that will help, check out our Green Mosquito Beaters.
Here are some tips to keep your garden relatively pest-free this summer without resorting to chemical warfare.
**For the backyard:**
**Water**
* Remove or reduce stagnant water. Mosquitoes cannot develop without water, since that is where they lay their eggs. Ensure standing water is dumped from other areas such as wheelbarrows, gardening cans or puddles. It takes mosquitoes between seven and 10 days to reproduce in a puddle.
* Repair garden hoses with holes that leak to ensure that no unnecessary water drips out and collects on the lawn.
* If you do have containers that you leave outside, drill holes in the bottom to allow water to seep out.
* Replace the water in water features, such as bird baths or ponds, at least once a week. Or, alternately, install a bubbler or fountain to prevent water from becoming stagnant. As well, placing fish in the ponds will help reduce mosquito larvae.
* Keep the water in the rain barrel fresh as well by emptying it if the water sits in it for more than a week. As well, stir it up every few days and cover it with a tight-fitting screen.
* Swimming pools will be safe to use as long as they are kept chlorinated and aerated regularly. As well, keep covers water-free by shaking them out often.
**Ground:**
* Make safe use of landscaping. The Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) recommends that you “use landscaping to eliminate water that collects in low areas on your property.” That means filling in lower-lying areas in the lawn where water can collect.
* Clear eavestroughs of dead leaves, which provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Additionally, says David Jensen, a spokesman for Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, take time to “clear out undergrowth and humus that collects under trees,” to prevent mosquitoes from breeding there.
* Prune hedges and shrubs to let lots of light in, especially if they’re dense, says Jensen. Overgrown shrubs can become a breeding ground.
* (If you are putting in a garden for the first time, keep it away from areas where people will be sitting or eating, so that there won’t be places for mosquitoes to hide, he recommends.
* Turn over the compost heap regularly.
**For the gardener:**
* When gardening, show as little skin as possible, especially at dusk when the bugs are out. That means long-sleeved T-shirts, long pants and shoes and socks—no flip-flops! As well, Jensen says, it should be light-coloured because dark colours attract mosquitoes.
* Clothing should be made up of a tight weave to make sure that mosquitoes are not able to penetrate into the skin.
* And mosquito-net clothing, hats and tents are one of the best and most environmentally friendly ways to keep mosquitoes off your skin. There are many products on the market.
**Mosquito-Fighting Myths**
* Although many plants, such as citrosa plants and marigolds, have been touted as “mosquito-fighting,” in studies, none have been shown as effective as products containing DEET, Jensen says.
* While Citronella provides some protection from mosquitoes, it protects people for less than one hour. “It’s only good at repelling mosquitoes at a very close range and low wind,” says Jensen. “It has limited effectiveness.”
* While mosquitoes are attracted to scents from fragrances, soaps, lotions and deodorants, there is no scientific evidence to suggest eating strong foods such as garlic will prevent them from biting.
* Although bats and purple martins do eat mosquitoes, studies have shown that these insects make up only a small portion of their diet.
*Sources: The Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Health*
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Hello,
With the mosquito, black fly, and deer fly season just starting in the lower Laurentians, the only proof that we have found which works against these pests are mosquito net hats, long sleeves and even DEET on occasion. I wanted to mention that we have numerous dragonflies and bats which feast on all these insects. We have come to be absolutely fascinated by the dragonflies after watching them for a few years. They are an aerodynamic marvel and i love all the bugs they eat. Sometimes it seems as if they are literally patrolling around us, not for any concern about us but because we are just such good food magnets for them! The mosquitoes swarm around us and the dragonflies swarm around the mosquitoes.
— bitten in the laurentians (May 14, 2007 at 5:21 p.m.)