How to Get Rid of Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes can turn a backyard evening into a swatting contest, and bug zappers and citronella candles barely dent them. The real fix is a two-part job: get rid of the standing water they breed in, and treat the shady spots where they rest during the day. Do both and the yard gets noticeably quieter.
How to identify them
A mosquito resting on a shaded leaf near standing water
Mosquitoes are slender, long-legged flies with a single pair of narrow wings and a long straw-like mouthpart, and you usually hear the high-pitched whine before you see one. The itchy welt after a bite is the giveaway, and only the females bite. If you are getting bitten at dusk or dawn, or any time you sit near shade or damp ground, mosquitoes are the culprit.
Where they hide
Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water, and it takes surprisingly little: a clogged gutter, a plant saucer, a birdbath, a kiddie pool, a bucket behind the shed, even a bottle cap. Through the warm months they rest out of the sun in tall grass, dense shrubs, under decks, and along shaded walls, then come out hungriest around dawn and dusk.
Why it matters
Beyond the itchy bites, mosquitoes are among the few backyard pests that are a genuine health concern, since some species can carry diseases such as West Nile virus. A yard that breeds them also shares them with the whole street. If bites are chasing your family indoors on summer evenings, that is reason enough to treat.
How to get rid of them
Start with the water: walk the yard after a rain and dump, drain, or flip anything holding it, and keep gutters clear. Then treat where they rest, spraying the shaded surfaces they cling to during the day: dense shrubs and hedges, tall grass at the fence line, under the deck, and the shaded sides of the house. A residual treatment on those resting spots keeps knocking them down between applications, which is how the pros cut a yard’s mosquito load.
Killer Pro Plan
Answer a few quick questions and we match you to the right kit for mosquitoes. It ships the same professional-strength treatment the pros use, rated for mosquitoes among its 90+ listed pests, with a schedule that keeps the yard covered through the biting months.
Safe around kids and pets. Follow the label, and your family and pets can be back in the yard. Clear instructions ship in every kit.
Keep reading
More on mosquitoes from the blog.
- Mosquito repellent for the yard: 7 proven solutions
- 5 ideas for how to repel mosquitoes in your yard
- Best mosquito repellent for yard use: eco and kid-friendly options
- How do you kill mosquito larvae? 5 proven methods
- How to kill mosquitoes in standing water
- Top 7 ways to eliminate mosquitoes inside the house