Living in rural New Jersey certainly has its benefits. The peacefulness, the beautiful wooded areas and the serene lakes and ponds make it a wonderful place to live. But all this nature also comes with a few challenges too. Specifically, ticks and mosquitoes.
Few things will make our skin crawl more than finding a tick on our children, pets or ourselves. And nothing keeps us from enjoying time outside more than being eaten alive by mosquitoes! How often are we missing out on the long-awaited summer activities because of these pests? But besides being a nuisance, these bugs can transmit disease. Did you know that the mosquito is considered the deadliest animal in the world? And, of course, Lyme disease is carried by the dreaded deer tick.
Ticks and mosquitos live and breed in shady, cool, moist areas. Ten tips to reduce breeding grounds around your home are:
1. Avoid wooded areas with dense shrubs, high grass and a lot of leaves, as these are places where ticks are likely to live. If you hike in the woods, stay to the center of the trail to avoid overgrown vegetation.
2. Make your yard less attractive to ticks & mosquitos by keeping lawns mowed, clearing brush, vegetation trimming, removing leaf litter.
3.Remove/dump any standing water from children’s toys, buckets, flowerpots, unused lawn chairs, etc. For frequently used items like wheelbarrows, store these items upside down.
4. Clean out gutters and drains. Debris can clog and obstruct water flow causing gutters to fill up with standing water.
5. Keep ground under bird feeders clear and move away from house as mice (carriers) will eat the fallen seed. For bird baths, replace water once a week or consider adding a small pump 
to keep water moving.
6. In ponds, add mosquito eating fish like bluegills, minnows, gambusia and/or green sunfish.
7. Maintain your swimming pool and keep it chlorinated. Pool/Solar covers should be cleaned and kept dry as well.
8. Adjust sprinklers to prevent over-watering, which can create ideal conditions for mosquito breeding. Even overwatered potted plants can be a breeding ground, so be sure to dump the saucer under them.
9. Restrict the use of ground cover that attracts deer. Japanese barberry shrubs are warmer and more humid than other plants, creating an environment where ticks can thrive and reproduce!
10. Keep cats and dogs out of the woods and brush.
11. Keep playground equipment, decks and patios away from yard edges and trees and, if possible, place them on recycled rubber mulch in sunny areas. Keep wood piles away from gathering places.
Other tips to keep yourself and family safe include applying EPA-registered insect repellant on exposed skin and clothing according to the instructions on the label. And cover up. Wear long, solid and light-colored clothing with pants tucked into socks. This will help prevent ticks from getting under your clothes and attaching to your skin. Be sure to check and inspect to remove ticks from your clothes before going indoors. Wash your clothes with hot water and dry them using high heat for at least one hour.
At the end of the day, you may need an expert. We specialize in Tick and Mosquito control with 100% Organic, Effective Options. Family owned & operated and located in Sussex County, we have achieved success and grown our business by being proactive and using a multi-pronged approach for tick & mosquito control. We treat your yard like our yard. We discover and treat areas that most other control companies overlook – areas such as under decks, rock walls and mulch beds where ticks and mosquitos live and breed. By partnering with you, we can tailor a program specifically for your yard and get the results that will allow you to Take Back Your Backyard and enjoy the outdoors again!
Contact Anne today for your free Quick Quote – 973-362-022 or www.backyardbugbusters.com
This post is sponsored by Backyard Bug Busters.