Mosquito season has arrived! Here are some tips from Cherry Hill’s Horsekeeping Almanac to eliminate or reduce mosquito-breeding areas around your yard and livestock areas:• Throw out old tires that tend to collect rainwater and make ideal mosquito-breeding conditions.
• Discard or empty tin cans, buckets, drums, bottles, wheelbarrows, or any vessel that can hold water.
• Fill in or drain any low spots that turn into puddles.
• Regularly check drains, ditches, and culverts to ensure they are clean of weeds and trash, so water will drain properly.
• Repair leaky pipes and outdoor faucets.
• Manage swimming pools or wading pools responsibly; turn plastic wading pools over when they are not in use.
• Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Clean and apply chlorine to swimming pools that are not in use. (Mosquitoes can breed in water that collects on pool covers.)
• Keep grass mowed and shrubbery trimmed around the barn and house, so adult mosquitoes will not find refuge there.
• Change water in birdbaths regularly so it doesn’t become stagnant, and empty plant-pot drip trays at least once a week.
• Keep gutters clean and free of debris and leaves so they drain completely.
• Flush fresh water through any barn drains at least weekly.
• Clean out and refill watering troughs at least once a week.
• Contact your local Extension agent for other suggestions suitable to your particular location.
Stay tuned: On Saturday I'll share an easy formula for a safe and effective bug repellent from Organic Body Care Recipes.
Melanie Jolicoeur, Associate Director of Marketing
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