Mosquito Control: How to Cut Mosquitoes in Your Yard and Avoid Bites

You step onto the patio at dusk and get bitten before you sit down. Mosquitoes can make a yard hard to enjoy, and a few of them carry disease. Some of the mosquitoes biting you probably hatched in water on your own property, where you can find it and dump it. This guide shows you how to find where they breed, protect yourself from bites, decide whether a yard spray is worth it and avoid gadgets that waste money.

How mosquitoes breed

Every mosquito starts life in water. Females lay eggs on or near standing water, and the larvae (often called wigglers) live in the water until they become adults. In summer, the trip from egg to biting adult can take a week or less. Some eggs laid on dry surfaces can wait months for water to reach them, then hatch after a rain or a hose spill.

That means any container that holds water for a week can produce a fresh batch of mosquitoes: a clogged gutter, a forgotten bucket, a saucer under a flowerpot.

Mosquito-borne disease risk

In the continental United States, West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease. Mosquitoes pick it up from infected birds and pass it to people through bites. Most people who get infected never have symptoms. Some get a fever with headache or body aches. A smaller number develop severe illness that affects the central nervous system, and recovery can take weeks or months. The risk of severe illness goes up with age, certain chronic conditions and a weakened immune system. There is no vaccine or specific medicine for West Nile, so preventing bites is the main protection.

Mosquitoes also spread other infections, including dengue and malaria. If you are traveling, check the CDC’s travel guidance for your destination.

See a doctor if you develop a high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, confusion or muscle weakness after mosquito bites, especially if you are older or have a weakened immune system.

How to avoid mosquito bites

Repellents are the most direct protection you have.

1. Pick an EPA-registered repellent. The CDC lists six active ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD) and 2-undecanone. Look for an EPA registration number on the label. Used as directed, these products are considered safe, including for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
2. Apply it to exposed skin or clothing only. Never put it under clothing or on cuts and irritated skin.
3. Do not spray your face. Spray your hands, then rub it on, staying clear of your eyes and mouth.
4. Protect children carefully. Put repellent on your own hands first, then apply it to the child, and keep it off their hands. Do not use OLE or PMD products on children under 3. Cover strollers and baby carriers with mosquito netting.
5. Wash it off with soap and water once you are back inside.
6. Reapply as the label directs. Sweat, physical activity and swimming all shorten how long a repellent lasts.

Clothing helps too. Loose, long-sleeved shirts and long pants make it harder for mosquitoes to bite. Clothing and gear treated with permethrin kill or repel mosquitoes and keep working through several washes. Permethrin goes on fabric, never on skin.

At home, keep screens on windows and doors in good repair and keep doors closed. Citronella candles may help a little on a still evening outdoors, but their reputation is bigger than the evidence behind them.

How to get rid of mosquitoes in your yard

Work through these in order. The first two steps matter most.

1. Walk the yard once a week. Look for anything holding water and dump it, cover it, flip it or throw it out. Check the side yard, behind the shed, under decks and inside play equipment.
2. Fix the water you cannot dump. Clean gutters, seal rain barrels, fill tree holes, keep pond water moving and stop overwatering.
3. Treat water you must keep with Bti. Products made with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (often sold as floating dunks) kill mosquito larvae and do not harm people, animals or plants. They do not kill pupae, so expect a few adults to emerge right after you start. Read and follow the label.
4. Encourage natural predators. Native plants and a healthy yard support dragonflies, birds and other animals that eat mosquitoes.
5. Consider a one-time adult treatment only when needed. A single treatment before an outdoor event can make sense when mosquitoes are bad. Outdoor sprays and foggers give only temporary relief because new mosquitoes fly in or hatch.

If your neighborhood has a mosquito problem that goes beyond your yard, your local mosquito or vector control district may treat public areas, answer questions or supply mosquito fish for isolated ponds. Never release mosquito fish into natural streams or lakes.

What does not work well

Plenty of mosquito products promise more than they deliver.

• Bug zappers and UV light traps kill large numbers of insects, but most are not biting mosquitoes. Some of the insects they kill eat mosquitoes, so zappers can make things worse.
• Ultrasonic and electronic repellers have not been shown to work. Plug-in sound devices and similar gadgets are not a substitute for repellent.
• Repellent wristbands are on the same list of products extension specialists consider ineffective.
• Continuous-release systems that put out small amounts of insecticide around the clock are not recommended by UC IPM.

Barrier sprays: DIY vs professional

Barrier (or perimeter) sprays are insecticides applied to shrubs, other plants and surfaces around the house where adult mosquitoes land. Most contain pyrethroids, synthetic cousins of the natural insecticide pyrethrin. Depending on the product, residues last a few weeks.

What to weigh before you start:

• They do not touch the source. If water keeps breeding mosquitoes, new adults replace the ones you kill, and some species fly in from miles away.
• They harm helpful insects. Pyrethroids are toxic to many beneficial insects, and bees and butterflies visiting treated plants can be affected for weeks.
• Scheduled spraying all season adds up. A few common pyrethroid ingredients are also classed as PFAS chemicals, and the long-term effects of repeated yard use are not yet known.
• The same concerns apply to DIY sprays. If you apply a yard spray yourself, read and follow the label, keep it off flowering plants and away from water, and see our guide to using pesticides safely.

When to call a professional

Removing standing water is a DIY job and the place to start, though some mosquitoes fly in from elsewhere. A licensed company makes sense if:

• You have done the weekly water check and still have heavy biting.
• Your property has water you cannot manage yourself, such as storm drains, catch basins or large ornamental features.
• You are hosting an outdoor event and want a one-time treatment.
• Someone in the household is at higher risk from mosquito-borne illness.

A good visit starts with an inspection. The technician should walk your yard looking for breeding water and tell you what to fix before anything gets sprayed. Questions worth asking:

• Are you licensed or certified to apply pesticides in this state?
• Do you inspect for standing water and use integrated pest management?
• What is the active ingredient, and can I see the label and safety data sheet before you spray?
• How long does it last, and what happens if it rains?
• How long should people and pets stay off treated areas?
• How will you protect bees and other pollinators, and any pond or stream nearby?

Our guide to choosing a pest control company covers licensing and contracts, and pest control costs helps you compare a one-time visit with a recurring plan. Mosquito season overlaps with tick season in much of the country, so read our tick control guide if you spend time in tall grass or wooded edges.

Mosquito questions

Why do mosquitoes bite me more than other people? Some people do seem to get more bites. Whatever the reason, a registered repellent applied as the label directs, and reapplied after sweating or swimming, is still your best protection.

Do I need to spray if I already dumped the water? Usually not. Outdoor sprays give only temporary relief, so keep up the weekly water check and save a treatment for an outdoor event or heavy biting that continues. Our seasonal pest calendar shows what to check each month.