The bees are in danger. They have been in danger, in fact, for a few years now. And while I hate the buzzing of a bee in my ear just as much as the next person, that’s no reason to kill the little guy.
Bees are crucial pollinators in our environment, and without them, we wouldn’t have avocado. And I know how much you ladies like your avocado toast and guacamole. In addition to avos, bees also help produce a variety of other foods in our diets such as apples, oranges, lemons, limes, broccoli, onions, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, cucumbers (and pickles), cantaloupes, carrots, and almonds. Not to mention all the flowers. Yeah, bees are kind of a huge deal.
So before spraying pesticide in your yard to get rid of mosquitos, it’s best to try a targeted and less invasive approach. Because there’s a difference between insects and pests, and it’s one that some pesticides cannot recognize. Not all insects are pests—some bugs (like bees) are actually beneficial, so it’d be silly to kill the good guys.
Now, mosquitoes, on the other hand… Those guys are pests.
Not only do they leave us itching and unhappy, but mosquitoes can also carry many different diseases, including heartworm for your dog(s), and West Nile and Zika virus. So, as mosquito season creeps into our backyards, be ready with the techniques below to get rid of these pests without exterminating our buzzing bee friends.
Eliminate mosquito playgrounds
One of the biggest things you can do without even using any chemicals is to take a survey of your yard to see if you’re inviting mosquitoes to come hang and breed. Mosquitoes breed in standing water, so you need to be especially mindful of any spots around your house that could be collecting water. Commonly forgotten things are kiddie pools, bird baths, planters, and chairs that collect puddles after it rains. If you have standing water around the home, it’s basically an open invitation for mosquitoes to come multiply. No bueno.
Try organic remedies
If you’ve got kids or pets that play in the yard often, you might not want to use a bunch of chemicals, whether or not they claim to be harmful. Instead of spraying (or paying someone to spray) who-knows-what in your yard, you can try some of the organic remedies first to see if they work for your situation. There are plenty of essential oil mixtures that work to keep the pests away. This article recommends making your own bug repellent soap: “Add 10-15 drops of essential oils per ounce of liquid Castile soap. Try essential oils such as lemon balm (citronella), pennyroyal, lavender, and rose geranium. Wash before and after spending time outdoors.”
There are five other homemade mosquito repellents here that you can try. Let us know if any of them work better than others!
Use targeted pesticides
If you don’t mind using store-bought chemicals, buy wisely. Instead of using an all-purpose bug spray, use one specifically targeted to the bug you want to kill. In this instance, you’ll want one that only kills mosquitoes. Many of the pesticides sold at grocery stores and big box stores, unfortunately, are all-purpose sprays and can kill our worker bees. It’s important to treat your insects accordingly, otherwise you’ll be doing just as much as harm as you are doing good. Look for a targeted mosquito treatment so that you don’t exterminate the bees too.
While we know it’s very important to keep the mosquito population under control and at bay, we like to use pesticide spraying as a last resort vs. just calling up the local Mosquito patrol as soon as the temps warm up outside. We find that keeping the yard breeding-unfriendly all year round really helps prevent mosquitoes from becoming a problem in the first place. What’s your answer?
