Mosquito Control

I want to clear a few things up about residential mosquito control. First off, it is the responsibility of the property owner to remove any source of stagnant water. This is the first and single most important step to controlling mosquito populations, controlling the breeding cycle. This is referred to in the industry as source reduction. In some cases, if you can effectively eliminate breeding sources around your property, you can avoid having to pay for chemical treatments. If you have buckets, wheelbarrows, tires or any other type of container that holds stagnant rainwater, empty them out and prevent them from holding water. Old tires can be discarded or sheltered, knotholes in trees can be drilled out, unused pools drained and covered, birdbaths dumped and refreshed periodically, etc. Some residences located near water bodies will have naturally unavoidable issues with mosquitoes, and thus require expert-applied chemical treatment.

The aim of any mosquito control protocol should be controlling the larvae, NOT the flying adults. Most companies use Talstar, which is a great, effective chemical with many uses, but as applied to mosquitoes is an adulticide that contains no insect growth regulators to control the larvae. So you have mosquito issues, hire a misting service, they spray the Talstar and knock the adults down. Talstar breaks down roughly within 30 days depending on conditions, making you dependent on a monthly service. The lowest advertised cost of 6 months of mosquito spraying for average sized yards in Halifax County is $270. My service, which utilizes insect growth regulators and could be effective in as little a 3 treatments every other month vs monthly at the start of mosquito season, would come out to $180. Insist on an insect growth regulator mixed with that Talstar, gauge the reaction you get from your current company. If they utilize them effectively, you will have no need for monthly spraying.

(Also, note that some companies use improperly trained, unlicensed personnel to spray yards during mosquito season. Always insist on seeing identification and getting their license number, then go online and compare it to the VDACS applicator database to verify. If the technician is operating alone and using someone else's number, it is against the law.)

On the In2Care pot baiting system:

The In2Care mosquito system is effective, but only if deployed properly. Please keep in mind that I am speaking from experience deploying this system under a previous employer throughout Halifax County. The system itself is ingenious, logical and effective: You fill a pot with water, install a floater ring that you rig with a pre-baited net, then drop 2 insect growth regulator tablets in the water. The problems start with ineffective placement and securement. If you put a pot out in the open, or even under a tree, it will overrun with rainwater and dilute the growth regulator and bait; rendering it completely ineffective. The pots I am familiar with have no sort of "roof" to protect them from rainfall, nor any practical way to secure them to the ground. There was many a time I came upon a leaking pot or an overturned pot when it came time to replenish them for monthly service; whether from a curious pet, a rambunctious child, or a strong-winded storm. Likewise with overfilled pots that obviously had lost all effectiveness with the dilution of the rain, and in turn ironically became mosquito breeding sources with live larvae tumbling in the pot. I constantly raised these issues with my employer, but all that mattered was pushing tickets through for profit. In2Care systems are only available to pest management professionals to re-sell to customers. If you subscribe to this service, do yourself a favor and monitor them. Force your company to come out and make it right; after all, it's your money and you are the boss. I myself do not and will not implement them unless I can improve upon the design so they function as advertised.