Tim's Tips: Keep mosquitoes and ticks away
With all the talk about mosquito-borne illnesses and ticks causing Lyme disease, you may not want to go outside of your home. But there are things that you can do in your own yard to help to reduce these two problems.Let’s start with the mosquito problem. Almost every yard can be a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs in areas of stagnant water. This could be a low spot in your gutters where water does not fully drain, or it could be that old kiddie pool that is sitting in your backyard. It could be a bucket left outside, an old tire, a water garden that does not have any fish in it to eat the mosquito larvae, a bird bath or a rain barrel.
All these areas are breeding grounds where eggs are laid and mosquito larvae hatch and turn into adult mosquitoes.
If you empty out these containers and put them away, you will decrease the number of breeding areas. In those areas where you cannot empty the water, there is a product called mosquito dunks. It is shaped like a small doughnut and contains a bacterium called Bti. This bacterium will only kill mosquito larvae. The dunks are placed in the areas with stagnant water. During a period of 30 days, it releases the bacterium that kills the mosquito larvae. Each dunk will cover an area of 100 square feet. By using this product in your yard, you can decrease the number of biting mosquitoes.
There has been an increase in the number of people who contract Lyme disease each year. You should apply an insect repellent whenever you are going out into tall grass or woods. The tick that carries this disease can also be in your yard. The ticks that carry this disease get it from the mice running around your yard. There has been a lot of talk about how to get rid of the mice in your yard. Have you tried to do this? It’s not an easy task. On the other hand, you could use the mice to kill the ticks.
There is a product called Damminix. It consists of biodegradable cardboard tubes filled with cotton balls. The cotton balls are treated with the insecticide permethrin. The tubes are placed around the yard where the mice will find the cotton balls. Cotton balls make great bedding material for mice.
The permethrin is released onto their fur, so when the ticks try to feed on the mouse, the insecticide kills the ticks. The insecticide does not harm the mouse. It turns the mouse into a mobile tick killer. Many of my customers have used this product over the years and they have seen a decrease in the number of ticks in their yards.
Damminix is applied in the spring and again in the late summer or early fall. Now is the time to get the tubes in place.
Now is also the time of the year when mice start to look for a place to spend the winter. I have talked to you before about a product called Mouse Magic. It consists of packets that you place around your home, shed, barns or any area where mice may want to nest. Each packet releases a scent that the mice find unappealing. It lasts for 30 to 45 days. If you start using this product now, you will be able to keep mice from nesting in your home.
Well, that’s all for this week. I’ll talk to you again next week.
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Tim Lamprey is the owner of Harbor Garden Center on Route 1 in Salisbury. His website is www.Harborgardens.com. Do you have questions for Tim? Send them to ndn@newburyportnews.com, and he will answer them in upcoming columns.
