Mosquito and Tick Control: How to Protect Your Yard and Family

Mosquitoes and ticks are more than nuisance pests - they're vectors for serious diseases. Mosquitoes transmit West Nile virus, Zika, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Ticks transmit Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and anaplasmosis. Protecting your yard and family requires a combination of habitat reduction, treatment, and personal protection.

Mosquito Control

Eliminate standing water. Mosquitoes need standing water to breed, and they can breed in as little as a bottle cap of water. Walk your property weekly and eliminate all standing water: flower pot saucers, bird baths (change water twice weekly), clogged gutters, old tires, buckets and containers, tarps and covers that collect water, and low spots in the yard that hold water after rain. This single step reduces mosquito populations by 70-80%.

Barrier spray treatments: Professional or DIY application of residual insecticide to vegetation, fence lines, and shaded areas where mosquitoes rest during the day. Applied every 3-4 weeks during mosquito season. Professional cost: $75-$150 per treatment. DIY products (Cutter Backyard Bug Control, Suspend SC) cost $15-$30 per application.

Mosquito traps: CO2-based traps (Mosquito Magnet, DynaTrap) attract and capture adult mosquitoes. Effective as a supplement to other methods but won't eliminate a mosquito problem on their own. Cost: $100-$500 for the trap plus ongoing bait/cartridge costs.

Tick Control

Yard maintenance: Ticks thrive in tall grass, leaf litter, and wooded edges. Keep grass mowed to 3 inches or less. Remove leaf litter, brush piles, and ground cover near play areas and walkways. Create a 3-foot wood chip or gravel barrier between your lawn and wooded areas to discourage tick migration. Move swing sets, sandboxes, and decks away from yard edges and trees.

Tick tubes: Cardboard tubes filled with permethrin-treated cotton. Mice collect the cotton for nesting material, and the permethrin kills ticks that feed on the mice. Mice are the primary host for deer tick nymphs (which carry Lyme disease), so this targets the most dangerous stage of the tick life cycle. Cost: $50-$75 for a season's supply. Place every 10 yards around the yard perimeter in spring and late summer.

Professional yard treatment: Residual spray applied to vegetation, property borders, and shaded areas. Applied 2-3 times during tick season (spring, early summer, fall). Cost: $75-$150 per treatment. More effective than DIY for large properties.

Personal Protection

For mosquitoes: DEET (20-30%), picaridin (20%), or oil of lemon eucalyptus (30%) are the most effective repellents. Apply to exposed skin. Wear light-colored, long-sleeved clothing at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active. For ticks: Treat clothing and gear with permethrin (0.5%). Permethrin-treated clothing remains effective through 6+ washings. Conduct full-body tick checks after outdoor activity - check behind ears, hairline, armpits, waistband, and behind knees. Remove attached ticks with fine-tipped tweezers by pulling straight up with steady pressure.

Professional Mosquito and Tick Programs

Most pest control companies offer seasonal packages that combine mosquito and tick treatment. A typical package includes 6-8 treatments from April through October at $350-$700 total. Some companies offer mosquito-only or tick-only packages. If you live in an area with high Lyme disease risk, a professional tick program is a worthwhile investment for your family's health.