Here’s all the buzz about pollinator-friendly mosquito control
Georgia and mosquitoes. They go together like peanut butter and jelly! You’ve tried citronella, body sprays, and bug zappers, but sitting outside on a steamy Georgia evening still results in blood loss and itchy bites. In Georgia, mosquitos are most active from late spring through early fall, the very time your family and pets want to enjoy the outdoors. And let’s not forget about the diseases - affecting both humans and animals - carried by mosquitoes. What’s a frustrated homeowner to do?
Here in the hot and humid South, we’ve had to weigh the annoyance of not enjoying our yards, against worrying about products that could be harmful to children, pets, pollinators, and wildlife. At RED COAT PEST SOLUTIONS, we balance both challenges by offering unique mosquito control treatments for your home.
Here is how we do it:
PART I – Pre-Emergence
Our licensed technicians apply a special bait product to shrubs and other foliage before the mosquitoes emerge from hibernation (in Georgia, March is when this typically happens). When they first emerge, they need to eat their first plant meal for energy (contrary to popular belief, mosquitoes consume plant juices for food, and they drink mammal blood for reproduction).
Our pre-emergence product is all natural, garlic-based, and does not harm other insects or pollinators. However, it kills mosquitos when they eat the product, thereby greatly reducing the number of mosquitoes in the spring. By tackling the emerging insects early, the summer surge is significantly reduced. It is a mosquito preemptive strike!
PART II – Mosquito Knockdown
After the emergence from March through the end of October, we deliver our regular botanical and pollinator-friendly mosquito and tick yard treatments every two weeks. Our products are hand-selected, essential-oil based, and are bee, butterfly, and fish friendly. Just as important, these treatments are effective at eliminating pests on contact, and they continue to repel them from your yard for up to two weeks!
It is also important to note that, once each treatment is complete and dry, you and your family can return to enjoying your yard, with no worries about harmful chemical residue or harsh smells. You may notice a botanical fragrance but that will dissipate within a few hours.
For those who just have zero tolerance for mosquitoes might want to try the Traditional Full Season treatment. This option provides treatments every three weeks from March through October, but this is not a pollinator-friendly option.
A little background about mosquitoes and disease
The importance of controlling the mosquito population extends far beyond eliminating a seasonal annoyance. Understanding the life cycle of these infamous pests lends insight into why they bite and why those bites can be dangerous. The reproductive part of the mosquito life cycle - consuming mammal blood to lay eggs - is not merely bothersome to us. Those bites are risky to humans, pets, and wildlife alike.
Several mosquito-borne viruses circulate in Georgia each year and commonly cause disease in humans as well as animals. The most common mosquito-borne viruses in Georgia include West Nile virus, Eastern Equine encephalitis virus, and LaCrosse virus. Saint Louis encephalitis virus has also been detected in Georgia in the past.
Of course in pets, mosquito bites can be deadly. The most pressing danger that can come from a mosquito bite for cats and dogs is the potential for heartworm disease, a parasitic condition in which a worm, Dirofilaria immitis, lives in the blood vessels and heart of infected pets. This parasite can cause injury in your pet's lungs, arteries, and heart.
As terrible as all this sounds – biting, blood sucking, and disease, there is a sustainable and eco-friendly answer to Georgia’s age-old battle with the dreaded mosquito.
Does BEE Friendly sound too good to be true? It’s not. At RED COAT PEST SOLUTIONS, we are proud of the research and program design completed to bring you a pollinator friendly program. You can trust us to be here, year after year, to keep your space enjoyably mosquito-free.
Be Comfortable! Be Confident! Bee Friendly!
Visit us at redcoatpest.com
Phone 404.724.8999