Environmental Health
Mosquito Control Around Your Home
Mosquitoes NEED stagnant or standing water to lay their eggs. To reduce the mosquito population around your home and property, reduce or eliminate all stagnant water.
Here's what you can do to control mosquitoes:
- Remove unnecessary water-holding containers, especially old tires, cans, buckets, drums, wheelbarrows, and bottles.
- Cover trash containers to keep out rain.
- Turn over plastic wading pools and wheelbarrows when not in use.
- Ensure that your home has tight-fitting screens over windows and doors to keep mosquitoes from entering apartments and homes. Be sure that all screens are in good repair.
- Clean roof gutters and remove standing water from flat roofs.
- Keep drains, culverts, and streams on your property clean of weeds and trash so that the water will drain properly.
- Make sure that stored boat covers are completely drained. Store small boats upside down.
- Drain the water in birdbaths, plant pots, and drip trays twice a week.
- Keep grass cut short and trim shrubs to eliminate hiding places for adult mosquitoes.
- Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, outdoor saunas and hot tubs. Be sure rainwater does not collect on pool, sauna or hot tub covers.
- Clean vegetation and debris from the edges of ponds.
- Fill in hollow tree stumps and rot holes that hold water with sand or concrete.
- Drill holes in the bottoms of recycling containers that are kept outdoors.
- Aerate ornamental pools or stock them with fish. Water gardens are fashionable but become major mosquito producers if they are allowed to stagnate.
For more information, call the Knox County Health Department at (865) 215-5200
