A deck or porch is a great place to hang out in the summer and spend quality time with family and friends. You can have your barbecue party or just read a good book in the fresh air. But all of this can be ruined if your deck is overtaken by pesky mosquitoes.
When your deck is swarmed by mosquitoes, it gets annoying to even sit outside for more than a few minutes. Fortunately, there are many ways you can keep mosquitos away so that you can enjoy time outside, especially during summer and spring.
Here are effective methods that can help you keep mosquitos off the deck.
Fix the Drainage
It’s often easy to empty the water that collects on the deck, but it is hard to empty the water under the deck. If there is standing water under the deck, then it will most likely attract mosquitoes to the site. There are several solutions that you can try.
You can try putting sand under the deck as it will help absorb water and prevent mosquitoes from laying their eggs.
Treat Standing Water
You need to get rid of any standing water to avoid mosquitoes. Mosquitoes need standing water to lay their eggs. Standing water won’t just invite baby mosquitoes but it will also attract adult mosquitoes who are looking for a place to lay their eggs.
Look around the deck to locate any containers or children’s toys that might be collecting water. Spill out the water and turn the containers when not in use.
Clean Clogged Gutters
After getting rid of standing water from the deck, you need to check the gutters as well. The gutters above the deck could have standing water that is hard to see.
You can call in a professional to unclog the gutters and clean them out. Any standing water is an open invitation to mosquitoes and their eggs.
Maintain the Lawn
Mowing the lawn is necessary isn’t just necessary to maintain the grass but it can also help keep mosquitos away. When the grass grows tall enough, the mosquitoes rest and tend to swarm the porch.
If you keep the grass trimmed, mosquitoes will have fewer places to hide. Keeping the lawn clean and tidy is also important to avoid pests. You can call mosquito control services to spray around the property to keep mosquitoes out of your property.
Burn Some Incense
Like insect-repellant plants, incense also relies on mosquitoes’ sense of smell. Look for insect-repellant incense to keep away mosquitoes. When the incense burns, the smoke is unpleasant to mosquitoes.
If you are allergic to other insect-repellant sprays, then you can try incense. It’s worth giving it a shot to see how effective this method is.
Install Screens
If you still can’t manage to keep the mosquitoes away, then you can install a screen on the deck. Even though enclosing the porch with a screen is not the cheapest option, it is quite effective to keep the pests away.
If you are getting the screen installed, make sure to install screening under the deck floor so mosquitoes don’t fly up through space.