Scientific evidence suggests that mosquitoes lay eggs in standing or stagnant water. Those eggs develop to form larvae, which is a step ahead in the life cycle of a mosquito. If these larvae remain unchecked, they will grow to become hungry and biting adult mosquitoes which will invade your home, and possibly start spreading diseases such as dengue fever and malaria.
If you find mosquito larva in a water pool outside your compound, here are the 5 steps that you should take.
Table of Contents
1. Drain the water
Remember that eliminating the water is the best and most prominent way of dealing with mosquito larvae. This means that you have to know the source of the water that stands on your property and ensure that you deal with that completely. Look for the existence of puddles in your compound, and if there are puddles and it has not rained in recent times, that is a clear indication that you are watering. You have to reduce the water that you irrigate your lawn with and the puddles will get away naturally. Also, if you have birth baths, you should ensure that you change the water regularly, and if there are buckets that are left outside, turn them upside down to ensure that there are no water pools.
2) Use a Larvicide
There are instances where it’s almost impossible for you to drain stagnant water on your premises. There are places, such as your ornamental ponds where you will have some water standing. So using larvicide in those places should be the right thing to do. Larvicides ensure that mosquito larvae are killed, therefore leaving your water in pristine condition. The water will look pristine after adding the larvicide but remember that this will never be good for human consumption.
3) Vegetable Oil
Add vegetable oil or extra virgin oil to ensure that the larvae don’t develop. The thin oil level covers the water surface and this automatically suffocates the larvae and this ensures that the larvae are killed. This ensures that the growth and development of adult mosquitoes are controlled. But why does adding oil work? Remember that mosquito’s larvicides breathe uniquely and have snorkels which are located at their far ends. This is the reason why they mostly get congregated at the surface of standing water. If you cut off their supply, these larvae will die a natural death.
4. Chlorine Bleach
Add chlorine bleach and you can kill the mosquito larvae that are in your compound quickly and efficiently. After you pour the bleach, anything will soon be dead. However, you should do this in water that is not accessible to pets or other animals because this could kill them.
5. Add Cinnamon
Adding cinnamon is among the most environmentally friendly home mosquito control methods that anyone can use. This option works and is good for those who want to halt the development of larvae.
Conclusion
When you discover that you have mosquito larvae in a water pool situated within your compound, you might be wondering what to do. The right thing to do will be to think of how to stop the development of the larvae. The above 5 methods should help you control the development of the mosquito larvae effectively.