While you're doing a little spring cleaning this year, why not add a few steps to help reduce mosquito populations around your home?

Prevention is key when it comes to keeping mosquitoes at bay. Mosquitoes need only a small amount of water—as little as 1/2 inch—to complete their life cycle, so keep an eye out for and remove things that can hold small (and large) amounts of water. Anything that can hold water for more than five days could produce mosquitoes.

• Remove tarps, trash, containers, tin cans, jars, buckets, etc. 
• Recycle or dispose of old tires to eliminate potential mosquito habitats. 
• Dump water from items stored outside, including kiddie pools, wheelbarrows, birdbaths, and plant saucers. 
• Properly screen or seal rainwater harvesting containers. 
• Remove debris from rain gutters to ensure proper drainage. 
• Use a sump pump to remove standing water that may have accumulated under your home. 
• Maintain swimming pools and spas, ensuring they’re treated and covered when not in use (remove standing water on top of pool covers too!) 
• Screen vent pipes with a fine mesh screen.  
• Repair cracks in septic tank lids or chips in the risers. 

We are here to help!

If you are being bitten by mosquitoes or find areas of mosquito production that cannot be dumped or drained, let us know! Contact the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District at 707-285-2200 or request service online at www.msmosquito.org.

The Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District’s programs and services are funded through property taxes and benefit assessments and  are provided at no additional cost to all residents in Marin and Sonoma counties.

Help! There are swarms of mosquitoes everywhere! Or are there?

Spring is the time when nature really starts to come alive-the sun is shining, flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing, and the days are getting longer. Life is good, until the moment you walk into a cloud of insects, or worse yet, you find what looks like a mob of mosquitoes guarding your front door! Your good mood is replaced by an alarm in your head shouting, “MOSQUITOES, RUN!” The good news is that often these clouds of insects are harmless.

Marin and Sonoma counties are home to numerous insects that closely resemble mosquitoes. Springtime is when many of these insects emerge in large numbers, causing great alarm. These insects are quite easy to confuse with mosquitoes for two reasons: first, most people believe that mosquitoes “swarm”, when in actuality mosquitoes generally do not form giant clusters; and second, these insects actually do resemble mosquitoes.

In some areas, these insects have been found covering the sides of homes, breezeways, near front doors, and swarming over lawns and bike trails.

While these large swarms of insects can be annoying and cumbersome, the good news is that they are short- lived, so you may only notice them for a few weeks. However, if you live near large bodies of water such as a marsh or wetlands, they may persist longer. These insects do not bite or cause harm to humans, so the District does not control them. For more detailed information regarding these insects and how you might ward them off, visit our website.

If you do find that you are being bitten, contact the District at 707-285-2200 or request service online at www.msmosquito.org. It is possible that there may be standing water that is producing mosquitoes in your area.