We bought a house last summer and it's great, except it's in North Dallas and has a terrible mosquito problem. We love the pool in the backyard but we basically can't use it after dusk because the mosquitos are so bad. I figure that now's the time -- before swimming season starts -- to do the work to eliminate (as much as possible) the mosquitos in our backyard, and I'm coming here for help. I'll describe what we did last summer, and then I'm open to your suggestions.

I have eliminated all sources of standing water in our yard. We water the grass early in the morning, but not too heavily so the water doesn't pool. We have a Mosquito Deleto that we run in one part of the yard, but I'm not sure how much of a dent it really put in the mosquito issue. Our backyard is mostly pool, but the southeast corner is heavily shaded and wooded. As I was doing some spring pruning last weekend, I noticed that the ground below the trees is mainly bare dirt and fallen leaves. There is irrigation back there and I suspect it was running last summer when we watered the grass. I suspect it was just feeding mosquito colonies back there, so we're going to turn off that zone on the irrigation. Should I mulch heavily back there? Will that help?

I did try spraying the yard and bushes, etc. with some stuff from Lowe's to eliminate mosquitos, but it was only barely effective, and for a pretty limited time. I've read about orange oil, but am not really sure that this is a cure, and would love to hear some more experience with it in regard to mosquito abatement. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give, my daughters would love to be able to swim later in the day if we can get this problem under control.

I know what you mean. We have a deck that we can only use during the month of April.

Mosquitoes can breed in hoses with water in them, pot trays, leaf cups, cut bamboo tops, birdbaths, undrained sprinklers, cupped rocks under a deck, and lots of other places you might not expect to find them. Take another look around your property. Every summer I find a different breeding place that I hadn't noticed before.

You mentioned that you water but not deeply. This might mean you water more often than monthly (cool months) or weekly (summer heat). If you can shift from shallow watering to deep watering, you might see some impact on the mosquitoes. The best watering scheme is to water for an hour or more all at once and then don't water again until the plants need it. This could be a month or a week. If it is less than a week, you need to water longer next time.

If your soil pools water, you could try putting a soaker hose out on a v-e-r-y slow trickle for a few weeks. Then wait for the grass to show you it needs a drink and try watering for an hour. It should suck it all up for you. If not, water for as long as you can, let it rest for an hour, then water again for as long as you can up to two hours. What you are doing by deep watering is training your grass to look deep for water. This builds tremendous drought resistance. Also by watering less frequently, you can break the life cycle of mosquitoes that might be multiplying in leaf cups that are always filled.

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David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

Another hidden mosquito breeding spot I found last summer was in the crotches of crepe myrtles!