Mosquitoes more of a bite for gardeners, not the garden
West Nile virus, dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis. Quite a long list of reasons not to like the mosquito, isn't it? Not to mention all the itching and inflammation caused by their saliva.
Though your chances of contracting most of these diseases in the United States are very minimal, nearly 6,000 confirmed cases of West Nile virus (the leading cause of arboviral encephalitis) occurred in this country in 2013 (60 of them in Pennsylvania). It's enough to make you want to run for the spray can. But an adequate understanding of these little critters can lead to better, more effective and safer methods of control.
Mosquitoes are not a pest of the garden, but, rather, a pest of the gardener. No doubt, they're high on the list of unwelcome guests at your next garden party. And, to bring that guest list to its hypothetical knees, there are more than 150 species that may call any North American backyard home. That's a lot of little red bumps.
Skeeters are actually true flies and spend most of their time feeding on plant nectar. It's only the females that need to supplement this diet with the blood of animals or birds. It provides the protein necessary for egg maturation.
After the eggs are fully developed, she lays them on the surface of stagnant water. Four to 14 days later, the eggs hatch into wriggling larvae and begin to feed on water-dwelling micro-organisms including fungi, bacteria and algae. The larvae then pass through several life stages (called instars) before pupating into an adult. Depending on the species, adults can live anywhere from a few weeks to several months.
Controlling mosquitoes starts with getting rid of standing water. Regularly empty and clean birdbaths, drain pot saucers and clean out clogged gutters whenever necessary. Stock water features with larvae-gobblin' fish and set up a pump to provide constant circulation.
Treat water barrels monthly with a “mosquito dunk” — a doughnut-shaped cake of the organic larvicide Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis). Hang a bat house (each adult can eat several hundred mosquitoes every night), put up lots of birdhouses for chickadees, wrens, purple martins and other insectivorous species, and encourage frogs, toads and dragonflies to take up residence by installing a buffer of tall grasses and native plants around ponds and streams.
And, if necessary, protect your skin with repellents based on oil of lemon eucalyptus, the only plant-based control recommended by the CDC. They're safe, effective and 100 percent natural.
Horticulturist Jessica Walliser co-hosts “The Organic Gardeners” at 7 a.m. Sundays on KDKA Radio. She is the author of several gardening books, including “Grow Organic” and “Good Bug, Bad Bug.” Her website is www.jessicawalliser.com.
Send your gardening or landscaping questions to tribliving@tribweb.com or The Good Earth, 503 Martindale St., 3rd Floor, D.L. Clark Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
