Pest Alert – Mosquitoes in Henderson County

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Mosquitoes can be bad in areas of our county. Unfortunately, there are no ‘environmentally friendly’ insectidal fogging options for the home. Fogging pesticides do reduce mosquito numbers but can also kill beneficial insects such as bees and ladybugs. Besides, even if you can control them in your yard but mosquitoes will just come in from surrounding areas. So individuals fogging their own yard is not a good option.

mosquito

County Spraying Program The county government does have a neighborhood-wide mosquito fogging program in some of the worst areas of the county. The county workers do time the sprays to have the least impact on beneficial insects. However, these neighborhood-wide applied insecticides do not discriminate between mosquitoes, bees, or butterflies.

Preventing Mosquitoes at Home There are a few things individuals can do to mitigate mosquitoes. Preventing standing water where mosquitoes can breed is the best thing homeowners can do. Keep gutters clean and keep rain barrels covered with screen. Seek out any standing water in your yard and empty it.
Mosquito Trap You can make a mosquito trap. Add a handful of leaves to about three gallons of water in a five gallon bucket. Add insecticidal mosquito dunks that contain the environmentally friendly insecticide BT. The female mosquitoes will be attracted to the water to lay eggs and eventually the larvae will die.
There are mosquito trapping machines. These emit an odor attractive to mosquitoes. I have watched videos where they catch thousand of mosquitoes. However, I wonder if you would not be attracting more mosquitoes than you would catch?
Avoid Mosquitoes You can avoid peak hours for mosquitoes. These insects inhabit the crepuscular hours just after sunrise and just before sunset. Avoiding these hours outdoors when mosquitoes are active can prevent bites.
Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors. It is recommended you wear light-colored clothes when spending time outdoors. Long sleeves and pants are recommended. They are also attracted to body heat, CO2 in breath and human smells.
The use a strong oscillating fan when sitting outdoors can reduce bites. Mosquitoes are weak fliers and the fan will blow them away. Also, breath and odors are dispersed making you harder to see. A good fan including a ceiling fan is very effective at keeping mosquitoes away from patios and porches.
Repellant Devices There are mosquito repellent devices such as Thermacell by Off. This machine emits a chemical that masks the chemicals that we emit that attract mosquitoes. I own a Thermacell and can vouch that it is very effective in a small area. You can also use items that burn such as citronella candles and torches as well as mosquito coils to repel mosquitoes and mask human presence.
Insecticidal Repellents Finally, use a repellant bug spray on your person such as Deep Woods Off or the Skin-so-Soft products. These can be sprayed on long clothing to avoid skin contact. Repellants are very  effective at reducing bites from mosquitoes.
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Written By

Steve Pettis, N.C. Cooperative ExtensionSteve Pettis, Jr.Extension Agent, Agriculture - Consumer and Commercial Horticulture Call Steve Email Steve N.C. Cooperative Extension, Henderson County Center
Updated on Jun 4, 2025
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