Pest prevention is a combination of botany, entomology, lawn, garden, and landscape maintenance, and craftsmanship. If you can handle these basic tasks, you can do it for yourself. The botany and entomology part is not that complex. Note that bugs and weeds like to have certain things in their environment. They need water and food and protection.

Insects like cover and food, and water to survive, and if you deprive them of the things they like to eat, places to hide, and the water they need to live, they will go away and look for more hospitable accommodations. Spiders like bugs to eat, if the bugs go away, the spiders go away. June bugs like certain types of light, deprive them of the light, and they will go away, without laying the eggs which would become the grubs that eat your lawns root system, and attract moles, skunks and armadillos. Eliminate standing water, and mosquitoes have no reason to stick around.

Exclude weed seed from your property, mow frequently, and most of the weeds that are there, will die out without being able to reproduce themselves with seed. Others may require manual removal, or other forms of treatment to get rid of them, and avoiding the practices that reintroduce them will prevent them from coming back.

In other words, the science you need for pest prevention is simply knowing what the bugs and weeds need to survive.Changing the habitats and habits that provide them with what they need to survive is a function of good lawn, garden and landscape practices.

If you do the work that needs to be done to the outside of your property, you will solve most of your homes pest control problems, which will reduce the number of insects trying to get into your home.

If your home becomes the source of food, water and cover for insects and arachnids, the same rules apply. don’t leave anything for them to eat, don’t leave anything for them to drink, and stop them from coming inside, and the battle is won. To stop them from coming inside, you need to practice the art of exclusion. Exclusion is where the craftsmanship part of the equation comes into play. It involves plugging holes, repairing screens, sealing cracks, and repairing weather stripping. It is really as simple as that!

If you want more details on the specifics of what needs to be done to be bug and weed free, start with: Prevention Starts Outdoors

See our newly re written Bugs and Weeds website home page.

The success of pest control has a direct relation to the success of disease control. Our ability to prevent disease, is directly connected to our ability to prevent pests.

The connection is painfully obvious when we look at the names of some of our most notorious and most feared diseases like the avian flu, (bird flu) and some of the diseases transmitted primarily by pests, such as malaria, and dengue fever, transmitted by mosquitoes, and an endless list of diseases carried by flies, fleas, and cockroaches, to name only a few.

Pest control and disease control in under developed regions

In under developed regions, these diseases are difficult to prevent due to insect problems which are themselves difficult to prevent since the technology for pest prevention,  pest control, sanitation, and such advancements as equipment for draining swamps has not kept pace with the human population.

In developed countries, the problem of disease transmitting pest is less obvious, but still real. The threat is always present, and only a system failure or two away from rising up and destroying.

Pest treatments and disease treatments alone will not work

Our chemical pest control methods will go only so far, good pest prevention techniques will provide far better results in the long run. Our disease treatments will only go so far, unless we get rid of the cause of the disease. Keeping the same habits, will only produce the same results. Prevention is the answer for both. In fact, preventing pests will almost eliminate the disease problem in most cases.

It should be remembered that the use of DDT in our own country once destroyed bedbug populations to the extent that an entire generation or more was free of them. With it’s removal from the market, a gradual return of the tiny creatures has been experienced. Preventive measures were never really put into effect on a wide scale.

Evidence that chemicals alone do not work can be seen in areas where DDT is still used, but insects and disease still prevail. In such places, treatment for insects, and treatment for disease will never win unless wide scale prevention becomes the focus.

There are many openings in a home, these are a few of the ones we should be concerned with when it comes to pest control. The bugs inside your home come from somewhere. They come into your home from the outside.  Keeping bugs outside is a matter of excluding them by sealing all the potential inlets. What are these inlets? We list a few of them below:

Weep holes

Weep holes are brick mortar joints without the the mortar. There purpose is to provide ventilation and drainage for the area between the interior and exterior of the home. It is important to keep these holes from being blocked by dirt and debris. It is also important to keep mulch away from these openings. Note that this one has grass and debris inside.

Plumbing and electrical openings like the one pictured below, should be sealed. Insects and spiders can make their way through the smallest of openings and into your home. This one has an opening that a pencil could fit through.

Door and window casing cracks should be caulked or otherwise sealed periodically. If they are not sealed they will become a doorway for pests to come inside.

Vents like this soffit vent provide ventilation for our homes. The one pictured here is screened on the inside to prevent pests from using it to get into the home.

Communication cables like this television cable and phone cables provide another opportunity for insect invaders to attack.

Although rain gutters are not openings, they still have an effect on pests. Insects like to make homes in the gutters when they become full and clogged, and they will eventually make their way into your home. Clogged gutters will cause rot and rot leads to holes, and holes lead to invasion! This photo is a good argument for keeping trees trimmed away from the home.

For a more detailed list of what you can do to keep bugs out of your home see Bug Prevention in the Home or, Prevent Bugs At Home

With the proliferation of mosquitoes of a variety of types, carrying a wide variety of diseases, and the proliferation  of natural mosquito control products, it seems to be the right time to remind people of the most natural mosquito control method, mosquito prevention. With the increase in blood borne pathogens which mosquitoes are known to carry, comes an increased risk to the safety of the public. Sadly, the emphasis seems to be placed on the wrong side of the issue, focusing on treating the symptoms, rather than solving the problem.

Malaria is the worlds number one health crisis, Dengue fever threatens two fifths of the worlds population, is epidemic in Mexico, and is present in the lower South Eastern states in the U.S. While mosquito prevention, and thereby disease prevention may be impractical, or impossible in many of the worlds tropical and coastal areas, it is possible in most parts of the U.S.

We all know that mosquitoes carry West Nile Virus, Malaria, and a variety of other diseases which can be passed on to humans and animals, besides that, they hurt when they bite, and they are a general nuisance. This page will provide some advice on natural mosquito control to help you keep yourself and your family safe. The prevalence of disease makes every step to prevent mosquito problems an important step in public health and safety.

What is natural mosquito control?

The most natural mosquito control is the same as the most natural control for any problem, that is, prevention! This is done by changing the habitat from a place that they can use for living and reproducing, to one that makes living and reproducing difficult for them by denying them what they need. Any mosquito control system should start with mosquito prevention. It should be the first line of defense, and without it, all other methods are doomed to failure. All other mosquito control methods are secondary. Sprays, nets, foggers, and even exclusion will fall short. All the flavor of the day, newfangled contraptions in the world will not solve your pest control problems! Sprays, electronic devices, potions and spells can’t help if prevention is not given it’s proper place at the beginning of the program.

Mosquito control using prevention

Mosquitoes, like any other type of pest, like certain habitats. In the case of the mosquito, they need:

• Water for larvae to hatch and grow.

• Cover to hide in.

• Blood for the female to reproduce.

If you eliminate any of these, mosquitoes will not be able to reproduce in your area.

How to do it

Water:

If you have puddles of standing water, buckets, tubs, or any other receptacle for water on your property, mosquitoes can find it, and use it against you. If receptacles are the problems, dump them, and make sure that they can no longer hold water. If the problem is standing water in low spots or puddles, provide a way to drain the water either through surface drainage, that is, fill the low spots and holes, or sub surface drainage, such as a french drain, or a pipe drain with a catch box. If you use the catch box and pipe drain, make sure that the grade on the system is consistent, so that water doesn’t accumulate in the pipe. This could cause mosquitoes to use it as a basin, and become a home for other pests.

Don’t just look at the ground, there are other areas which might hold enough water to encourage mosquito populations such as home gutter systems, which should of course, be cleaned and maintained frequently.

If the water problem is a pond or lake on your property, the problem is not only water, but also cover. This is a problem I see on a regular basis. It has less to do with water, than with cover.

Cover:

If mosquitoes are exposed to natural predators, the predators work very well as a green mosquito control method. If the predators can’t get to them, they can’t eat them. If you have brush and weeds around your home, it gives mosquitoes a place to hide from the things that like to eat them. It also gives them a place to find small animals for the blood needed for reproduction. If you eliminate hiding places like brush, weeds and high grass, you will drastically lower the population by exposing them to predation by their natural enemies.

If ponds or lakes exist on your property, you obviously do not want to drain them to get rid of mosquitoes, but you can reduce the amount of cover available. High weeds, and shallow water around the shallow edges of a pond should be removed. If filamentous algae, or pond scum as it is commonly called cover a large part of the body of water, the mosquitoes have a perfect habitat. They have water easily available for producing young, they have blood available from the animals that come to the water to drink, and they have cover in the water for protection from the fish who would otherwise dine on them! Skimming off the algae, or otherwise eliminating it will remove the cover, and and allow the fish to do their job.

Blood:

The female needs a blood meal to produce offspring. That may often come from you! Sometimes it comes from small animals. Reducing the availability of water and cover, reduces the numbers of small animals present to feed the hungry female.

Off site mosquito problems

If you paid attention to the mosquito prevention information above, and followed the suggestions, most of your problem with mosquitoes is gone. There are however, other circumstances that can allow mosquitoes to be a problem for you and your family, and some of them may not be within your means to control. This could include such problems as swampy areas on adjacent properties, or ponds and lakes that exist nearby, and are not properly maintained.  Even if this is your situation, you should still do the work mentioned above, which will still eliminate most of the problem, and then concentrate on the things you can do about your off site problem.

Neighbors and Officials

Talk with the people who own the adjacent property about the problem. Do this before contacting public health officials. See if there is something that can be done by the owner before involving officialdom. If not, that is your next step. Encourage them to practice long term control rather than short term controls like pesticides. It will cost them less in the long run. If they are reluctant or obstinate, explain the health and public safety issues involved.

Prevention is the most natural of natural mosquito control methods because it denies them what they need to thrive and reproduce, and exposes them to natural predators like birds, bats, and fish. These natural predators are the next step in our mosquito control system, biological control.

Biological mosquito control

Biological mosquito control is the next best step in green mosquito control, after we have used the best prevention methods. You have modified the habitat to work against the mosquitoes, now, you should modify the habitat to work in favor of their predators. This can be done by providing shelter and other encouragements for such predators as birds and bats. This can mean providing food sources like natural, native plants that birds enjoy, and a source of clean water like a fountain, or a well maintained, non stagnant bird bath. Bats require the same things. Bird and bat houses differ, but are fairly easily attained.

Botanical, or organic mosquito control

Unfortunately, this is what most people think of when they think of natural mosquito control. Botanical, or organic products are a great addition to our green mosquito control arsenal, but they are not the main line of defense. Prevention is the first step, biological controls or predation is the second, and only after these methods are effectively used can you hope for success with botanical or organic mosquito control. The use of such things as citronella, or some of the commercial products designed for insect control has a place in the system. These products can be used in a couple of ways. They can be sprayed in areas where mosquitoes might have cover, and may have some preventative effects when used in outdoor living spaces, and they can be used in misting systems. Such misting systems are falling under more careful scrutiny these days, but when used in conjunction with botanical products other than pyrethrins, should pose little problem to your health, or the health of your soil. Still, with any system, there are costs, and possibly collateral damage.

Other natural mosquito control methods:

If you have followed the stages outlined above, you should not have any unmanageable mosquito problems at this point, however, if you have not followed them completely, or other extenuating circumstances exist, these tips will help.

• If you have problems with mosquitoes inside your home, you should read the section of this site which deals with exclusion, and make sure all entryways for insects are sealed or screened.

• If you have trouble in outdoor living spaces, mosquito netting for exclusion fans to improve airflow, and citronella torches will provide a degree of relief.

• If you have standing water that cannot be drained immediately, some light mineral oil can be sprayed evenly over the standing water from a spray bottle to help break the reproductive cycle.

There are other natural mosquito control practices that can help you on this website. Most of the information that applies to other insects applies to mosquitoes as well, so have a look around.

If you have a problem with mosquitoes inside the home, this tutorial on how to prevent bugs at home might be helpful.

How To Prevent Bugs At Home

Most of this sites pest prevention information focuses on the interaction of plant and animal life, how they work together, and how to prevent them from working together to prevent weeds and bugs at home and on your property. Sometimes it can be beneficial to break this down separately as well, so we want to talk about a single issue, how to prevent bugs at home. Our focus will narrow a little bit, but remember, that there is always interaction between bugs and weeds and brush and all the other factors on and adjacent to your home and property.

To prevent bugs at home, particularly to prevent bugs from coming into your home is a matter of exclusion. Making sure that they have no way to get inside is how it is done. We want to offer some suggestions on just how to do this.

Homes have openings.

Homes have openings. How well those openings are sealed, determines how well you can prevent bugs at home, and how many pests will get inside. This article will help you to find those week spots in your defenses, and strengthen your homes border against the invaders. The more attention to detail that you give at this stage, the less likely it will be that you have unwanted visitors!

It is a necessary fact of life. You have to breathe. Stop doing it for more than a couple of minutes, and you are a goner! Your home has to breathe too, and In order to breathe, in order to allow entry for pipes and cables, in order to vent heat and harmful gases, there have to be openings in a home.

The primary openings are:

Vents:

• Attic Vents: For dissipating heat.

• Soffit Vents: For dissipating heat.

• Plumbing Vents: For dissipating fumes and allowing the air needed for proper function of drainage systems.

• Range vents: For dissipating the heat and smoke from cooking.

• Hot gas vents for ventilating the hot gasses from gas hot water heaters.

• Dryer vents for dissipating the hot air from clothes dryers.

• Fan vents, for removing nuisance odors from bathrooms.

• Weep holes are small vents for allowing the drainage and drying of condensate from natural heating and cooling in the walls of your home, to prevent mold.

Other openings:

Power, communication, and transmission lines and pipes:

• Air Conditioning Condensate drains: Very often, these are small copper pipes through the walls of the home. These allow the removal of moisture from air conditioning units.

• Plumbing pipe openings: Allowing plumbing into your home; In most cases today, this is done through the floor of the concrete slab, but sometimes in other areas for homes on blocks or pier and beam construction.

• Electrical lines. To allow electricity transmission: These are most often at the upper portion of an outside wall.

• Cable communications lines: For satellite or cable line entry: The location can vary.

A home with out some forms of ventilation would soon destroy itself. A home without electricity, plumbing and communication would not be much fun!

So, how do we accommodate all these holes in our homes, and still keep little critters out? Well, that is what this is about.

How To Close The Border:

• Vents:

Before central heat and air, there were devices in homes to allow for the adjustment of temperature through the use of ventilation. We still have them in most homes today where they often serve as nothing more than vestiges of the ancient past. These were known as windows. Often the doors were used for the same purpose in the summer.

How did they manage to open these ventilation devices without allowing bugs in? This was accomplished through window and door screens. Taking a lesson from the past, we might consider the use of screens over the vents. Most home builders now screen vents, but there is always a chance, and you should check yours. Sometimes some are omitted by accident. I have seen a number of cases where rodents gained entry through dryer vents, and then chewed through the vent hose to get to the cheese and crackers. Write yourself a note to periodically check these vent screens for clogging.

• Other openings:

For other entry routes into the home, pipes and cables, will need to be sealed using another ancient technology: Caulk. A tube of high quality caulk is one of the best tools in home pest prevention. Seal around those entries on the outside of your home. Even the very small cracks and holes. You might be surprised just how small an insect or a rodent can become when it is hungry, thirsty, hot dry, wet or cold. When you are done with the outside of your home, you are not done!

On the inside of your house, you should do the same thing. Give special attention to plumbing drains. Very often a box was used to to form around the bathroom piping for the plumbers to make all the connections. If this area is not filled before the walls are completed, there will be exposed soil on the inside of the wall. Most pretreatments for termites will lower the chances of anything coming into the home through these openings, but occasionally some do. If you have easy access to these areas through a pipe chase, filling the area with mortar or some other hardening substance is a good option, if not, the first time that a repair is made to your plumbing requiring a plumber to open up a wall, you might be able to do it. Otherwise, make sure that the inside wall is sealed well.

• Caulking around doors and windows, inside and out should be checked, and resealed if needed.

• Door sweeps should be checked and replaced if they do not reach the floor, or do not go all the way to the edges of the door.

• All weather-stripping around doors and windows should be checked.

• All screen doors should be in good order with no holes. The same is true of window screens. Look for a good fit. Check the window surface to surface seals where they open, make sure the seal is tight enough that the bugs can’t crawl between.

To see some photographs of typical problem areas, see: Bugs | Stop Them From Coming Inside

What else can you do?

OK, now you know how to prevent bugs at home, what else can you do? A lot! The more pests you stop from coming into your lawn, the more you can stop from coming into your home. If you stop them before they get to your lawn, you raise your chances of winning even more. Check out Prevention Starts Outdoors to get started, and don’t let pests get your best!