By Dr. Nicky Gallagher, Technical Services Manager, Syngenta Professional Pest Management
After this year’s long winter, melting snow and spring rain will create desirable habitats for mosquitoes in areas such as flood plains and vernal pools. If you currently offer residential mosquito treatments or are considering entering the market, here are a few tips to prepare for a successful season:
- Check regulations and certifications: Familiarize yourself on your state and local regulations regarding mosquito control. To apply mosquito treatments legally, determine if an additional certification is required for your state. Understand your role in conjunction with other municipal control efforts, such as larvacidal treatments.
- Use proper equipment: The equipment you use to apply mosquito control products can be just as important as the product you select. Mist blowers are typically used for mosquito control, as they provide adequate coverage to vegetation. Proper equipment maintenance, such as cleaning and calibration, will ensure accurate product applications.
- Reduce mosquito breeding sites: Ideal places for mosquitoes to reproduce can include, but are not limited to, ditches, plant pots, gutters and fish ponds. Some of these areas can be treated with larvicides or insect growth regulators (IGRs). More importantly, however, will be a homeowner’s willingness to collaborate to reduce these breeding sites. They can contribute to the mosquito control effort by changing the water in bird baths and wading pools at least once a week, aerating ornamental ponds or pools and filling or draining swampy areas.
- Make appropriate treatments: You can use an insecticide for mosquito control by treating vegetation, such as trees, bushes and shrubbery, from ground level up. Be sure to treat the underside of leaves, foliage and brush. Identify and treat other areas typically used as mosquito resting sites, including under decks and near drainage spouts. Demand® CS insecticide from Syngenta Professional Pest Management features iCAP™ technology, which provides more than 10,000 microcaps per square inch of coverage for residual control of mosquitoes. Archer® insect growth regulator from Syngenta can be tank mixed with Demand CS, which causes mosquitoes to lay non-viable eggs and helps stop larvae from becoming adults.
- Manage customer expectations: Mosquito control is about managing mosquito populations and reducing the chances of being bitten, not ensuring complete mosquito elimination. Determine if you can meet the expectations of your customers and avoid any claims of complete mosquito control or disease prevention claims. If your customer is signing a contract, review the agreement to be sure it clearly states the objectives of the treatment and what responsibilities and obligations the homeowner has.
Caption: The University of Kentucky tested the effectiveness of Demand CS in consumers’ backyards. The number of mosquitoes landing on humans was significantly reduced in the first week of treatment, and stayed substantially lower for eight weeks.
The above suggestions from Syngenta can help you give your customers their yards back from the nuisance of mosquitoes. Please contact your local Syngenta sales representative or view the Mosquito Homeowners Brochure for more information.
©2014 Syngenta. Important: Always read and follow label instructions. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states or counties. Please check with your state or local Extension Service to ensure registration status. Archer®, Demand®, For Life Uninterrupted™, iCAP™ and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. Syngenta Customer Center: 1-866-SYNGENT(A) (796-4368).
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