Surprising ways you might be attracting mosquitoes

These days you're probably enjoying your outdoor spaces more than ever - and looking for ways to make them more comfortable, relaxing and fun for your family and friends when you get together. On top of upgrading your deck or patio, sprucing up your landscaping, and investing in some new outdoor furniture, you're also probably trying to reduce some of the common pain points that plague outdoor spaces - like too much sun, and too many pests.

A recent survey of 2,000 American homeowners found that 41% of them made more investments in outdoor pest control during the pandemic, and 69% planned to make even more use of their outdoor spaces as the weather continues to warm up. The survey, conducted by TruGreen in partnership with OnePoll, found that 42% of respondents anticipated that mosquitoes would be their biggest pest this year.

While nobody enjoys having mosquitoes hanging around their outdoor barbeque or picnic, did you know there are things you're doing that attract mosquitoes?

Here's how you may be inviting mosquitoes to your outdoor party, and what you can do about it:

• Drinking beer and wine. Mosquitoes are attracted to high levels of carbon dioxide, elevated temperatures, and lactic acid - which all increase in your body when you drink alcohol, especially fermented beverages like beer and wine.
• Serving sugary foods and drinks. Mosquitoes need sugar to survive, and while they prefer to get their sugar fix from natural sources like plant nectar, the scent of sugary foods like baked treats and sodas will also attract them.
• Wearing dark clothing. Dark-colored clothing retains heat more than light-colored clothing does, so choosing lighter colors will not only keep you cooler but likely less appealing to pesky mosquitoes.

What can you do to discourage mosquitoes from entering your outdoor space?

Bring in a professional. Partnering with a professional service for mosquito control can help you enjoy your outdoor living space to the fullest this summer - providing much more effective, long-lasting protection against those pesky party crashers.

Crank up the fan. Mosquitoes aren't the strongest flyers in the insect world, so they prefer not to fly into areas where wind or a fan is blowing around. Keeping a fan going outside, even if it's blowing warm air around, will help keep pests away.

Tidy up. Maintain a lawn clear of debris such as twigs, branches, and leaves to help prevent mosquitoes from making your home into theirs. Trimming overgrown vegetation will help prevent mosquitoes from hanging out, as they tend to prefer shaded areas.

While you can try some natural methods to help keep pests at bay, by far the best protection from mosquitoes is using a professional pest control service, allowing you to enjoy those long summer days and evenings comfortably outdoors!