Photo Album: Heavy Mosquito Problem in Edison, NJ
Water under gutter drain attracts mosquitoes
Conduct an inspection around your property to see where water is collecting.
Water on soil in Edison, New Jersey
With mosquito issues, I begin my inspection around the home's exterior looking for any type of container that can hold water. It can be anything - a tire, a child's toy, even a bottle cap can hold enough water for a mosquito to lay her eggs. Sometimes it's not water on the ground. I've seen stagnant water pooling along the roofline because of clogged gutters.
Water in trash can houses mosquitoes in Edison
During my inspection, I found several breeding areas that needed to be addressed. On one side of the hose, I found a condensation line from their ac unit that was causing water to accumulate in a shady area. This was the perfect storm for breeding the Asian Tiger mosquito.
Water collecting on drum.
Here is an obvious water collection area.
Water on slide.
I also found standing water in places that most homeowners would not even consider as containers. There was an unused sliding board and a barrel lid that had accumulated water. Often, containers are not as obvious as a wheelbarrow or a flowerpot. I tipped dover and emptied these harborage areas. I showed the homeowners what I had found and the areas on the property that needed to be corrected to avoid water collection. One particular mosquito bears mentioning. New Jersey is now home to the Asian Tiger Mosquito. With this mosquito, bites are more than a nuisance. Just like with ticks, mosquitoes can be a vector of many pathogens that cause diseases such as dengue fever and Eastern equine encephalitis. Fortunately, we have not yet seen locally transmitted Zika virus here in New Jersey. The Asian Tiger While most mosquito species will bite only at night, this particular mosquito is much more aggressive, and is both a daytime and nighttime feeder. It is often found in shady areas where it rests in shrubs nearby the ground. Like other mosquitoes, the females look for standing water as a breeding ground.