Dealing with mosquitos in Phoenix, Arizona

One of the things I love about living Phoenix, as compared to Minneapolis, is that there are no mosquitos, and it doesn't rain. Except for when it does rain (which is rare), and there are mosquitos. If you understand what I mean. My friends back in Minnesota would scoff at the tiny number of mosquitos that I get here, but I don't like them, so I deal with them.

Now calm down here, my garden doesn't have standing water. Of course not! It's been a very rainy month, and after each rain I go out and double-check that there's no standing water for mosquitos to breed in. I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about adult mosquitos, who don't need standing water, but are searching for blood. My blood.

Even the best-kept garden will have mosquitos after the kinds of rain we've had recently. At the risk of overstating the obvious, they can fly. They may have bred elsewhere, but they can hunt in my garden. And it's like dealing with flies, the best I can do is to discourage them, and try to get them to go elsewhere. So I spray an insecticide, selectively.

If you're one of those people who doesn't read labels, and just goes and dumps chemicals all over the place, please don't do this. I read labels, I measure, I select where to spray. If that sounds reasonable to you, then I recommend that you do that. Caring for a garden properly including dealing with insects.

I use a diluted solution of insecticide in a pump spray gallon container. Then I walk around the garden and spray everywhere, the plants, the artificial turf, even the garden furniture. Smells kinda bad to me, and I hope that it smells bad enough that if the mosquitos get a sniff of it they'll move on. No, you're not killing mosquitos, and no you won't be able repel all of them, but it's the best you can do.

A gallon mixture is plenty for my back and front yard. I spray it all out, and there's only the very tiniest amount that needs to be dumped, which I do in my yard, and it soaks in. I don't over-mix, and I don't dump out a ton of it to be drained into the storm drains. Over-using chemicals that drain into storm drains, and ultimately into the ocean, is a mistake that many people make, and it's the reason that many people shouldn't even think of touching chemicals. If you understand it, and can use it selectively, it's fine. You can spray anytime that's comfortable for you, day or night.

My garden is a welcoming place, but mosquitos are not welcomed!