When you are a pool owner, you will become an expert at swimming pool mosquito control. Unfortunately you won’t have much choice if you want to keep your yard and your pool mosquito-free. Luckily there are some things you can do to help control and prevent mosquitoes from getting too comfortable in your pool. Here are our top tips for how to get rid of mosquito larvae.
Continue reading to hear our mosquito control tips and how to prevent mosquito breeding sites from occuring again.
Life Cycle of a Mosquito
One of the reasons why you need to make sure that you kill mosquito larvae in pool water is so that they don’t make it to the next stages in the life cycle. In the larvae stage, they will not bite or cause harm to a human, but once they move to the adult mosquito, you have to be ready for some nasty mosquito bites.
The life cycle of a mosquito is quite simple; they move from eggs to a pupa to a larva to an adult mosquito. The interesting thing about the lifecycle is that this all takes place in standing water. If water is moving, it’s much harder for the mosquitoes in the early stages to survive. However, standing water is literally a breeding zone for a mosquito.
In their final stage, mosquitoes have the ability to transmit the west nile virus if infected itself. Just something as simple as enduring a biting can transmit mosquito borne diseases. Malaria, Encephalitis, Dengue Fever and all possibly transmitted by being bitten. It’s crucial that you prevent their ability to transmit and get rid of mosquitoes breeding grounds for your safety and for others.
12 Ways to Eradicate Mosquito Larvae in Water
1. Remove Standing Water
At the top of our list is the simple process of removing standing water. Sometimes you may take your pool vacuum out and set it on your deck. Without realizing the vacuum could have some water accumulated on it. This may not seem like a large amount of water, but it is certainly enough to attract mosquitos. Look in your children’s pool toys, planters, and pool equipment to ensure there is no water sitting there waiting for mosquitoes to breed.
Possible locations for stagnant water or standing still water include the following:
- Current ponds or previous pond areas
- Roof gutters
- Traps
- Ditches
- Aquatic fountain features
- Puddle areas
- Flower pots
- Backyard bird baths
- Clogged downspouts
- Rain barrel collections
- Watering cans
- Old Tires
- Marshes or puddles
- Drainage pipes
- Five gallon buckets or other containers
2. Pool Cover
You may want to consider purchasing a pool cover. A pool cover can go on your pool at night and keep the mosquito from laying eggs when the pool water is not moving. A pool cover can be lightweight and easy to put on and off each day. The pool cover will help against mosquitoes and other bugs as well. Just make sure that you don’t leave the pool cover on long enough to collect more standing water.
3. Trim the Landscaping Back
Most pool owners have some type of landscaping around their pool area. If you happen to have plants or bushes surrounding the pool, you will probably want to trim those back a bit. Make sure the area directly around the pool is clear of any vegetation.
The reason behind this is that mosquitoes like to live in these types of plants. The plants collect water, and they make another perfect mosquito breeding ground. If you can keep a separation between the pool and the plants, it will help to control the mosquito population.
4. Proper Pool Chemistry
Mosquitoes enjoy murky water. When your pool starts to get a bit green or grows some algae, you may notice that there are more mosquitoes trying to call your pool their home. We have said it before, and we will say it many times again, maintaining the proper pool chemical balance is essential.
You should be checking both the chlorine and the pH at least once a week. If you want to be certain that you don’t have any issues, you can check your pool chemicals more often. Chlorinated water is not going to be as ideal for a mosquito as water that has algae and bacteria already growing.
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5. Pool Enclosure
A pool enclosure is a much more expensive way to keep mosquitoes away, but it may be something that you should consider. Depending on where you live and what the mosquito population is like, a pool enclosure can be a great investment.
Most of the time, a pool enclosure will go over the entire pool and patio area. Not only does this help to keep your
6. Bug Net or Curtain
If you don’t have the space or the funds for a full pool enclosure, you can consider a bug net or a curtain. If you have a pergola or an awning around your pool, you can hang curtains or bug nets from these.
One good option is to choose something that can be rolled up and tied up during the day. At night when the mosquitoes start to come out and look around, you can drop the nets or curtains down and use them to keep the mosquitoes under control.
It may be hard to do this around your entire pool area, so this is a method that you may want to combine with some of the other options on the list.
Related Article: Learn the best ways to get rid of water bugs in pool water
7. Mosquito Repelling Plants
Some plants are said to keep mosquitoes away. Truly if you have a severe mosquito infestation, the plants will not make a difference; in fact, some people have said that the mosquitoes enjoy the plants they have put in.
This is not a fool proof method, but some people have had luck with the following plants.
- Basil
- Garlic
- Catnip
- Marigolds
- Rosemary
- Lavender
We recommend planting a few of these in plant boxes or planters around your pool area. You don’t need to have them in the pool’s exact vicinity, but keeping them around the pool in areas could start to help keep the mosquitoes away. Remember our advice about keeping plants trimmed as well.
A plant can be a place for water to start collecting as well. If you have had a hard rain see if your planters need to be drained out.
8. Bug Lights
When you turn your pool light on at night, the bugs will love it. In fact, if you want to see lots of mosquitoes start to show up around your pool, turning on the light is a great thing to do. However, there are certain types of lights that bugs are not as attracted to.
Yellow lights are often called bug lights because bugs are not going to seek out or see this color. The good thing about the yellow lights is that they won’t attract more bugs, but they also don’t do anything to prevent mosquitoes from spending time in your yard.
You may see a few less bugs when you use yellow as compared to white lights, but it is not going to do anything to keep the mosquitoes away.
9. Fans
Although mosquitoes are good at flying, they are not all that strong if the conditions get rough. If you have fans going, they will choose to find a more still area to settle. Fans can be large overhead fans, or you can put a few fans around your pool area that keep the mosquitoes away from the water.
Always be careful about the fans that you use and where they are located. Electricity and water do not mix, and you don’t want to leave electric fans too close to your pool area.
10. Keep Water Moving
Another great way to keep mosquitoes away is to keep your pool filter running. Of course, you will want to give your filter and your electric bill a break, but it is essential to keep the water moving. Your pool filter should run for a few hours each day to make sure that you are circulating and cleaning the water properly.
Some people find that by setting the filter to run for a few hours at night, it can help keep mosquitoes away. mosquitoes like very still water when they are trying to find the perfect location for their eggs. When the filter is running, the water is not ideal.
11. Natural Predators
Birds and bats love to eat mosquitoes. If you turn your pool lights on, you may see bats diving down into the pool to grab some mosquitoes. You will not want to encourage these other predators to come to live in your yard, but it may be a good idea not to discourage them.
If you see a few bats flying around, let them be. If you see extra dragonflies or birds, don’t discourage them from stopping in your pool for a quick snack.
12. Repair Septic Tanks
When we talk about removing standing water sometimes, you have to start to think outside the box. Standing water does not always mean a kids pool with water; it could mean your septic tank. Take a look at your tank and make sure there are no cracks or holes. If there are, the mosquitoes could be getting inside and creating their own breeding sites.
What Kills Mosquito Larvae?
Mosquito larvae can be killed by larvicides and predators as well. Some of the preventative measures that we mentioned will also help to keep the mosquito population down. For instance, if you remove standing water, chances are you are going to kill some of the mosquito larvae that are in place.
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The larvicides are a pesticide spray that will kill the mosquito larvae very quickly. Some also include This spray works to kill mosquitoes when they are in the egg, pupa, and larvae stage. It is not quite as effective once they get to the adult mosquito stage.
Larvicides are chemicals, and you should carefully read the packaging and decide how comfortable you feel about spraying these products on your property. Always pay attention to warnings that involve children and pets as well.
- Kills mosquitoes before they're old enough to bite
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How to Prevent Mosquito Larvae From Coming Back
With all the way to prevent mosquito larvae, it seems as though the most effective thing to do is to eliminate standing water. After all, mosquitoes need this water to survive and to grow their population. If you can make sure that you keep standing water away and keep your pool water moving, you will have a much easier time controlling the mosquito population.
Wrapping It up: How to Get Rid of Mosquito Larvae for Good
Hopefully, you now feel better equipped to get rid of mosquito larvae in your swimming pool. When you kill these larvae, you will notice that the mosquito population that year will decrease significantly. Of course, mosquitoes are part of the food chain, and we are not trying to eradicate them.
However, if you do not do your part as a responsible pool owner, you will deal with a large number of mosquitoes, and the situation could make your pool and pool area virtually unusable. Follow our steps, and you will have a much less itchy pool season!
For over 15 years, Sean Moore has been sharing his love and enthusiasm for swimming pools and hot tubs with everyone he knows. His goal is to help everyday people DIY their maintenance to save money by teaching how to properly take care of your equipment, safely and correctly balance chemicals, and extend the life of your water oasis.
Pricing on this page was last updated on 2024-04-19