Frequently Asked
Questions
Mosquito Crush® is a registered trademark of Mosquito Crush, L.L.C.
How do your treatments eliminate mosquitoes and ticks from my property?
This is the most commonly asked question about our services. Our longest lasting and most effective treatment takes advantage of the daytime resting and feeding behavior of the adult mosquito in order to kill mosquitoes on your property and those that migrate from outside of your property. We do this by applying a treatment to trees, shrubs and tall grasses on your property where mosquitoes rest and feed during the day. When they land on the treated foliage, they come in contact with the dried treatment residual on the leaves and die. Mosquitoes migrating from other properties will rest in the same trees and shrubs and will be killed as well. We call this a "barrier treatment", and it will last for approximately 21 days. In order to eliminate future generations of mosquitoes, we use an all natural larvicide that kills mosquito larvae in standing water on your property. This larvicide treatment will eliminate the next generation of mosquitoes and break the mosquito life cycle.
For ticks, our treatment works to kill adult ticks present in your yard. For badly infested properties, we may apply other treatments as well to break the tick's reproductive cycle for the long term. Ticks spread many diseases that are carried by rodents, so a big part of tick control is to eliminate ticks at the larval stage of their development before they have the ability to become nymphs and spread disease.
How long does a treatment take?
Typically, treatments take 30-40 minutes, but it depends on your property size. Larger properties will take longer.
What do I have to do the day of my treatment?
We ask that you put your pets indoors and close all windows and doors during the treatment.
Do I have to be home during the treatment?
So long as our technician is able to access your property and all pets are inside, we are able to treat your property. When the technician is done, we will leave a note on your door indicating we treated and the time of treatment. We will bill you after the treatment by email or mail (your choice). Any information we need from you will be gathered at the time you sign up for the treatments.
How long do I have to wait before my family and pets can go back outside?
We ask that you, your children and pets remain inside for 30 minute after we complete your treatment. After 30 minutes, the spray will be dry, and everyone can use your yard as usual.
Does the weather impact your ability to treat?
We keep a close watch on the weather throughout the day. Weather may impact our ability to treat your property on your scheduled day. We may move your treatment day either forward or back depending on the forecast. We can not treat during rain showers and days with high wind. Rain will wash off the treatment if it has not had 30 minutes to dry. Once dry, rain has little impact on the treatments we use. Our ideal day is a calm, dry day. If it rains early in the day and clears up, we will be out a few hours after the rain stops. If rain is on the way later in the day, we will be out during the day before the rain arrives.
Do your treatments eliminate all mosquitoes on my property?
While it would be great if we could, we cannot eliminate all mosquitoes. Some can fly in from adjacent properties on any given day. Our barrier spray will kill them as they land on the treated plants during the day to rest and feed and has a repellent effect during the active times of the day. You may see a mosquito or two after we treat, but it will be significantly better. The most dramatic effect will be noticed within 24 hours of the first treatment, and the treatment will last for about 21 days. We guarantee your satisfaction and will work hard to ensure you have the best result possible.
Do the treatments get rid of any other pests?
Our barrier treatments are also effective against ticks, fleas and some biting flies. If you have a more severe tick or flea problem, we may add more specific targeted treatments for these pests to break their breeding cycle similarly to the way we use larvicides to eliminate mosquito larvae. If you have problems with these other pests, please let us know at the time you contact us so we can treat for the pests effectively.
What chemicals do you use and how safe are they for my children, pets and the environment?
We take your safety and environmental safety extremely seriously. We are only interested in eliminating target pests, not everything in the yard. We use several products for mosquito treatments:
The first product we use is an all natural product to treat around lakes, ponds, flowering plants and vegetable gardens. This spray is made of all natural essential plant oils that kills adult mosquitoes and acts as a repellent. It is safe for people, pets, aquatic life and pollinators. (See all natural Q&A below for more information)
For our barrier spray, we use synthetic pyrethrins. Pyrethrin is derived from the chrysanthemum flower and has been in use for over 100 years. The synthetic pyrethrins are called Pyrethroids, of which there are many, and came into use in the 1960's. The advantage of the synthetic version in mosquito control is that it has a residual effect, killing and repelling mosquitoes for three weeks. The chemicals readily break down after being sprayed by light and air and exhibit a very low likelihood of entering the water table because they bind tightly to soil minimizing run off and absorption. Pyrethroids are safe when applied in the labeled amounts for mosquito control for humans and pets. They are commonly used in pet shampoo, sprays, household insecticides and lice shampoos, We spray these products only on non-flowering plants and away from water due to their toxicity to fish and pollinators. We use our organic spray for those areas.
Lastly, we use larvicide in standing water around your property to kill the next generation of mosquitoes before they fly. The larvicide we use is a biological product that has no effect on humans, pets, fish or other aquatic species of plants and animals. The larvicide we use is Bacillus Thuringiensis serovar Israelensis, or BTI for short. BTI is a naturally occurring soil bacterium that kills mosquito larva when ingested. We will apply either a granular form or a larger biscuit shaped form depending on the size of the standing water on your property.
Is there an all natural, organic alternative treatment available for barrier spraying?
Yes. We offer an all natural alternative made of essential plant oils. These essential oils have been proven to kill and repel mosquitoes. This treatment does not last as long and needs to be reapplied every 14 days for effective control. We also use BTI, as it is a natural product, to treat standing water for mosquito larvae. While going organic is not as effective as our standard treatment approach, our organic clients say that it works "well enough" to provide adequate relief.
I live on a lake, are you able to spray on my property?
Lake living is all about being outdoors! We are able to spray lake properties using any of our programs. We will use our certified organic spray along the lakeshore keeping pests away from these areas.