As summer kicks off, now is the time to plan your pest-control strategy.Zbynek Pospisil/Getty Images
Ticks, mosquitoes and wasps are common nuisances at many a summer camp-out, hiking trip or backyard barbecue. Blacklegged ticks can transmit Lyme disease, while mosquitoes may transmit West Nile Virus. As for wasps, they can just be downright scary, even if you’re not allergic.
With blacklegged ticks expanding their range across Central and Eastern Canada, and a busy mosquito season predicted in many parts of the country, now’s the time to plan your pest-control strategy.
The experts recommend a two-pronged approach. Protect yourself against bites and stings, while incorporating population-control strategies to reduce the abundance of backyard pests.
Defend yourself against bites
Clothing is your first line of defence. “Things we stress are the importance of ‘defensive dressing,’ or wearing light-coloured clothing that covers arms and legs. Tucking pantlegs into socks adds an extra layer of protection,” says LeeAnne MacGregor, a program manager at Green Venture. The Hamilton-based environmental-education organization hosts a community garden and children’s nature camp.
MacGregor says participants are advised to check their clothing and exposed skin twice for ticks: first before leaving a site, and again immediately upon arriving home. Toss clothing into a hot dryer to kill any ticks that may have hitched a ride and hit the shower for another tick check while washing up.
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For maximum protection, reach for repellent products (which are applied to skin and make you less appealing to biting insects) or insecticide (which is applied to clothing and incapacitates insects on contact).
Public Health Agency of Canada recommendations include DEET (diethyltoluamide) or picaridin-based repellants for topical application; and permethrin-treated clothing for people over age 16.
While effective, these synthetic chemicals come with caveats. DEET can cause mild reactions such as skin or eye irritation in some people, although it has been widely studied and is considered safe when label instructions are followed.
Be cautious using DEET around expensive gear as it can damage plastic and synthetic materials. Keep it away from pets, too; it’s toxic to animals since they process chemicals differently than humans.
Some people prefer picaridin products — they are less oily and smelly and don’t harm plastic — but either way you should always wash your skin after using repellants once you’re back indoors.
If using permethrin-treated products, keep them out of reach of children and pets.
And what about naturally derived repellents? While Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE)-based products are proven to be effective against ticks and mosquitos, DEET and permethrin last longer.
Yard and garden pest-proofing
The other key is environmental control. Make your outdoor areas less attractive to ticks by mowing your lawn and keeping weeds, brush and leaf piles away from the lawn edge.
You can reduce mosquitoes by removing standing water, as this is where mosquito larvae develop: store watering cans and wheelbarrows upside down; change dog water bowls and bird baths at least twice a week; keep rain gutters clean, and take other preventive measures.
Natural products such as mosquito dunks are a lifesaver in rain barrels, bird baths, ornamental ponds and livestock watering troughs, since they’re completely safe for people, pets, birds and fish. (They’re enjoying a pop-culture moment in viral Bucket of Doom videos.)
“Mosquito dunks are highly effective,” says John Soghigian, assistant professor of parasitology in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Calgary. They rely on a bacteria called bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, or Bti, which kills mosquito larvae.
Running an electric fan can work wonders when it comes to mosquito-proofing a deck or patio. Fans hinder their flight, and may also disperse the carbon dioxide and body odours that help them find hosts to feed on.
Natural solutions that don’t work include spraying OLE products around your deck (it may harm plants), or planting so-called bug-repelling plants such as citronella, lemongrass or mint. They won’t do any harm, but the volatile oils that scent the air when we brush against them are not strong enough to dissuade ticks or mosquitoes.
“The oils you get from the plant can be effective, but one of the reasons the products that are made from them work is that they stabilize some of those chemicals and allow them to last a little bit longer,” explains Nicoletta Faraone, director of Acadia University’s Canadian Tick Research and Innovation Centre.
Living with bees and wasps
Given concerns around the declining numbers of beneficial pollinators, what’s best if bees and wasps show up uninvited? First of all, chill. MacGregor says we need bees — and, yes, wasps — around. “Native bees, European honeybees that have become naturalized, and wasp species all do important work to keep our native plants and food crops pollinated and producing. It’s important that we learn ways to live alongside these important community members,” she explains.
Honeybees that have taken up residence can be rehomed by a trained professional. A wasp nest in a high traffic area may have to be destroyed by an exterminator as wasps are territorial and will attack humans or pets who disturb them. Otherwise, the best approach with random wasps is to ignore them. Remove easy food sources by securing your compost bins and not leaving food scraps out.
But there’s more to wasps than meets the eye. Like bees, they’re pollinators, but “their biggest contribution to the garden is the work they do as predators, helping to keep other pests in-check,” says MacGregor, including aphids, houseflies and mosquitoes.
