Mosquitoes are a fact of life here on the Gulf Coast of Florida. They are as reliable as afternoon showers, high tide and snowbirds. Especially in the summer and early fall -the showers and mosquitoes, that is.

For centuries, Floridians have looked for ways to deflect our most populous biting insect. Mosquito netting, aerosol sprays, Avon products, certain odorous plants and more.

Those of us who have been here a while recall when the county governments used to send planes in the early mornings to blanket the area in a chemical mosquito repellant fog. Nowadays, those Mosquito Control officials are more apt to use low volume larvicide sprayed from trucks – and only in certain instances.

It seems even our sometimes slow-moving government systems are embracing safer, more environmentally sound means of treating for mosquitoes.

Thinking Inside the Box

One natural alternative is growing in popularity in the Sunshine State. First seriously proposed in Orlando back in 2018, installation of bat houses has slowly built momentum.

While most people associate bats with Halloween and vampires, the only flying mammals are  generally responsible for more good than bad. Yes, they sometimes carry and transmit rabies, but they also eat their weight in insects. And not just mosquitoes, but several of the more egregious agricultural insect pests.

On average, a bat will consume about 1200 small insects every hour, preferring meatier bugs like moths or beetles. Researchers say only 1% of a bat’s diet is made up of mosquitoes. That’s still a decent amount of mosquitoes eliminated without much effort.

Plus, it really is a win-win. While most bats in Florida would prefer to roost in caves, mature and dead trees, the loss of habitat as we take up more and more space has forced many bats to take up residence in buildings or other manmade structures.

Bird Feeders and Bat Houses

Bats prefer to squeeze closely together into tight crevices that are warm, safe from predators, and with a small amount of ventilation.

Installing bat houses in the trees in your backyard provides alternative roost sites for Florida's colonial bat species. It also helps to locate your bat house within a quarter mile of open fresh water. That will not only make it more attractive to the nocturnal animals, but gives them plenty of access to mosquitoes.

While there’s no guarantee that building a bat house will bring them to your yard, using well-thought out bat building plans will provide the best option.

Adding a bird feeder or two on the other side of your yard will bring in another natural predator to mosquitoes – and a daytime one that’s much prettier to spot outside your window.

Another affordable option is to invest in our No Bite Zones Mosquito Protection Paqs. This exclusive natural technology transforms biting momma mosquitoes into Vegans – and passes it on to their offspring.

Along with eliminating standing water, adding a bat house and bird feeder to a Mosquito Protection Zone means your backyard is as free of biting mosquitoes as any can be. Now you’ve got the perfect setting for a BBQ, picnic or just let your kids work off their excess energy after being in school all day.

For more details on the Mosquito Protection Program or our other environmentally and family friendly pest control solutions, just give us a call!