The way we treat for mosquitos here in East Tennessee has been the same for a long time. Applying a product to kill the mosquitos in the areas which they land or rest has garnered good results for many years and it still does but it’s not without it’s problems. Enter the In2Care mosquito station.
Most people think that the problem is rain. The reality is that the sun is the biggest factor that deteriorates mosquito products through UV light. Most pesticides are photosensitive, that means they are affected by the sun. It deteriorates them. Rain can move the product away from the treated area but we can’t control the rain or the sun. This leaves us with a problem. The products we apply do work, The challenge is keeping the working. The backpack mister whom I dubbed “Mr. Mister” has a support plate made of plastic before we got the enclosed vans these misters lived in the bed of the bug trucks constantly exposed to the rain and the sun. After a couple of years I had to replace one of those units because that back plate was so brittle it would crumble if you touched it. All due to the sun and the rain. Mostly the sun. The same thing happens to pesticides when we put them out. So don’t feed me this line about pesticides in the soil for thousands of years, its bull. Max residual for most professional products is 3 months so that little can of Raid that says it last a year is full of malarkey. I like that word, malarkey.
By now I hope everyone understands that standing water is a huge factor when it comes to mosquitos especially here in Maryville, Alcoa, Knoxville, and surrounding areas. We like to store things outside like construction material, tires and equipment instead of being wasteful and throwing them away. Because of our climate here in East Tennessee, we have lots and lots of flowers, plants, and trees. Water is part of sustaining just about any kind of life. Whether the trees are shading an area causing it to hold water or the racing tire store behind the garage is holding water, they both can cause mosquitos. Mosquitos need water. Usually dirty and still water depending on the species in order to lay their eggs. After a while, those eggs hatch, pupate and become adult mosquitos. So the more water problems you have, the more mosquito problems you could have. This standing water could be a million different places including your clogged gutters or just low places in the yard. In order to fix something you have to get the source of the problem.
Herein lies the problem of how we do mosquito reduction. Standing water, where the problem is, cannot be treated with traditional products. There are some things you can put in water but how are you going to find all those locations? You can’t. Even then some of them will be off property and we can’t do anything about it even if we knew where they were. Enter the In2Care mosquito system. The In2Care station is basically a bucket of water that by color, design and odor, attracts the female mosquito to lay eggs in the water. There is material on the mesh and in the water that prevents the eggs from pupating into grown adults. Those are the ones that bite you. The females are the only ones that bite you by the way. The female mosquito gets the material on her from the mesh and transfers that to the other water areas that you can’t find or weren’t even on the property. She contaminates those and even the eggs laid by other mosquitos will also die. That’s getting at the source. The active ingredient in the In2Care station is non toxic to birds and mammals. They say on their website
“We make use of biological fungus that is only toxic to insects. The larvacide specifically targets mosquito larvae and is not toxic to higher organisms in this low concentration. For example, this larvacide has even been approved by the World Health Organization for use in drinking water.”
I wouldn’t trust that but, it gives you an idea how safe they consider it.
“Contaminated females will only spread tiny amounts of the larvacide, a few micrograms, to other artificial small bodies of water which limits any risk to other aquatic organisms and fish.”
So basically for us to use the In2Care system we have to get yet another certification. This ensures you that we know what we are doing and can do it safely. Even though a traditional mosquito treatment can be done safely, this new biological treatment is even safer. The one downside is it doesn’t do a thing for mosquitos looking for a blood meal. But, the female mosquito needs that blood meal to lay eggs so she will eventually visit the station. That means this treatment is a slow burn compared to a traditional treatment where you can see results immediately. However, the In2Care system is going to give the best results over time. As you can imagine, combining the 2 will give you the best mosquito protection available since they deal with the problem from different angles. It’s the 1-2 punch to bring your backyard BBQ back to sanity.
You wanna know what bugs me? Mosquitos. But I love to kill ’em.
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