What Are Eco-Friendly Ways to Control Backyard Bugs?

"Just as the weather calls us to long evenings outdoors in short sleeves and sundresses, mosquitoes show up. At best, they’re annoying. At worst, they spread disease.

And then there are those terrifying ticks, which can be active year round.

To combat these bloodsuckers, companies offer a deluge of products and services. The problem is, some can harm bees, butterflies, moths and fireflies. Insects pollinate plants, provide critical protein for all kinds of baby birds and nourish the soil. Many insects are facing alarming declines.

But no one wants to be itchy or sick. In addition to covering up or dousing yourself in bug spray, what can you do?

Killing the wrong bugs

In the world of bug control, there’s a term for accidental victims: nontarget insects.

It’s clear that treating large areas with pesticides can kill or harm bugs other than mosquitoes and ticks. What’s less clear is the degree to which that happens.

“The nontarget insects have not been studied well enough,” said Doug Tallamy, a professor of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware and a leader in the growing effort to support ecosystems by planting native species in yards.

Dr. Tallamy and many nonprofit groups that advocate for nature, including the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and the National Wildlife Federation, recommend that individuals avoid spraying for mosquitoes and ticks. They point out that even a pesticide that is marketed as “natural” (for example, some sprays are derived from chrysanthemums) can still do damage.

“Cyanide is natural and organic too,” Dr. Tallamy said.

The National Pest Management Association, a trade group, defends backyard spraying, citing the importance of controlling diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks.

“Trained pest control professionals understand the specific challenges of each property and have the required expertise to create a targeted plan that effectively reduces mosquito and tick populations while minimizing impact on nontarget insects and the environment,” the association wrote in a statement. For example, technicians can avoid treating areas around flowering plants, which attract pollinators.

Beyond spraying, there are devices like bug zappers, which lure flying bugs to their death. But research shows they overwhelmingly kill the wrong ones.

There are also tabletop and clip-on products that diffuse or emit insecticides. While a study found that one such device did not appear to harm honeybees, the Xerces Society recommends against such products because of concerns about their potential impact on native bees and other insects.

Meet the ‘bucket of doom’

You probably already know Step 1 of mosquito control: Eliminate standing water, which is where mosquito larvae hatch and grow.

Clogged gutters, drainage pipes and flowerpots are prime offenders that people often overlook, said Aimée Code, pesticide program director at the Xerces Society.

And, she urges, enlist your neighbors. Effective mosquito prevention is a community effort.

To take it a step further, conservation organizations recommend a method that’s sometimes called “the bucket of doom.” Put water in a bucket along with some hay or straw to make it extra irresistible. Then, add a mosquito control dunk, which you can get at a hardware store. They contain a bacterium that kills the larvae of mosquitoes and some other aquatic flies with minimal additional effects.

(You could theoretically lure mosquitoes without the dunk and simply dump the water on pavement to kill the larvae. But, as Dr. Tallamy points out, this approach requires vigilance: “If you miss it by two or three days, you’ve just produced 10,000 mosquitoes.”)

Dunks also work in many places where you can’t eliminate standing water.

Daniel Markowski, a vector ecologist and technical adviser for the American Mosquito Control Association, said that these practices of prevention and mosquito dunks should be “critical components of all mosquito management strategies.”

For species like the Asian tiger mosquito, these practices can keep populations very low, Dr. Markowski said. But those that fly farther, like the salt marsh mosquito, can be harder to manage with these methods alone.

Another tried-and-true option: outdoor fans, because mosquitoes are poor fliers.

And finally, ticks

Ticks, like many beneficial insects, thrive in areas with trees, brush and long grasses. If ticks are a problem in your yard, you can create a barrier strip bordering wilder areas with gravel, wood chips or mulch (three feet is often recommended). Keep the grass short in the places where people hang out.

There’s a growing movement to “leave the leaves” in autumn to support beneficial insects. But if your yard has ticks, don’t do that in the areas you frequent.

Some pollinator advocacy groups recommend tick boxes. The boxes use bait to lure mice and chipmunks into a passageway, where they are brushed with the same kind of topical tick prevention used on dogs. Research has found these tools to be effective over time, but they can be expensive.

Dr. Tallamy recommends tick tubes, which are filled with insecticide-treated cotton, because they are cheaper, though they appear to be less effective. The mice take the cotton to their nests, where it kills ticks.

“It’s targeted in a way that doesn’t kill everything,” Dr. Tallamy said.

There’s no silver bullet for a bite-free summer. But a combination of strategies can help you, and all kinds of beneficial bugs, survive it a bit better." [1]

1. What Are Eco-Friendly Ways to Control Backyard Bugs?: Ask NYT Climate. Einhorn, Catrin.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Jun 3, 2024.