Biting Insects: Beyond Mosquitoes

Anna Berry, technical director at B&G

Biting insects often are frustrating pests to combat. The pressure to resolve the situation is high, but often the only information we have to go on are the bites themselves. Because we’re not dermatologists, those bites will not tell us who the culprit is. Rather, consider the following:

• Outside, mosquitoes tend to get the blame for bites. But the source also could be a mite, a tick, a biting midge or even a biting fly.
• Know the habitat of the biting pest (or pests) you’re targeting. This will focus your monitoring and control efforts, leading to successful resolution.
• Remove harborages or make them less hospitable to pests. For ticks, keep grasses low. For mosquitoes, remove small sources of water.
• Use multiple control strategies. From IGRs to larvicides, fogging to exclusion, there are strategies that may not eliminate the entire population, but will eliminate a portion of it. There are so many great tools out there, and many complement one another.