SAN ANTONIO — Joshua Lien is the owner of Mosquito Joe of San Antonio. He's keeping busy this mosquito season. Not only did the season start early because of warm weather, but he says more people are stuck at home and thus spending more time in their yards.
The number one tip he gives to protect your yard from mosquitoes is eliminating standing water where they will breed. Water can collect in flower pots, clogged gutters, or even on kids toys left outside.
For standing water that can't be easily poured out, Lien says most home improvement stores carry products that can be used to treat the water that will kill mosquitoes.
The next step is applying barrier sprays to your yard. You can call the professionals for that, or do it yourself. But he says it's important to target the right areas.
"Places that are shady and out of the wind, so bushes, scrubs, any kind of ground cover, those are the places where mosquitoes tend to rest when they're not busy biting us," Lien says.
For personal protection in outdoor areas, Lien has two tips. First, cover up as much as the weather will allow. Long sleeves and pants will help protect you from mosquito bites. Second, he recommends any bug spray with DEET in it.
Lien says the biggest question he gets nowadays is whether or not mosquitoes can transmit the coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization, they cannot.
"It's my pleasure to be able to say, for all the discomfort that mosquitoes apply, that there's no evidence that they can spread the COVID-19 virus," Lien says.