Mosquito Control Methods 1. The term source reduction refers to altering habitats that temporarily hold water. Community mosquito control agencies do so by clearing culverts, stormwater collection structures, roadside ditches, etc., and by altering water flows in saltmarshes.
Homeowners can do so by preventing buckets, tires, and other items from collecting water.
One tire can produce thousands of mosquitoes in one Rhode Island summer. Because mosquitoes tend not to fly far, those produced in the yard will remain a nuisance to the neighborhood. Larviciding refers to killing larvae before they become adults. Community control programs do so by applying environmentally benign products to habitats that, for various reasons, cannot be drained. While homeowners can purchase Bti - an environmentally benign, slow release briquette product, generally, source reduction is the more appropriate tactic in the yard.