The most effective way to control mosquitoes is to eliminate or treat the standing water where mosquitoes lay their eggs and their larvae live and grow. If mosquitoes are a problem where you live, make sure that you are not providing breeding sites in your own yard. Most mosquitoes are poor fliers. If you are being bitten, they are probably breeding around your home.
Mosquitoes prefer to breed in all sorts of still water provided by artificial containers.
Running streams and creeks with any water movement or ponds with predators such as fish, frogs, or dragonflies are not good breeding sites for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes need only a few tablespoons of water to breed. The West Nile virus is a relatively rare disease in the United States. In a many cases there may be no symptoms or it may cause a mild illness with symptoms similar to the flu. On rare occasions in the United States, the virus causes encephalitis or meningitis that is serious for the elderly or for people with weakened immune systems.