Enjoying the Outdoors This Summer Without Mosquitoes

When spring and summer arrive, we begin heading outside to enjoy the warmer temperatures with family and friends. This might include grilling and barbecuing on the patio or in the yard, gardening, or playing outside. While ticks may become active early in the spring once temperatures are above freezing, warmer temperatures later in the year will bring more mosquitoes. Mosquitoes can transmit viruses that cause diseases such as West Nile virus encephalitis, La Crosse encephalitis, and eastern equine encephalitis, among others. When hosting an outdoor event, such as a barbecue or grill-out, or simply working in your yard, you can take a few precautions to reduce the risk of mosquito bites.

Remove standing water

All mosquitoes require water to complete the immature stages of their life cycle. Many types of mosquitoes can use man-made containers that hold water to reproduce. To prevent mosquitoes from multiplying on your property, search for any sources of water where immature mosquitoes might be living. Items that may hold water suitable for mosquito development include toys left outside, bird baths, water features such as ponds and fountains, open rain barrels, tree holes, tarps, buckets, and open trash bins. To prevent mosquitoes from developing and multiplying in these items, remove and put away any that can hold water. 

Protect and clean outdoor water features

For outdoor features that cannot be removed, are normally left outside, or are meant to hold water, such as bird baths, clean, empty, and refill them weekly. If possible, keep water in any permanent features moving to make these areas less attractive to mosquitoes. Rainwater harvesting barrels should conform to local regulations and standards; if none exist in your area, covering any openings with a fine-mesh screen can prevent adult mosquitoes from entering and laying eggs. Use a mesh cover at all rainwater barrel openings, along with other prevention measures to reduce the risk of mosquito breeding in rainwater barrels (Cloud et al. 2025). Water containers that must be left uncovered can be treated with granular dunks containing Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti). These may be available at some hardware stores, usually in a multipack and shaped like a small donut. These dunks can also be used to treat permanent water features such as ponds or fountains. Dunks containing Bti are specific to juvenile flies and thus only affect the younger life stages of mosquitoes, black flies, and fungus gnats, but will not affect other animals (EPA, 2025b). Remember to read and follow the label instructions when using any pesticides, as the label is the law.

Relax in screened-in areas

If you're planning on hosting a summer barbecue or get-together, consider relaxing or meeting in screened porches or enclosed tents. Screens in these areas can exclude biting insects. For both porch and tent screens, window screens, and any screens for rainwater barrels, conduct an inspection every year to ensure no holes have developed that could allow insects to pass through. This annual inspection and repair of screens across your property can help ensure mosquitoes and other unwanted guests do not enter the home or enclosed areas.

Use insect repellents

When working and relaxing outside, apply insect repellents to add another barrier between yourself and biting pests. Repellents and active ingredients such as DEET, picaridin, and oil of lemon eucalyptus, tested and registered with the EPA, will have an EPA registration number. These EPA-registered repellents are tested for safety and effectiveness against mosquitoes or other biting pests. An EPA registration number on a repellent may look like this: EPA Reg. No. 1234-567, EPA Est. No.: 12345-NJ-123. Many of these repellents may also help protect against ticks, which can spread bacteria and viruses that cause diseases such as Lyme disease. Read the label on your repellent to verify whether it has an EPA registration number, what types of insects they help protect against, and how to apply it safely and effectively (EPA, 2025b).

Another effective barrier against biting insects and ticks is long-sleeved clothing. Loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and pants reduce the number of exposed areas for ticks and mosquitoes to bite.

Check on mosquito and tick activity

Finally, being knowledgeable about common mosquito-borne and other vector-borne diseases in your area could help you better plan an outdoor event with precautions against mosquito bites. Usually, news outlets and public health agencies release publications when disease outbreaks occur. If you live in Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection maintains the Vector Management page to inform residents when ticks, mosquitoes, and black flies are active and when the risk of vector-borne diseases may increase (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, n.d.). Knowing when ticks and mosquitoes are most active can help with planning when to host an event. Following news on when biting insects and ticks are active and wearing long-sleeved clothing can also help protect against tick and other biting fly bites.

Working and relaxing outside does not have to come with annoying buzzing or a high risk of mosquito bites if you properly prepare. You can use many of the tips discussed in this article to help reduce mosquito bites every day around your home or when heading outside. 

References

Cloud, R. E., Mackay, A. J., Sanchez, M. C., Wangen, C. E., & Allan, B. F. (2025). Evaluating vector mosquito occurrence in residential rain barrels in central Illinois. Journal of Medical Entomology, 62(3), 545–551. Doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaf019

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. (n.d.). Vector management. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

Environmental Protection Agency. (2025a, June 2). Bti for mosquito control.

Environmental Protection Agency. (2025b, September 11). Find the repellent that is right for you. 

Disclaimer: This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number NU50CK000637 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.