Summer can be a wonderful time to enjoy the outdoors and let the outdoors in. With so much extra daylight its easy to enjoy all sorts of activities. That is, until the summer pests come along and ruin your fun time. Thankfully, using these few quick tips, it is still possible to still enjoy a perfectly good time at your outdoor picnic.

Insects Are Everywhere

It is inevitable that you will run face first into some sort of insects if you spend pretty much any time outdoors, but it doesn’t mean you have to like it. Thankfully, even though there are many more of them than there are of us, only a few have the real potential of ruining your party.

Flies

Flies are gross. They hang out around the trash pile, then fly by your lunch to take a bit with no regards to personal hygiene. Once flies have matured to their adulthood, it can be hard to keep them away, so the best thing is to limit the number of hospitable places for their young to grow up. One place to start is to monitor your trash. In the summer heat, trash can break down more quickly and become quite attractive to flies. If possible, don’t take the trash out too long before trash collection day so you won’t have flies breeding in last weeks leftovers.

Mosquitos

There aren’t many bugs more annoying than flies but mosquitos can be close. Along with flying around and being obnoxious, they like to feed on humans as their own personal buffets. Handling mosquitos effectively also starts by eliminating their breeding habitats such as small stagnant pools of water. Even something as simple as a leftover party cup with a bit of liquid or gutters that need to be cleaned out can become a mosquito haven. For bigger or more permanent water features, use mosquito dunks regularly or adding fish to a pond will eliminate mosquito larvae before they are big enough to breed.

Wasps

There are several wasps to be aware of during the summer but they each have a lot in common. A bee like insect with a narrow waist and an interest in sweet or savory foods is most certainly a wasp or hornet. Start by covering your trash cans so the pungent, vinegar like smells and sweet beverages won’t draw their attention. Some wasps can be attracted to raw meat, so when getting meat ready for the grill keep it indoors until the grill is ready. Scanning your outdoor area for wasps nests can also help reduce populations drastically. Never try to remove a hornets nest alone, but a smaller wasps nest can be taken out with wasp spray at a distance.

Ants

Like other outdoor bugs, ants take advantage of a situation. If there’s food to be had, keep it tightly covered and off the ground as to not draw their attention. Picnic blankets can be fun and romantic but they are a great way to bring ants to the party. So keep your food at table or at least lap height. And when it comes to your home, make sure you’ve applied a barrier so they don’t try to bring their party inside.

When insects become a real buzzkill, it can be time to call a pest control professional. We would be happy to suggest a few that we like and trust. Some can even handle other issues like rodents and more depending on where you live.