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Ah, summer. That amazing time of the year when we spend long nights outside with friends and family, grilling, playing lawn games, and hanging out by the pool.

Sounds great, right?

It is... until a swarm of pesky mosquitoes ruins your relaxing outdoor oasis.

But lucky for you, dear Mantelligence reader, I spent the past two years of my life figuring out exactly how to get rid of mosquitoes.

In fact:

I spent so much time trying to figure out how to keep my backyard mosquito-free that I developed the MosGone Mosquito trap (more on that below).

And through developing this trap, I learned a TON about mosquitoes. With that... here are 6 tips to get rid of mosquitoes and take back your yard:

Step #1: Get rid of all standing water

This is, BY FAR, the most important step.

Mosquitoes breed in standing water. I have even read that mosquitoes can lay eggs in only need a soda bottle cap full of water. Crazy, right?

And while I do think soda-bottle-cap breeding grounds are unlikely...

...I know from experience that something as small as a plant saucer with water can create hundreds of mosquitoes.

But fear not... the solution is simple:

Pour out all standing water in your yard. Be especially vigilant after rain (and, of course, flooding). 

Here are some common places water collects in homeowner's yards:

  1. Plant saucers
  2. Kids toys
  3. Dog bowls
  4. Buckets/tires //trash/tarps left in the yard
  5. Bird baths
  6. Clogged gutters
  7. Leaking hoses (that cause pools of water)

Step #2: Get MosGone Mosquito Traps

Okay, yes... it is a shameless plug.

But I wouldn't be doing it if I hadn't seen firsthand (through 100+ experiments) how effective these traps are. I tested traps all of last summer... and it was the first summer I could enjoy being outside.

Here is how they work:

  1. Install your traps. Fill each trap with water and a MosGone Mosquito Drop. Then, create a perimeter of MosGone traps around your yard.
  2. Traps become irresistible to mosquitoes. After 48-72 hours, our proprietary MosGone Mosquito Drop will create an irresistible attractant to draw mosquitoes to your traps. PS: I know you're thinking... why would I want to attract mosquitoes to my yard? Read on to the next step...
  3. Mosquitoes lay eggs in traps ready with all-natural insecticide. Mosquitoes lay eggs in your trap, where our MosGone all-natural, essential-oil-powered insecticide kills the mosquitoes before they are old enough to fly out of the trap.

And here is, simply, why they work: 

Mosquitoes are going to lay their eggs somewhere (*cough* your neighbor's messy yard). Your goal is to make it so they lay them in your traps, where the mosquito eggs/larvae will die.

To put it another way:

Rather than kill a single mosquito or try to create an ineffective perimeter with sprays (that wash off in the rain), you can kill thousands of mosquitoes with MosGone traps.

That not only means thousands fewer mosquitoes in your yard, but it also means thousands fewer mosquitoes laying eggs in your yard.

In short:

You've disrupted their lifecycle... and it's time to get out there and enjoy your yard.

Click here to reserve your launch invite for MosGone mosquito traps.

PS... here is a fun video showing a few of the traps I experimented with:

Step #3: Sit next to a fan

Interestingly, mosquitoes are weak fliers. Sitting next to or underneath a fan can help deter mosquitoes from swarming you.

Now:

It's not a perfect solution. Mosquitoes will eventually figure out a way past this.

Regardless:

A fan will cool you down and stop mosquitoes from getting to you.

Step #4: Talk to your neighbors

In our suburban sprawl, many of us (myself included) are surrounded by neighbors. And while you want to keep things friendly, sadly, neighbors who have standing water are one of the biggest sources of mosquitoes for most homeowners.

Keep in mind:

Most people probably take good care of their yards and aren't intentionally breeding mosquitoes. Most people don't even know they are unintentionally creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

For example:

I went to one of my beta testers' houses to set up traps for them. Their house was beautiful outside (and inside) and well-maintained. Then I got to the backyard. They had kid's play structures (like a slide, a fort, etc.) full of water. There was a hollowed-out tree stump full of water. They had plant saucers with 2 inches of water.

I NEVER would have guessed that they would be culprits of mosquito breeding... but they had multiple (easy-to-fix) breeding grounds throughout their yard.

So what can you do?

Try politely talking to your neighbors and see if you can get them to pour out standing water. If you haven't succeeded with this, see Step #2 above.

Step #5: Don't have blood type O+, wear black, or drink alcohol

Okay, this one is mostly just for fun.

Why?

You can't change your blood type. If you're wearing black during summer, you have other issues. And come on... it's summer, so I'm going to have a beer.

But that said, studies show that avoiding each would reduce the likelihood of you getting bit:

  • O blood type. Research shows that mosquitoes are most attracted to people with O blood type. If you're that person who says, 'Mosquitoes love me,'... it might be because of your blood type.
  • Wearing black. Research shows that mosquitoes are most attracted to the color black. So, if you wear a black shirt... the little pests will be more attracted to you than your buddy (intelligently) wearing a white shirt.
  • Drinking alcohol. Research shows that mosquitoes are more attracted to people who have consumed alcohol.