We’re planning a family wedding to be held in our backyard and we’re worried about bugs, especially mosquitoes. When is mosquito season in Massachusetts because we’d like to plan around it for the comfort of our guests. L. P., Leominster, MA

Mosquito season in Massachusetts, and in every other state, takes place whenever there is standing, stagnant water that mosquitoes can lay eggs in. Any warm weather month, week, or day can be mosquito season if conditions are right. In most areas, mosquito “season” happens when there has been extended rain creating puddles and filling containers.

Mosquitoes need standing water to reproduce. Female mosquitoes lay their eggs either in standing water that has some organic material in it (dead leaves or grass will suffice), or they lay their eggs in dry sites that will hold water next time it rains. Larvae hatch and develop in the water and in just a few days time, adult mosquitoes emerge.

Do Your Own Pre-Wedding Mosquito Check

Your pre-wedding job is to eliminate mosquito season, at least from your own yard. Do a standing water check, looking for any kind of natural or man-made container that could hold rainwater: buckets, old tires, boats, bird bath, potted plant saucers, tree holes, wading pools, and so on. For a list of potential mosquito breeding sites, check out our blog, How to Eliminate Mosquitoes From Your Yard – Advice From the Pros.

Dump out these containers and position them so they can’t collect water in the future. Then look for ground depressions, puddles, and drainage problems. Any area in your yard that could hold water for 7 days or more can breed mosquitoes. Take these steps well in advance of your outdoor party so that you can reduce the numbers of adult mosquitoes that will be flying around looking for victims.

Also, contact a pest control professional. An exterminator can treat areas of your property just before the wedding to kill adult mosquitoes. And, if there are large areas of standing water on your property that can’t be drained and are breeding mosquitoes, exterminators can often treat them to kill developing mosquito larvae before they turn into adult mosquitoes. But the first and most important step in mosquito control is to simply remove the standing water where mosquitoes breed. Mosquito season may never begin if you are diligent.

Photo credit: Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org