Protect Your Picnic

This is the time of year when folks here in Lexington get outside to enjoy nature. It is also the time of year when the most picnics are going to happen. But, as you probably know, you're not the only one who loves a good picnic. When you lay that blanket out or set food on a picnic table, you are ringing the dinner bell for bugs. If you're planning a picnic, we have a few pest prevention tips that will make it a better experience.

Mosquitoes are a pain, both figuratively and literally. If you want fewer issues with picnic-ruining mosquitoes, try these tips.

• Rub some oil of lemon eucalyptus on yourself and on items around the picnic area. Mosquitoes do not like this scent.
• Smoke is not an effective or healthy deterrent for mosquitoes, so we don't recommend citronella torches. But a few citronella candles can help ward off mosquitoes. Candles give off fewer toxins and just as much scent.
• One of the best ways to keep mosquitoes away and make your picnic cooler is to have a fan or two blowing on the area you intend to sit and eat.
• Having your picnic in the middle of the day can help you avoid bites. Mosquitoes are most active in the morning and evening.

Flies are an obvious picnic wrecker, but there are a few things you can do to keep them off your hamburger.

• Where you choose to have your picnic can decrease problems with flies. Choose a place that is well kept, and one that is away from trash receptacles.
• Keep food covered until it is time to eat. This will give those flies less time to find you.

Stinging insects, ants, and flies are all attracted to smells. Reducing these smells can keep them away.

• Keep your drinks inside cups that have a cover, or a cover and a straw. This will keep those fruity smells in. Stinging insects feed on nectar, and those smells will draw them to your picnic. And, of course, any smell of food will draw in ants and flies.
• Try to avoid wearing perfumes. These attract stinging insects and ants.

If you plan on going somewhere, choose a place that is well maintained and free of trash debris. If you plan on having lots of picnics and cookouts in your backyard, consider having Action Pest Control help you reduce mosquitoes, ants, ticks, fleas, stinging insects, and other pests that invade. Picnics and cookouts are great activities for spending time with family during the summer. Make these times safer and more enjoyable with pest control for your Lexington yard.