Mosquito Control Gordon's Bay

Gordon's Bay is a harbour village tucked into the corner of False Bay, with houses stacked up the mountainside and holiday flats near the beach.

Mosquitoes in Gordon's Bay

The wind keeps mosquitoes in check in Gordon's Bay most of the time, but they appear on still evenings in late summer. They breed in pot saucers, blocked gutters, pool covers and water features, especially at holiday homes left unattended.

We find and treat breeding water around the house and shady resting spots. Homes lower down near the beach and the stream mouths see a few more after a wet winter. They rest in shady shrubs by day and come out at dusk, so window screens in bedrooms help too. Pool covers that collect rainwater are an easy source to miss.

Homes are built up the slopes of the Hottentots Holland mountains, many with sea views, split levels and retaining walls. Holiday flats and apartment blocks sit near the beach and harbour, and many homes are holiday properties. Restaurants around the harbour bring commercial work.

From the technician

Restaurants and guest houses with outdoor areas lose evening trade when mosquitoes get bad. Treating resting areas and keeping water features maintained should be part of the summer routine.

Children tend to react more strongly to mosquito bites, with bigger swelling and more scratching. A net over the cot and screens on the bedroom window are simple, effective protection.

How to tell you have a problem

How the treatment works

Source reduction always comes first: we walk the property and find every place water collects, from gutters and drains to ponds, water features, plant saucers and covered pools, and tell you which ones to empty, fix or cover. Water that cannot be removed, such as ponds and drains, can be treated with a larvicide or insect growth regulator that stops larvae becoming adults. Adult mosquitoes rest in cool, shaded places during the day, so we apply a residual spray to the undersides of shrubs, hedges, eaves, patio ceilings and other resting areas. For events or heavy problems, ULV fogging can knock down adult numbers quickly, but it only works properly when combined with dealing with the breeding sites.

Stopping a repeat visit

• Store old tyres, tins and containers under cover or throw them away.
• Keep pool water circulating and treated, and drain the water that collects on top of pool covers.
• Empty pot-plant saucers, buckets, bird baths and pet water bowls at least once a week, because larvae develop into adults in about a week in hot weather.
• Clean gutters after winter so they do not hold water through summer.
• Stock ornamental ponds with small fish that eat larvae, and keep water features running.

What affects the price

Cost depends on the size of the property, how many breeding sites there are and whether larger water bodies such as ponds or drains need treating. A once-off treatment is priced differently from a programme of visits through the summer season. Fogging for an event is quoted on the size of the area, and the quote itself is free.

Mosquitoes start building up once the weather warms in October and peak from December to March, especially after a wet winter has filled ponds, vleis and gutters. Calm, humid evenings are the worst, while the strong south-easter actually keeps them down on windy days. Numbers drop sharply when the cold, wet winter sets in from about May.

Questions we get asked in Gordon's Bay

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