Is it possible for mosquitos to live in my rain gutters? we were seeing clouds of small bugs swarming above the front porch gutter. i got up on the ladder and it had a bunch of leaves there with what looked like 25-50 mosquitoes. they started landing on my too. I was able to remove the leaves and then sprayed a gallon of maxthor up there to make sure they were all dead. also saw some ants. I can’t get to all my gutters that easily but they are reachable with the hose end sprayer we got from you so I plan on spraying them too. we can’t sit out on the porch with the mosquitos this summer and we can’t figure out where they were coming from but now i’m wondering about those gutters.
Gutters are probably the most common place on any home insects will use to nest and breed. Most people spray the base of their foundation and that’s fine for local crawling pests. But don’t forget that many pests fly AND many end up gaining access to our rooftops via over hanging trees. From there, the gutters will be where they gravitate.
So even you keep your gutters clear of debris, most any home will have a few sections where standing water can sit after a rain. This happens because most all gutters will have a run or two that “bows” to the weight of water. This can be hard to see from the ground and it only takes a slight amount to let water pool. And then if leaves get into this area, you’ll have a swampy mix mosquitoes (and other pests) need to breed so for sure, this can happen.
In fact gutters combine everything insects need to be the perfect home. Most all gutters will be nice and humid, even when drained, and most any will collect some plant debris. Common pests that love to live and thrive in or around gutters include PALMETTO BUGS, ANTS, WASPS, SPRINGTAILS, CLOVER MITES and STINK BUGS.
We strongly recommend that everyone should spray their gutters as frequently as they spray their home’s foundation or siding. The main reason is that gutters are more likely to let insects “inside” compared to the areas where people tend to focus their treatments.
This happens because there is usually a direct route to the attic from any gutter. Just push up the over hanging roof shingles on your home and you’ll probably find a large gap between the fascia board and the shingle. And that gap will generally lead to the attic.
So if you have pests living in your gutters? It’s just a matter of time before some find their way inside. And this goes for small rodents too like BATS, SQUIRRELS and VOLES. From there, you’ll have issues develop in the attic and usually down into your wall voids too. We have many customers with springtails coming out of light fixtures and electric outlets and if they have these issues in a ranch home or the upstairs, it’s almost guaranteed the problem is stemming from their gutters.
The good news is that treating these areas is generally easy. Using our 6 GALLON or 20 GALLON Hose End Sprayers, you can direct a MAXXTHOR EC treatment onto the shingles just above the gutters. Let that treatment trickle down into the gutter and you should be good to go.
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