I’ve got a small back yard and need to do some mosquito control. It seems they’re everywhere now that it’s been raining again and it’s warm. I’ve read through your article but can’t decide if I should spray or fog. My yard is just under 5000 square feet and I’m only concerned about the back. The front is wide open with no plants or shade and we never seem to see mosquitoes there anyway. What should I do?

If you don’t have any standing water, the two options which would work well for your problem would be either spraying with a hose end sprayer or fogging with one of the small machines we have listed in our Mosquito Control article. Based on the size of your yard, either would work well. The difference would be in the cost when compared over time.

Since spraying takes more time and uses more chemical, it basically costs more to do on a regular basis. That being said, it doesn’t require the high cost of any special equipment to get started so it will cost less to do initially (less chemical and equipment investment money needed). But if you expect to be in the house for a few more years, getting an electric fogger that is used over this time period will provide enough of a savings to more than pay for itself. In the end, the fogging machine saves so much time and chemical that it makes sense to get when treating yards which are 5000 sq/ft or more.

Additionally, the fog does a much better job of covering all the plants and vegetation compared to a liquid spray. If you have a lot of plant growth, mosquitoes will be able to hide and avoid the liquid. This is not so easily accomplished with the fogging process.