I am at the edge of the Long Island Sound in Stamford, CT. For about 12 days of each month, a little salt water pools maybe 6 – 10 inches in depth after the tide drops. The other days of the month they get rinsed out by the tide. Are these likely to be mosquito breeding pools?

No doubt any visible pools you see or maybe some areas nearby, just a bit further away on the edge of the pools, could hold enough moisture to enable mosquito breeding. Remember, they only need 10-14 days to run through their life cycle so 12 days could be enough time for sure. And though there are just a few species that can breed in salt water, more common species like Asian Tiger mosquitoes, can do so in areas you’d never consider. Such areas typically lay just on the outer edge of high tide levels along the sea shore.

In the past, dealing with such problems has generally been tough because traditional pesticides are prohibited from being used around lakes, rivers, oceans, etc. But several years ago, Essentria IC came to market which is ideally suited for sensitive areas.

Made from food grade actives, Essentria can be misted or fogged over water and does a good job of controlling noseeums, mosquitoes, gnats and other biting pests. Use it with any of the foggers we have listed in our Mosquito Control article and you should be able to make sure these areas aren’t breeding pesky mosquitoes. For small areas, the FM6309 would do fine. For large areas, the Back Pack Mister Blower would be the way to go.

Essentria IC3: http://www.bugspraycart.com/exempt/liquid/eco-excempt-gal

FM6309:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/foggers/fogmaster-6309-120-v

Back Pack Mister: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/foggers/solo-mistblower-backpack