Here at Mosquito Joe of S Brazos Valley, we ALWAYS let our customers choose what they want to do with their accounts. We don’t have contracts and we always let our customers make choices about when they want service and when they don’t. Having said that, we are here to advise and educate – one of the questions we get a lot is, “do we really need you guys in the winter?”

Mosquito activity is temperature-dependent and it’s pretty easy to guess our answer based on this information. Two things are required for them to hibernate: a week of temperatures under 55 degrees, or 3 deep freezes in a row. Until either of these things happen, the mosquito is a happy camper.

While it is true that higher temperatures drive the population up, the same can be true for stagnant water and moist soil. In the winter, the leaves and pine needles on the groundwork drive up this issue – keeping the ground from drying up and providing shade and moisture that mosquitoes love. Gutters tend to get clogged and hold water as well and we struggle to keep up with them as the leaves fall. For those with gutter covers, you are not safe either. The leaves and debris that land on top of the covers will get wet and break down. These particles form a nasty sludge in the gutters that often gets overlooked.

So, the short answer is yes, you need mosquito control in the winter here in Texas since our winter is mild in comparison to other areas of the country. You know you are in Texas when you get bitten on Christmas Day.

Since temperatures vary every year, Mosquito Joe will treat unless you don’t need the service – a good example is the snowpocalypse earlier this year. The temperatures were cold enough that mosquitoes were hibernating, so we let all our customers know they didn’t need service. But as soon as the temperatures hit that 55-degree mark, mosquitoes went back to normal, and we resumed service.

There are some things you can do to minimize issues in the winter, and they all involve yard maintenance (sorry):