Most British mosquito problems aren't tropical species — they're our native Culex and Culiseta, plus biting midges in the Highlands and increasingly the South East. They all need standing water to breed, and a single neglected water butt or blocked gutter can produce hundreds of biting adults a week.
Where they breed around an average home
- Open water butts without a lid or mesh
- Blocked gutters and downpipe hoppers holding stagnant water
- Saucers under plant pots, kids' paddling pools left out for days
- Ornamental ponds without fish or moving water
- Old tyres, wheelbarrows, buckets and tarpaulins collecting rain
What actually reduces bites
Empty or cover every standing-water source within 50 metres of where you sit out. Run a pond pump or add fish. Fit fine mesh to water-butt overflows. For evening use, a fan on the patio works surprisingly well — mosquitoes are weak fliers. Indoors, fit fly screens to bedroom windows you sleep with open.
When to bring us in
Persistent biting around a property next to a watercourse, drainage ditch or large ornamental pond often needs a site survey. We identify the breeding sites you can't see and treat larvae directly — much more effective than chasing adults.