Solutions for a Pest-Free Summer BBQ

Summertime is a great time for enjoyment with family and friends. The kids are off school and the weather is great for firing up the grill for a BBQ. According to statistics, nearly 80% of Americans like to host or attend barbecues during the summer season. Unfortunately, where there are lots of people, irritating insects are not far away.

There is perhaps nothing that can ruin a BBQ in a backyard or at a local park worse than an infestation of pests. Mosquitoes and other stinging insects are out and about, looking for blood. Then there are flies and ants arriving in droves towards picnic tables to get a taste of what's cooking. It's enough to make you want to quickly rush indoors.

Taking the proper precautions to make sure pests are kept at bay can be the difference between a successful BBQ and one that becomes an utter disaster. If you're worried about bugs ruining your plans, our guide below will help you to eliminate pests so you and your friends and family can enjoy yourselves without worry.

Identification

While there can be a number of different annoying bugs which can intrude upon a BBQ in your yard or at the park, the ones that are the most troublesome are the following:

Mosquitoes: Simply put, mosquitoes SUCK—literally. Mosquitoes have ruined many a barbecue with their blood-sucking ways and the summer is their prime time for feasting on us. When they swarm in large numbers around the evening time, it’s enough to make you want to just stay indoors and forget about grilling altogether.

Ants: Watermelon and other sweet goodies are common staples of BBQs. However, sweet-loving ants are also big fans. Best believe that if you don’t have the proper precautions in place to control these buggers, those ants will come marching in droves to eat up your food and deliver painful stings if they come in contact with your skin.

Flies: While they might not bite like ants and mosquitoes do, that doesn’t mean they aren’t terribly frustrating to deal with. Flies will come from miles away when they smell food or garbage and will intrude upon your BBQ shindig. They can be quite disgusting as whatever they land upon can be quickly contaminated and potentially carry disease. Nobody wants to deal with trying to swat these away all day during a BBQ.

As agitating as these pests are, there are ways to minimize their presence during your BBQ and enjoy yourself, however, it will take some planning and a control plan. That’s where we come in! Solutions Pest and Lawn would like to share with you the following tips so you can enjoy your time outdoors and grill those burgers, hot dogs and steaks without worrying about insects flying about and making things miserable.

Inspection

If you notice that some pests have arrived uninvited to your gathering, an inspection of the premises may help you to gauge how big of a problem you have on your hands and where they are coming from which can be helpful when you carry out treatment applications.

Where To Inspect

Your yard and patio should be the main places to keep an eye on but move out beyond from where the BBQ pit and tables are set up and scan the area for possible nesting sites. 

What To Look For

You should be looking for pest activity or nests. If ants are the problem, then you may need to locate an ant mound that may be established on your property. If it's wasps that are showing up, look around for a nest that may be set up around an eave or corner of your home or a tree in your yard. If there are mosquitoes, scan for areas where there is standing water present.

Treatment

As agitating as these pests are, there are ways to minimize their presence during your BBQ and enjoy yourself, however, it will take some planning and the help of some insecticide chemicals. That’s where we come in! Solutions Pest and Lawn would like to share with you the following tips so you can enjoy your time outdoors and grill those burgers, hot dogs and steaks without worrying about insects flying about and making things miserable.

Put On Some Insect Repellent

Mosquitoes are most active during the evening hours so it’s best to plan a BBQ in the early afternoon hours. However, if you’re planning to host a BBQ before the sun sets, make sure you and your guests apply plenty of insect repellent. You can use a product containing DEET for your skin and for your clothes a product containing permethrin would be best.

At the bare minimum, do your best to avoid using scented items. However, there are some strong-smelling items that can repel insects like citronella candles and candles which smell like mint or cinnamon.

Ward off Pests by Treating Your Yard

Yellowjackets, mosquitoes and various other stinging insects will be drawn to the various smells that come with hosting a BBQ. The food, the charcoal, the sweat from playing outside, etc. To ensure the best possible time and the least possible interference from bugs, we recommend treating your backyard well before the party with Supreme IT.

You can also broadcast Supreme IT over your lawn and ornamentals so ants and other common pests will stay away. Supreme IT has an excellent residual, lasting for 90 days after treatment and can treat over 70+ different labeled pests.

Equip yourself with a backpack or handheld sprayer and get to spraying around the perimeter of your yard and patio area. If you don’t have the time but have the money, we suggest taking the convenient route by installing a mosquito misting system to your home and using Flex 10-10. Then you can easily time the misting system to perform a mist before the party and there will be no bugs when it’s time to fire up the grill.

Prevention

While applying pesticides is sure to scare off pests from your property, for long term prevention during the summer season, you should implement some IPM practices to make your yard a less appealing area for pests to congregate. A few things you can carry out so you won't have to break out the pesticides include:

Remove Stagnant Water Sources

Have a bird bath or wading pool or pond in your yard? This could be a prime breeding ground and gathering place for mosquitoes. Make sure to drain these sources to reduce the chances of those biting insects of gathering around. This can be especially important if it rained recently. You may have puddles or containers which accumulated standing water. Do your best to remove as much water as you can. If for any reason you cannot get rid of water sources, use a larvicide like Altoside Pro G.

Environmental Modification

This task should be done both indoors and outdoors to ensure those uninvited bugs mess up your good time. Outdoors, make sure to pick a nice well-landscaped area to hold the BBQ. You should mow the lawn, trim the hedges, and eliminated overgrown shrubs or weeds. Removing excessive foliage and leaf litter will help to keep insect disturbances to a minimum.

Make sure to fire up the grill in a sunny location rather than a shaded area. It may be uncomfortable, but insects love the cool shade as much as we do.

Indoors, make sure to check your door and window screens before the party and repair any holes in them. We would recommend if possible to serve the food indoors and have the guests eat outdoors, this way the bugs won’t hover around your food.

Bust Out The Fans

It’s summer so naturally, it’s hot out. To keep guests cool, it would be wise to bring out some oscillating fans. As an added bonus, these oscillating fans are great for keeping insects away, especially mosquitoes. Mosquitoes aren’t great flyers in the first place, and the added gust wind that fans give off will blow them away.

Clean up Well

Proper sanitation throughout the duration of the party will keep bugs to a minimum as well. Ants and flies are attracted to the typical barbecue staples, so make sure to take steps to keep food safe by placing them in tightly sealed containers or coolers. Additionally, be sure to pick up trash, crumbs, and spills from picnic tables immediately.

Key Takeaways

• Ants, Mosquitoes and Flies are the prime suspects that can invade summer BBQ gatherings and annoy people with their presence.
• We recommend spraying Supreme IT around your yard before your BBQ to ward off pests. You could also install a mosquito misting system as an option if mosquitoes are the main issue.
• Prevent pests from seeking out your yard with environmental modifications and proper sanitation of the area.