I hate mosquito bites. I always have. But as a native plant gardener, a wildlife transporter, dog mom, and a grandmother, I knew that the "solution" most people choose—traditional chemical fogging—was actually creating a much bigger problem.

The Shocking Truth About Fogging

In 2024, Northern Virginia Bird Alliance (NVBA) Wildlife Sanctuary Program volunteers did a deep dive into the research to assess whether mosquito fogging can be a management tool in an NVBA-certified wildlife sanctuary. The impact is startling and shocking. The resulting NVBA brochure "To Spray, or Not to Spray" summarizes what works and what doesn't to manage mosquitoes. To dive into the details yourself, take a look at the 2024 peer-reviewed scientific research on the impact of pesticide spraying on the environment. We find that many people simply do not know how much the pesticides used in mosquito spraying negatively impact our environment. We are working on outreach and education.

The EPA's safety assessments for common mosquito sprays (pyrethroids) were based on one application per year. However, most commercial fogging services spray every three weeks—about 11 times a season here in Northern Virginia.

The Impact? Even at just one spray per year, these chemicals were found to reach "Levels of Concern" for:

• Freshwater fish and invertebrates

• Beneficial insects (like the bees and butterflies we love)

• Sediment-dwelling organisms that support the entire food web

When we spray 11 times a year, we aren't just targeting mosquitoes; we are disrupting the delicate balance of our entire backyard ecosystem.

A Smarter, Scientific Alternative

I wanted a way to manage mosquitoes that targeted only mosquitoes.

In 2021, I began working with Dr. Douglas Tallamy to test and document the larvae trap he recommends for the NVBA website. How to information is on the NVBA website along with FAQs as the large traps have been refined with feedback. The FAQs and maintenance tips are essential elements for trap management. These traps don't chase adults with poison; they create an irresistible "honeypot" for female mosquitoes to lay eggs, which are then neutralized by Bti—a naturally occurring bacterium that is:

• Pollinator-Safe: Won't harm bees or butterflies.

• Wildlife-Friendly: Safe for the birds, frogs, and fish that eat mosquitoes.

• Family-Approved: 100% safe to use in yards where kids and dogs play.

Nature Needs Our Support

My yard is an NVBA Certified Wildlife Sanctuary. On a summer evening, I love watching the butterflies over my Joe Pye weed and New York Ironweed. I share my space with nesting bluebirds, cardinals, and wrens. These birds need caterpillars to raise their young—and those caterpillars can't survive in a fogged yard.

How Mosquito Jill Helps

Mosquito Jill exists to make responsible stewardship easy. I provide kits with the hard-to-find components you need to get your traps running immediately.

• Affordable: Compared to a season of fogging, these traps cost a fraction of the price. Traps can be used season after season. New Mosquito Dunks, water, and dried organic material is quite affordable compared to fogging.

• Effective: We stop the next generation before they ever take flight.

• Impactful: Your purchase helps support wildlife rehabilitators and environmental non-profits.