Wisconsin and Illinois had one of the wettest summers on record in 2016. While this certainly posed issues to green industry professionals around the Midwest, it spelled opportunity for landscape contractors who began to install the NuTone Haven mosquito repellent system from Reinders.
Broan-NuTone’s Haven is aptly named – the backyard fixtures are loaded with a 12-volt cartridge produces at least a 10 x 10 zone of odor-free repellent designed to keep mosquitoes at bay. In the past, contractors and their clients (often homeowners) used a number of tactics, from mosquito netting, screen doors, candles, sprays, fans and even long sleeves to combat the more than 50 species of mosquitoes in Wisconsin and Minnesota and Illinois.
Like many families, the active and outdoorsy Moyer family’s favorite “room” at their Madison, Wisconsin-area home just so happens to be their outdoor patio. Therefore they tended to use their NuTone Haven system perhaps more than the average installation — going through three repellant cartridges in each fixture during the “busy mosquito season” from May-October 2016. (On average, each 24 ml Cartridge includes an EPA-estimated 216 hours of repellent effectiveness.)
The weather dramatically impacts mosquito breeding and populations. While the summer months were mostly cool and rainy, late August and September saw a spike in average temperatures in the Midwest, registering 5 degrees above normal, which may have accounted for a late season increase mosquito bites. Anecdotally, Moyer noted that mosquitoes did seem to be thicker later in the season, however that wasn’t necessarily the case statewide in Wisconsin and Illinois.
Bill Kolstad, director of Parks & Recreation for the City of Brookfield, WI (which has a mosquito control program), says his numbers showed a “substantial drop” in mosquito totals from 2015 to 2016. Similar drop offs were seen in year-over-year light trap mosquito counts out of the village of Oswego, in suburban Chicago, Illinois.
Some weather highlights in Illinois (Per the Village of Oswego 2016 Mosquito Management Program Annual Service Report):
- 3rd wettest July on record for Illinois, with 7+ inches of rain
- Summer precipitation was 11% above normal
- 9 significant rainfall events between July 1- August 30
- August temps averaged 3.5 degrees above normal (76.6 degrees)
- September temps averaged 5 degrees above normal
The Moyer’s found the Haven system to work so effectively they found themselves outdoors during all times of the day. From coffee in the a.m. to cookouts in the evening, the Moyer’s 8-fixture system was soon expanded to 12 — almost completely protecting the family from pesky mosquito bites throughout the summer and fall.
The NuTone Haven mosquito repellent worked so well, they have plans to build a pool (and install Haven fixtures around it) in Spring 2017. Maybe the successful repelling of mosquitoes wasn’t the exact reason they built the pool — but it certainly didn’t hurt.
Shop our full selection of NuTone Haven Mosquito Repellent products here.
