Find the right help for your mosquito problem.

A barrier spray on the shrubs and shady spots where mosquitoes rest typically lasts about three to four weeks. That's why most plans schedule a return visit every few weeks while mosquitoes are active.

Typical published ranges are about $75 to $200 per barrier visit and $350 to $900 for a full season. Misting systems run roughly $2,000 to $4,500 installed, plus refills. Your quote depends on yard size, shade and how much standing water there is.

For a party or a weekend, a single treatment can make a real difference. For a whole summer, the spray wears off in a few weeks and new mosquitoes keep hatching, so a seasonal plan usually works better.

Ask whoever sprays to keep off blooming plants and vegetable beds, and to tell you how long to keep kids and pets off treated areas, which is usually until the spray has dried. Larvicides like Bti target mosquito larvae and aren't harmful to fish, people or pets.

Tip out anything that holds water once a week, clear your gutters, keep bird bath water fresh and fix window screens. That alone can cut the number of mosquitoes your yard produces. If the bites keep coming after a few weeks, the source may be somewhere you can't reach.

Mosquitoes do drift in from nearby yards, ditches and wetlands. You can't treat your neighbor's yard, but a barrier on your own resting cover still cuts bites, and many areas have a local mosquito control district you can ask about standing water nearby.