Source reduction visit
A property check focused on finding and removing standing water. It often does the most good for the least cost, and it is the first step in every other plan.
Serving San Francisco County
Mosquito Control in San Francisco
Standing-water checks, yard treatment and screen advice for homes with mosquito trouble around San Francisco Bay.
- Call line answered 24/7
- Termite swarms after autumn rains
- Rats and mice in old buildings
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Fastest: call (855) 974-4733. Or send this and we call you back.
Mosquitoes
Mosquito Control: what it covers
Quick answer
Mosquito control for a home or business means finding and removing the standing water where mosquitoes breed, treating the shaded vegetation where adults rest and closing the screens and gaps that let them in. San Francisco Pest Control answers phones 24/7 and connects you with a San Francisco County technician; the price is confirmed on site.
Mosquitoes need only a little water: a saucer under a plant, a clogged gutter, a bucket in the yard, a neglected birdbath or the tray of a drain. The ones that bother a household are usually breeding within a short distance of where they bite, which is why a property check can make a real difference even when the wider area has plenty of water.
This page describes what a technician looks at, the treatments that are available, what you can do yourself and what changes the price. It does not make any claim about disease, and it gives no counts or dates for mosquito activity, because none were sourced for this area; a health question belongs with a doctor. It also explains where public mosquito and vector districts fit, because they exist in some places and are not the same thing as this site. San Francisco Pest Control answers its phones 24/7 and connects you with an independent local company, and a same-day visit is offered only when a technician is free.
- Service area
- San Francisco & San Francisco County
- Availability
- Phones answered 24/7
- Phone
- (855) 974-4733
Where do mosquitoes breed around a home?
In any standing water that lasts long enough for larvae to develop. Typical spots are gutters, plant saucers, buckets, birdbaths, tarps, rain barrels and drains. Emptying or covering them weekly removes most of the breeding on a property.
Look in the places you do not usually look: the corner of a flat roof, the tray under a potted plant, a tarp over a woodpile, the cap of a fence post, a bucket left under a downspout. Water that sits for several days is a candidate.
San Francisco has dry summers and wet winters, with sea fog on summer nights. That pattern means the rainy months leave water in gutters and containers, and irrigation and fog drip can keep some spots damp in the dry ones. This page does not claim months of mosquito activity for the city.
- Empty and scrub birdbaths and pet bowls weekly
- Tip out plant saucers, buckets and toys after rain
- Clear gutters and downspouts of leaves
- Cover or screen rain barrels
- Smooth tarps so they do not hold pools
Does a public district handle mosquitoes at my address?
It depends on the county, and this site names an agency only where it was confirmed. San Mateo County's vector district serves the whole county but does not treat private property. Marin-Sonoma's district covers two counties and deals with mosquitoes, rats, yellow jackets, midges and ticks.
The San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District serves the entire county, which includes Daly City, Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Pacifica, Millbrae and Burlingame. It does not treat private property, so the work on your own yard falls to you or to a technician. Its phone number is on its own website.
The Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District covers Marin and Sonoma counties and deals with mosquitoes, rats, yellow jackets, midges and ticks. For Marin towns such as Sausalito, Mill Valley, Corte Madera, Larkspur and Kentfield, that is the district to ask about public services. For other places, this site makes no district statement, because none was confirmed. These public services are separate from San Francisco Pest Control and from the company a technician works for.
What does a mosquito treatment actually do?
It reduces the number of biting adults and stops larvae from developing, but it does not make a yard permanently mosquito-free. Treatments are aimed at water that cannot be removed and at the shaded vegetation where adults rest, and they work best alongside removal of standing water.
No spray reaches every mosquito, and flying adults can arrive from a neighbor's yard or a nearby water body. The sensible goal is fewer mosquitoes where you sit, not none anywhere.
Technicians use products according to the label, and they will tell you how long to keep children and pets off treated plants. Tell them if you have a pond, bees, a vegetable garden or an aquarium outdoors, as those change what can be done.
What can I do myself?
Tip out or cover every container weekly, clean gutters, repair screens, trim dense shrubs near the house and run a fan on a patio. These steps cost little, and they handle most of what a typical household can control without a technician.
Window and door screens do the work for the indoor problem. A small tear or a gap under a door is enough, so look at them in daylight with a light behind. Repairing them before a treatment makes the treatment more effective.
A visit is worth considering if you have a hard-to-reach water source, a large garden or a property that backs onto a still water body. A technician can see more in an hour than most owners see in a season.
Warning signs
Signs you need mosquito control
Do not pour oil, bleach or household chemicals into standing water, and do not apply an outdoor pesticide to a pond, a fountain, a vegetable bed or a pet's bowl. Use any repellent as its label directs, and ask a doctor about any reaction or illness.
- Mosquitoes biting around the yard or patio at dusk, or in a shaded corner at midday
- Small wriggling larvae in a bucket, a birdbath, a planter saucer or a barrel of rainwater
- Water that stays in a clogged gutter, a low spot in the lawn or a tarp for days after rain
- Mosquitoes indoors, especially in bedrooms and bathrooms, in a home with torn screens or a gap under a door
- A neglected pond, fountain or pool with still, green or stagnant water
- Dense ivy, shrubs or tall grass in a shaded area near the house
- A basement or garage sump, drain or planter that holds water
- A vacant lot, a building site or a neighboring yard with pools of standing water
Our process
How our mosquito control visit works
Walk the property for water
The technician looks for every container and low spot that can hold water: gutters, planters, saucers, buckets, tarps, drains, fountains, barrels and the corners of flat roofs. Many properties have a dozen without the owner realizing.
Remove or treat the water
What can be emptied, tipped, covered or drained should be. Water that has to stay, such as a rain barrel or a fountain, can be screened or treated with a larvicide that is made for that purpose.
Find where adults rest
Adult mosquitoes rest on cool, shaded, damp surfaces during the day. Dense ivy, shrubs under trees, the underside of decks and fence lines are looked at, and the plan notes which are within reach of a treatment.
Treat targeted areas
Where it is called for, a treatment is applied to the shaded vegetation and surfaces where adults rest. It is aimed at those places and not at the open lawn or flowering plants, and the technician notes anything near a vegetable garden, a pond or a play area.
Check screens and give habits advice
Window and door screens, vents and gaps under doors are checked. You leave with a short list of habits, such as tipping containers weekly and keeping gutters clear.
Options
Types and options for mosquito control
Larvicide treatment
Treatment of water that cannot be removed, such as a rain barrel, a fountain or a drain. It targets the larvae before they become biting adults, and it must be used as the product label directs.
Resting-area treatment
Treatment of shaded vegetation and surfaces where adult mosquitoes rest in the day. It can cut the number of biting adults for a period, but it does not replace removing the water.
Cost
How much does mosquito control cost in San Francisco?
No mosquito-control price from a named publisher was confirmed for this area, so no figure is shown. What moves a quote is the following.
| Job | Typical range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Size of the property | Scales with the lot | A small courtyard is a quicker check than a large garden with several outbuildings |
| Number of water sources | Affects time on site | A property with ponds, fountains or many containers takes longer |
| Amount of shaded vegetation | Scales with planting | Dense ivy, hedges and wooded edges are the places adults rest |
| Single visit or repeat visits | Priced by plan | A one-off check and a recurring plan are different jobs |
| Sensitive areas nearby | May limit options | Ponds, vegetable beds and play areas change what can be applied and where |
These are cost drivers, not prices. The technician confirms your exact price on site before any work starts, and no result is promised in advance.
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If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent mosquito control, send the form and we'll call you back.
San Francisco County
Why mosquito control is different in San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay and the creeks, marshes and lagoons around it make water a feature of many of the towns this site covers, and the buildings are packed close together. A property's own water sources are often small ones, like a roof drain in a courtyard, a barrel on a back deck or a pot in a light well, and those are the ones a property check finds.
The pattern of dry summers, wet winters and sea fog also matters indoors and out. Fog drip can keep shaded vegetation damp when no rain has fallen, and the wet season fills the gutters of older homes with leaves. Neither fact is a measured mosquito finding; they are reasons to check the likely places on each visit.
Related
Related services
Wasp and Yellow Jacket Removal
Nest identification and removal for wasps and yellow jackets in San Francisco eaves, walls, yards and ground nests.
General Pest Control
Pest control for San Francisco buildings, planned around old construction, shared walls and the dry-summer, wet-winter calendar.
Flea Control
Indoor and yard flea treatment for San Francisco homes, with pet care left to your veterinarian.
Where we work
Mosquito Control across San Francisco County
- Mosquitoes in San Francisco
- Mosquitoes in Daly City
- Mosquitoes in Brisbane
- Mosquitoes in Sausalito
- Mosquitoes in Belvedere and Tiburon
- Mosquitoes in South San Francisco
- Mosquitoes in Emeryville
- Mosquitoes in Alameda
- Mosquitoes in Oakland
- Mosquitoes in San Bruno
- Mosquitoes in Albany
- Mosquitoes in Berkeley
- Mosquitoes in Piedmont
- Mosquitoes in Mill Valley
- Mosquitoes in Pacifica
- Mosquitoes in Corte Madera
- Mosquitoes in El Cerrito
- Mosquitoes in Richmond
- Mosquitoes in San Pablo
- Mosquitoes in Millbrae
- Mosquitoes in Burlingame
- Mosquitoes in Larkspur
- Mosquitoes in Greenbrae
- Mosquitoes in Kentfield
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Guides
Read before you book
Which District Handles Rats and Mosquitoes Where You Live?
It depends on the county and sometimes the city.
FAQ
Mosquito Control FAQs
Will spraying my yard get rid of all mosquitoes?
No. It can reduce the number of adults for a period, but flying insects arrive from neighboring yards and nearby water. Removing standing water is the part that lasts.
Does the public district spray my garden?
San Mateo County's district serves the whole county and does not treat private property. For other places, this site has not confirmed what a district does on private land, so it makes no claim.
How often should I check for standing water?
Weekly is a good habit, and after rain more often. Mosquito larvae need several days to develop, so emptying containers before then breaks the cycle.
Are there times of year when mosquitoes are worse here?
No months are given because none were sourced for San Francisco. Check your property after rain and any time you see larvae in water.
Is mosquito treatment safe around pets and children?
The technician tells you how long to keep people and pets off treated areas and which areas are left untreated. Follow the product label and the technician's instructions.
Do you treat ponds and fountains?
Water features can be treated with products made for the purpose, depending on the label and on what lives in the water. Tell the technician about fish, plants and wildlife before the visit.