English ivy and Virginia creeper vines may be used around your home to quickly cover newly installed fences or to camouflage the unappealing results that can accompany construction projects. Unfortunately, some of the reasons the vines serve homeowners so well are the same reasons they are such an attraction for mosquitoes. Does this Spark an idea?
Vines
Deciduous Virginia creeper plants (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) are fast-growing vines with the potential to add 20 feet in a year or serve as a groundcover. The leaves of the vines have five leaflets. The plants offer brilliant red fall coloring and pea-sized blue fruits that attract birds. Evergreen English ivy (Hedera helix) vines reach heights of 20 to 50 feet tall or grow as a 6- to 8-inch-tall groundcover. Cultivars are available in a range of leaf patterns, forms and colors. The plants develop dark berries and lobed leaves. Variegated versions, small-leafed forms and cutleaf cultivars are available, according to the Clemson Cooperative Extension.
Sites
Unfortunately, English ivy and Virginia creeper share characteristics mosquitoes find appealing. The ivies are commonly used along the exterior of homes and as screening. Mosquitoes may hide on exterior walls protected by the ivies or in the foliage of the ivies themselves. Virginia creeper adapts to sunny and shady sites, and while some English ivy cultivars can grow in full sun, a partially shaded site is preferable to the plants. Mosquitoes also prefer shady sites for cover during the day. Where the ivies grow to cover trees, they may disguise holes that can hold water and serve as breeding sites for mosquitoes. Ivy growth may also hide low spots in your yard you may not otherwise know are there.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes tend to find shelter around vegetation, and several types of mosquitoes particularly favor vegetation that provides cover over pools of water. They hide on or around the leaves, using the foliage as cover and the water and the wet ground as breeding sites. The water does not have to be a permanent feature in the landscape. According to Rutgers University, transient pools of water due to flooding and heavy rains are suitable for some types of mosquitoes.
Control
Make sure that the ground beneath your ivies does not tend to hold standing water. Ensure that the ground surrounding your home is graded to slope away from your home's foundation. This will prevent water from pooling around the foundation and under ivy plants. If you must allow vines to grow against the sides of your home, do not allow your vines to grow over the top of rain gutters. Apply an insecticide to the exterior walls of your home and vegetation that harbors mosquitoes; the University of Missouri Extension recommends several insecticides, including carbaryl and malathion, to fight mosquitoes.
Tags: your home, English Virginia, breeding sites, English Virginia creeper, exterior walls, pools water