The five tricks Disney uses to stop guests being feasted on by mosquitoes – and how you can recreate them at home
Walt Disney World welcomes millions of visitors to Orlando each year, yet guests rarely notice they are walking through 25,000 acres of what used to be Florida swampland.
Even during the height of summer, the massive swarms of mosquitoes that plague the rest of the state are noticeably absent from the property.
The lack of pests is no accident, but the resort avoids blanket-spraying the area with harsh chemicals that could ruin a vacation or damage the local ecosystem. Instead, managers rely on an expansive surveillance and drainage program focused on natural methods to disrupt the insects before they have a chance to bite.
This strategic approach allows the park to maintain a comfortable environment across its properties, hotels and outdoor attractions. After noticing the park’s pest management during her own travels, Jil Hinds, creator of the home and garden YouTube channel Pink Jardin, decided to test the methods at home.
“I’ve never ever been bit by a mosquito when I go to Disney,” she says. “So, I use their five-point system because, if you notice, my house is completely surrounded by trees and it can quickly become a mosquito breeding ground after a rain.”
Here are five at-home hacks from Disney’s tricks that you can recreate at home:
Mosquitoes require stagnant water to lay their eggs, and larvae can develop in less than 48 hours.
Disney mitigation teams continuously monitor the property to ensure water does not pool on surfaces or in decorative elements. At home, property owners should regularly empty birdbaths, gutters and flowerpots.
For permanent water features where draining is not an option, applying natural larvicides, such as mosquito bits, effectively neutralizes larvae before they reach adulthood.
Hinds recommends dropping natural larvicide tablets or granules directly into problem areas.
“The larvae when they go in, they will eat that and it will basically kind of explode their little bellies,” she says. “Sad, but yeah.”
The resort integrates specific pest-repelling plants directly into its extensive landscaping. Rather than relying on isolated plants, the strategy depends on density and volume.
To replicate this protective barrier, property owners should plant large quantities of lemongrass, lemon balm, rosemary and basil near high-traffic areas, including walkways, patios and entry doors.
All of the plants contain oils that work as natural repellents to mosquitoes.
