Latin Name: Culex spp
Mosquitoes are flying insects that spread pathogens to humans and animals. There are over 3,500 types of mosquitoes in the world today, and they spread diseases like Zika Fever, Dengue, Malaria, Yellow Fever, and Lymphatic Filariasis. Their bites cause severe skin reactions, including itching and swelling.
Adult mosquitoes have a slender and elongated body with long, fragile legs and piercing mouthparts. Their mouthparts are strong enough to pierce the skin of a person and suck blood. They also use it to feed on fruit juice and flower nectar. They have two compound eyes to detect movement. They usually range between ¼ – 3/8 inches in size. Most of the time, they are either white or green with a white stripe across their abdomen. The abdomen is the part that connects to the thorax and helps the insect process food, reproduce, and respire.
In most of their species, the female depends on protein from the blood meal sapped from men or animals to mature their eggs. The eggs are usually laid on the water surface and hatched to become aquatic larvae or wriggler. At their pupa stage, they are active and free-swimming. The pupa breathes by tubes on the thorax.
Different mosquitoes love to stay in other places. For instance, other species of mosquitoes love to lay their eggs in various types of standing water. When predators like dragonflies, fish, and nymphs are present in standing water, they will make that place unfavorable for mosquito eggs. However, swamps, clogged ditches, puddles, temporary pools, and marshes are mosquito breeding sites that help keep water. Other places that can serve as breeding sites are tree holes, toys, buckets, old tires, plastic covers, etc.
Mosquitoes always find their way into the home whenever there is an open door or window. They like to hide in dark and hidden areas of the house and only come out at night to feed. You will also find them in places like laundry rooms, sinks, and closets.
They are blood-sucking pests that depend on blood to generate their eggs. Also, they eat nectar from flowers. Most times, you find their immature selves – larvae in stagnant water and food on several materials.
You can recognize Mosquito presence by the buzzing sound the female makes and their bites. When there is also a presence of standing water, they create an environment for mosquito reproduction. Hence, look out for their nymphs in bird feeders, water bowls for pets, stagnant ponds, and potted plants.
Mosquitoes are popularly known for their bites. They feed on people and animals and are known to carry and transmit severe diseases. Some of the diseases they transmit are dengue fever, yellow fever, malaria, and encephalitis. Aside from spreading disease, they can cause a nuisance to man as their bites can cause swollen itchy welts on the skin.
Eliminating mosquitoes in your environment is challenging; however, you can do things as a homeowner to help control the number of mosquitoes in your vicinity.
They are known to lay their eggs on standing water, so eliminating standing water areas on your property is the first step. Remove everything that will cause mosquitoes like wheelbarrows, baby pools, pet bowls, garbage cans, and birdbaths.
Other things you can do to prevent mosquitoes are:
