Category Archives: Pest News

Insect Control, Pest Control, Pest News

Coping With Mosquitoes: What Works and What Doesn’t

Mosquitoes are one of the more annoying pests of summer. (See our August 7 post for an up close and personal look at this backyard BBQ killjoy.) Everybody has a favorite remedy for keeping mosquitoes under control. Home store shelves are loaded with products that promise quick and effective relief. Let’s take a look at what works and what doesn’t.

  • Despite diehard supporters the holistic approach doesn’t work. In scientific tests vitamin B, ultrasonic devices, incense, etc. have not been found to have any effect on mosquitoes.
  • Want to try the natural approach? If your climate will support them, your best bet is to import large numbers of dragonflies which eat prodigious amounts of mosquitoes. Some people think that bats and purple martins can control mosquitoes, but though they eat a lot of insects, only 1% of their diet is mosquitoes.
  • Despite that delightful sizzle that lets you know another bug has hit the dust, bug zappers kill a lot of bugs and moths, but few mosquitoes. Light doesn’t attract mosquitoes. You may actually be killing the bugs that eat them!
  • Newer mosquito traps emit chemical attractants that mimic a mammal’s scent, drawing blood-sucking female mosquitoes to their doom. While effective in killing large numbers of the blood suckers, whether you’ll feel any relief will depend among other factors on the size and species of the mosquito population in your area. Developed for scientific research, to date these devices haven’t been useful in mosquito control.
  • Are you a traditionalist? Citronella candles and torches have long been used to repel mosquitoes. The insects don’t care for their perfume. If you’re close to the candles and the mosquito population in your yard is low, they will provide some relief and keep a small area relatively mosquito free. Their actual effect is easily dissipated by space, wind and the determination of the insects, but citronella can provide some relief, even if much of it is psychological.
  • DEET is still your best choice. Topical insecticides containing DEET will repel mosquitoes.

Next time: What to do when mosquitoes are bugging you.

Insect Control, Pest News

Mosquitoes Put the Bite on Summer

You’re sitting on the backyard deck, cold one in hand, chatting with friends, watching the kids play in the yard, a pleasant end to a beautiful summer day, when SMACK! You feel the sharp sting of a mosquito on the back of your neck. SLAP! Another one nips your ankle. WHACK! That one dive bombs your shoulder and before you know it you feel like you’re the main course at a feeding frenzy. Another summer evening ruined by a thuggish pack of buzzing mosquitoes.

Most people place mosquitoes at the top of the summer pest hit list according to recent research by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). A major summer nuisance in the U.S., mosquitoes can carry West Nile virus, malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, encephalitis, and other diseases. In Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico and Asia, mosquitoes transmit disease to more than 70 million people annually, resulting in millions of deaths.

Largely nocturnal, mosquitoes are particularly active at dawn and dusk when they come out of their cool, dark hiding places to feed. Primarily nectar feeders, the females must also suck blood to nourish their eggs, which they lay in rafts of 100 or more on the surface of fresh or stagnant water. Within their 2-week to 2-month lifespan, females can lay a raft of eggs every third night. Most eggs hatch in 48 hours, the larvae reaching maturity in about 2 weeks, less if the weather is hot. A single busy female can create her own swarm in a matter of days!

A throwback to the age of dinosaurs, mosquitoes evolved 170 million years ago during the Jurassic era, supposedly in South America. Even back then the little buggers could pack a wallop, weighing in at three or more times their present size.

Next time: Coping with mosquitoes: What works and what doesn’t.