2
chapter
Exploring Mosquito
Biology
When it comes to curbing mosquito growth, it’s important to understand how they live.
If you know what they look for to survive, you can reduce mosquito breeding around your home by limiting their essentials for survival.
This will also help you identify what works and what does not when exploring repellent options.
If you know what they look for to survive, you can reduce mosquito breeding around your home by limiting their essentials for survival.
This will also help you identify what works and what does not when exploring repellent options.
Adult, female mosquitoes lay their eggs along water lines or in wet soil. This includes lakes, rivers, and ponds. However, it takes a very small amount of water to attract a female mosquito.
A mosquito female could lay up to 200 eggs at a time in:
Puddles around
your yard
your yard
Kiddie Pools
Bird baths and
barrels
barrels
Even water that
gathers in empty
soda cans!
gathers in empty
soda cans!
That means you might see reproduction cycles as rapid as every 10-14 days—and this life cycle can get even faster, depending on the circumstances.
Wetter conditions help the process along. Wetter conditions at hotter temperatures speed up the process even more.
Wetter conditions help the process along. Wetter conditions at hotter temperatures speed up the process even more.
Even something as small as a bottle cap! If an object has standing water in it, it’s probably enough for a female to lay her eggs.
These eggs are extremely hardy and will survive drying out for up to 8 months.
Once another rain comes in, the eggs become larvae, pupate, and then adults within 8-10 days.
And once they’re adults, they’re looking to breed and lay eggs.
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Even if the moisture dries up, dormant mosquito eggs remain viable for months.
Mosquitoes are not technically parasites, as they do not require the blood of a host to survive. Both males and females feed on flower nectar.
Only the females bite people and pets when they need blood to produce eggs.
Lifespans for mosquitoes vary. Males live for around two weeks whereas females live between a few weeks to a few months.
They do not often fly far from where they spawned. They are, however, very light and susceptible to wind streams that may move them farther than they’d go on their own.
Only the females bite people and pets when they need blood to produce eggs.
Lifespans for mosquitoes vary. Males live for around two weeks whereas females live between a few weeks to a few months.
They do not often fly far from where they spawned. They are, however, very light and susceptible to wind streams that may move them farther than they’d go on their own.
Along that windswept journey, mosquito females often seek out hosts to feed on. Certain physical signals make us a beacon for these bugs:
- Carbon dioxide as we breathe
- Lactic acid from our sweat
- Body heat or dark clothing that retains heat
Each of these is a spotlight for searching females, and many repellents seek to mask some or all of these indicators.
Now that we know a little more about mosquito biology, it’s easy to see why they’re such a nuisance:
They need wet environments
They breed by the hundreds
They require blood to continue
breeding
breeding
They get that blood from their
hosts
hosts
The result of all of this is irritation at best and life-threatening diseases at worst.
Preventing an impact on your family requires curbing the mosquito population around you.
One of the best methods of curbing the mosquito population is eliminating any unnecessary standing water around your home.
If you do so long enough, it is more difficult for the short-lived males to survive and breed with
the longer-lived females.
However, doing this is often a difficult task. It’s not guaranteed that you’ll get rid of every potential source. That’s where other insect repellent options come into play.
If you do so long enough, it is more difficult for the short-lived males to survive and breed with
the longer-lived females.
However, doing this is often a difficult task. It’s not guaranteed that you’ll get rid of every potential source. That’s where other insect repellent options come into play.
There are more than 3,500 known species of mosquitoes and some locations can have tens of thousands per acre. You might feel that there are at least that many right in your own back yard.
There are 3 general types of mosquito repellent approaches you can take to banish the buzz.
First, we’ll start right in your own home and show you some effective do-it-yourself methods to help you reclaim your outdoor space.
First, we’ll start right in your own home and show you some effective do-it-yourself methods to help you reclaim your outdoor space.
DID YOU KNOW?
Some female mosquitoes can drink their entire body weight in blood during a meal. That would be like a 150-pound person consuming 150 pounds of food for dinner!
