RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

It does not take much for mosquitoes to breed. All they need is a wet environment, this can be stagnant water or an area that gets wet then dry repeatedly. Around your home you are told to look for things that pool water i.e. wheel barrels, bird feeders, tires, buckets, etc. In the eyes of a homeowner this tends to be the very obvious. What about a small bit of water? Is that enough for mosquitoes to breed in? YES! The attached video shows you exactly this, mosquitoes breeding in a citronella candle on a backyard deck. You see the larva & pupae stages or “squigglers” and this is the stages prior to an adult mosquito emerging. Even more proof at how adaptable pests are around your home!

• There are about 170 different kinds of mosquitoes in the U.S. alone.
• Mosquitoes can develop from egg to adult in 4 to 10 days.
• Only female mosquitoes actually suck blood, males feed only on plant nectar.
• A single female can lay 100-300 eggs at a time, up to 1,000-3,000 in her lifetime.
• Mosquitoes can fly considerable distances, up to 20 miles or more.
• Mosquitoes are responsible for more human death than any other living creature.
• Mosquitoes DO transmit dog and cat heart-worm.
• Mosquitoes don't see very well, but they zoom in like a heat-seeking missile once 30ft away.
• Mosquitoes don't like to travel Most mosquitoes remain within a 1 mile radius of their breeding site.
• Mosquitoes live long enough to create misery. The average life span of a female mosquito is 3 to 100 days. the male lives 10 to 20 days.
• Male mosquitoes find female mosquitoes by listening to the sound of their wings beating.
• Mosquitoes can fly about 1 to 1.5 miles per hour.
• A mosquito can smell the carbon dioxide you exhale from about 60 to 75 feet away.
• You are more likely to be bitten by a mosquito after you have eaten a banana.