Every year, you forget about the one less pleasant feature of warmer weather – mosquitoes. They are a nuisance to anyone who spends time outdoors, especially in humid and wet regions of the world. Next, are some useful mosquito facts.
It happens every year when the weather gets hotter. You start to spend more time outside on the grill, hiking and running, or throwing around the baseball with your kids in the yard. You look forward to the beginning of the summer, and to the reality that you’ll get to suffer mosquito bites once again.
Around the world, there are more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes. The ones we commonly come in contact with are those whose females feed on humans; other species prefer nectar or plant juices. The females require the nutrients in blood in order to produce eggs.
Mosquitoes typically live around water, where they breed. Creeks, rivers, lakes, and marshlands are ideal places for mosquitoes to lay eggs and reproduce in large numbers.
So, those people who flock to bodies of water for summer fun are more likely to run into mosquitoes. Wherever there is a place for still, standing water, there is a possibility for mosquito influx.
This can include anything from trash cans and recycling bins to gutters and uneven spots in your yard that don’t drain well. Anywhere that collects water is a breeding ground for mosquito eggs during the summer.
Based on the species of mosquito and the temperature, eggs will typically hatch and then become larva and pupa after that. The first three stages – egg, larva, pupa – last anywhere from five to fourteen days. The adult emerges after the pupa stage, usually with a life expectancy of one to two months.
Although mosquitoes are a major nuisance with bites and buzzing, they also can carry a number of diseases which make can make them more dangerous than we realize.
Mosquitoes have a significant and sometimes deadly impact around the world. Listed below are some examples:
- The most commonly known diseases carried by mosquitoes, as often discussed in the news, are malaria and the West Nile virus. However, mosquitoes can carry other viral diseases, including yellow fever, dengue fever, epidemic polyarthritis, Rifty Valley Fever, and other types of invasive diseases.
- The mosquito genus Anopheles and malaria can carry account for millions of deaths each year around the world. North America is not a home to this species of mosquito; however, nearly all species of mosquitoes can carry the filariasis worm.
- The filariasis worm causes elephantiasis, which afflicts 40 million people worldwide.
Although mosquitoes can be dangerous, the danger is less in the United States than in other parts of the world.
However, precaution is always necessary. To reduce the number of mosquitoes near your home, eliminate areas where standing water can gather, keep your lawn and weeds low, look into mosquito control systems for your backyard.
Always use insect repellent when spending time outdoors. With education and the right prevention tactics such as hiring mosquito control services, you can avoid our summer foe, the mosquito.