Whether it’s an evening cookout in the yard or sleeping at night in your bedroom, if mosquitoes are sucking the fun out of your life and following you practically in every room of your home, then your home might have a mosquito infestation problem.
You must take measures to get rid of them before this turns ugly and they pierce through your skin all the way to serious illness.
Mosquitoes – What Are These Blood Thirsty Creatures?
Mosquitoes are no strangers to urban areas. There are over 3500 species of mosquitoes and 170 of them are found in the US. These are from the same family as flies. Did you known a mosquito can drink up to 3 times its weight in blood? An average mosquito life span is less than 2 months? A mosquito wing beats up to 600 times per second?
Appearance
Mosquitoes are narrow and oval-shaped 6 legged creatures pale brown in color with white stripes across their abdomen. The size of a mosquito on an average is about ¼ to 3/8 inches.
Male mosquitoes feed on fruits and plant nectar while female mosquitoes feed on blood and plant nectar. Blood give them proteins which they need for reproduction. Humans and animals are good sources of blood for mosquitoes.
Habitat
They breed in moist places and stagnant water sources for example leaky drains, pools, bird baths, pet water dishes, old tires, hoses and near trash.
Reproduction
A female mosquito can lay up to 300 eggs at a time and 3 times before it dies. The eggs are laid in clusters on the surface of stagnant water.
Signs of Mosquito Infestation
Here are some tell tale signs to identify mosquito infestation on your property:
- You hear consistent buzzing in your ear when you are asleep
- You find yourself scratching your arms and legs in the middle of the night
- You experience skin rashes and redness
- Though mosquitoes come out at night but when your home is infested by mosquitoes, you may see them flying during the evening too.
- Since their diet also includes fruits, you may find them hovering over your fruit basket.
All these signs point to mosquito infestation.
Mosquito Infestation – Is it Harmful?
Yes, it is! Female mosquitoes are the disease carriers. They are vectors for diseases and therefore can transmit diseases from one human to another. Mosquitoes are known to spread diseases like:
- Malaria-Each year 515 million people are infected by malaria and 1 to 3 million die from it.
- Yellow Fever-30,000 people die from this disease annually.
- Dengue Fever- There are about 50 million cases reported annually with a fatality rate of 2.5%.
- Other diseases transmitted by mosquitoes include West Nile, Ross River Virus and Filariasis.
Ways to Prevent and Control Mosquito Infestation in Your Home
Desperate times call for desperate measures. If your home is infested by mosquitoes, then it’s time you take serious action and do something about it before these blood thirsty creatures become a threat to your existence:
Eradicate Their Breeding Sites
- This is a smart way to prevent and control them from multiplying. Standing water is their prime breeding habitat therefore, look for places in your home where water collects and can’t evaporate.
- If there are any clogged gutters in your home, clear them out. They may be serving as a breeding ground for these pests.
- Always keep your pool and hot tubs clean and chlorinated so that females don’t lay their eggs in there. Remember mosquito larvae need only 48 hours to hatch, so you need to be on your toes and alert. If you are slack, you may end up with a large infestation to deal with.
Use Mosquito Ultra-Sonic Zappers and Repellents
- Place ultra-sonic zappers in your home to kill mosquitoes.
- To keep mosquitoes away, apply mosquito repellents that contain DEET. DEET is a chemical that repels mosquitoes, flies and ticks.
- When going outdoors in the garden, always wear shirts with long sleeves and pants. Also, avoid wearing dark colors as they are known to attract mosquitoes.
Call the Professional
If nothing works, then it’s best to hire a professional for the job. A professional mosquito control service provider can easily identify mosquito breeding habitats in your home and offer you an individualized solution to tackle the pest infestation problem.