In a nutshell, standing water usually attracts mosquitoes to your yard, and the air your family exhales usually induces mosquitoes to bite them. Mosquitoes can detect a favorable yard, or favorable biting target, from up to fifty yards away. So, if there are mosquitoes anywhere in the neighborhood, these pests will probably soon be at your doorstep.
Once mosquitoes arrive, do-it-yourself remedies are hardly ever enough to convince them to leave. Instead, you need a pest control professional to not only treat your yard, but also create a barrier which keeps these insects away from pets and people. After all, the next mosquito infestation is literally only a few doors down the street.
Mosquitoes and Area Attraction
Female mosquitoes lay hundreds of eggs in their lifetime. Mosquitoes are delicate insects, so you can imagine how fragile their larvae are.
Standing water offers moisture and protection. Eggs need just the right amount of moisture to grow. Water is a temperature regulator. Water also provides some key nourishments. But if there is too much moisture, or the water moves more than a little, the eggs quickly wash away.
Birdbaths and pet food containers are obvious water collection sources. Less obvious ones include overturned bottle caps from your last barbecue and overturned children’s toys from earlier today.
Vulnerable eggs and larvae are tempting targets for other insects. The slightest bit of water is usually enough to deter these predators.
Mosquitoes and Human Attraction
Initially, mosquitoes detect the plumes of carbon dioxide that pets and people exhale. The same receptors that detect these plumes, CPA neurons, also help mosquitoes zero in on skin odors which are almost undetectable to humans.
Since the skin is home to about 400 odor-causing bacteria, no one is sure which one makes the most difference. Some studies suggest that beer consumption, pregnancy, and type O blood creates additional attractive enzymes. But these studies are not much more than speculation.
Lactic acid could be a significant contributor. That’s especially true for Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes. These pests are the ones most likely to bite people and also the ones most likely to carry West Nile and other diseases. Lactic acid is most closely associated with semi-vigorous exercise, like jogging around the block. Other mosquitoes, mostly Anopheles Gambiae, are attracted to the odor of human feet.
There is no one odor or substance that attracts or blocks all types of mosquitoes. What one species finds attractive means little or nothing to another species. That’s why things like mosquito repellants and citronella candles only have limited benefits.
The professionals at All Solutions Pest Control are dedicated to keeping mosquitoes away from you and your family.
