There is nothing quite like a mosquito bite. You can sometimes instantly feel when one of these tiny little bloodsuckers have gotten their snouts into you. When they do, the itching and discomfort that will arise from their bite is painful, annoying, and never leaves fast enough.
There are many home and over-the-counter remedies to combat a mosquito bite. Thankfully, medical science has come a long way and a mosquito bite isn’t as annoying or detrimental as it once was. However, they are still best avoided. It seems that during the summer months, mosquitoes are everywhere and causing havoc at every outdoor event, from family gatherings to barbecues to relaxed birthday parties under the stars. If you need help controlling mosquitos give us a call today!
But did you know that not all mosquitoes cause you the pain and harm of a bite? In fact, only one gender of mosquitoes should be feared because only one gender is the one that actually bites humans and animals. The female mosquito is the one that does damage to us and leaves those inflamed and annoying bites all over our bodies. And the reason why they are so insistent on feeding on humans might surprise you.
It is true that only female mosquitoes bite humans. The reason they do this is not for food but rather for the necessary ingredient of life: blood. A female mosquito bites humans and animals because our blood – and the blood of animals – contains needed nutrients that will help the production and health of their eggs. Females suck on blood so they can create strong eggs and produce their offspring. So, in a sense, we are helping the birth of more mosquitoes when they suck on our blood. Without this blood, the female mosquito would not have the needed ingredients to develop their eggs and the entire population would die out.
When you realize that mosquitoes develop hundreds and hundreds of eggs, you will understand why so many people are affected by mosquito bites. It seems to always be mating season for mosquitoes and they are always ready to create more eggs.
The female mosquito uses something called a maxillary palp to find carbon dioxide that all animals and humans exhale. This carbon dioxide puts a huge target on our backs and calls out to the mosquitoes, who will then zero in on us and begin their feeding. But there are other things they do to find humans filled with ample amounts of blood. For example, mosquitoes can also pick up on body temperature, scents, and even colors. All of these hunting skills make mosquitoes very keen at finding humans and turns them into terrific hunters in the wild. They have multiple weapons at their disposal to find the blood they need.
When a female is creating its eggs, it will feast a lot on human blood and then will implant its eggs in an area of standing water. Standing water is indeed one of the best ways to find mosquitoes. This is because the egg grows and develops in this water and the young mosquito will even live in the standing water for awhile after its birth. After awhile, it will venture away from the water but mosquitoes will always be relatively close to some body of standing water because they breed so often and that form of liquid is needed to develop the eggs.
While female mosquitoes are the ones that do the damage to humans, males just sit on the side and watch it all happen. The male mosquitoes are not capable of biting. This is because they do not have certain mouthparts that are needed to pierce human and animal skin. However, this doesn’t mean the males aren’t doing anything. Like many other creatures on Earth, male mosquitoes are busy doing other things. They are natural pollinators who are usually feasting on flower nectar. They are also building mosquito colonies and impregnanting other females to keep the life of mosquitoes moving along.
Mosquitoes are awfully annoying and best avoided. The most reliable way to do away with these bugs is to eliminate any and all standing water that may reside on your property. That is one of the best methods to push mosquitoes away. But make sure you get rid of all standing water because there are certain areas that you might not think about when trying to address this problem. Perhaps a kiddie pool is sitting in your backyard? Maybe an old boiler or water heater is sitting in your garage? All of these things can invite mosquitoes in. And with these bugs comes bites, discomfort, and frustration.
