Mosquitoes

As soon as the weather warms up, the Mosquitoes arrive! These are a typical Summer pest which is highly active when the sun goes down and throughout the night. They transform from larvae to adults within 10-14 days.

Color – Brown body with whitish rings around the abdomen.

Length – ¼ -⅜ long

Diet – Females are the ones who feed on blood as well as nectar, whereas the males only eat nectar. Humans are easy targets for female mosquitoes as we emit body heat and CO² (carbon dioxide) which the female can detect.

Habitat – Motionless water, stagnant ponds, moist soil and places where rainwater has sat for a period are the areas where mosquitoes breed, as well as any other area where water lays without movement.

Impact – Mosquitoes are themselves an excellent source of food for nocturnal creatures like bats. However, for humans, they are less inviting. When they bite the skin, they inject a small amount of their saliva which they use as an anesthetic and to stop the blood clotting so they can feed. The saliva they inject is the substance which is foreign to our bodies and the reason why mosquito bites itch and sometimes swell up. More threatening is that their saliva is the entry point for Malaria in some parts of the world, and here in North America.