Mosquito Identification & Prevention

You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who hasn’t had at least one encounter with a mosquito in their life. These tiny flying pests are possibly the most annoying insects alive and come in thousands of species. While their colors and sizes may vary slightly, mosquitoes share a lot in common, especially when it comes to the ones in our area. They have six long legs, a set of wings, and a pair of antennae. Female mosquitoes have a proboscis or tube-like mouthpart that can be used to feed on nectar or to pierce the skin to have a blood meal. While male mosquitoes also have a proboscis that they use for nectar, their mouthparts are unable to pierce skin since they do not need blood meals.

It may surprise you to find out that mosquitoes are some of the deadliest animals in the world. Worldwide, they kill over a million people every year due mostly to their transmission of malaria. In the United States, they are far less deadly, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous here. Mosquitoes spread a variety of harmful diseases in the United States through their bites. These include West Nile virus, encephalitis, dengue, and others. Although the diseases mosquitoes spread leave most people with flu-like symptoms at their worst, in some cases, the diseases they spread in our area can result in hospitalization or even death. 

Mosquitoes require areas of standing water in order to breed, so most people with a mosquito problem have a property with a lot of standing water on it. This doesn’t mean you have to have a pond on your property to have a mosquito problem. Mosquito eggs need as little as a quarter of an inch of water to hatch, so even having poor drainage on your lawn or children’s toys that collect rainwater can be enough water for mosquitoes to decide to hang around. 

Most adult mosquitoes also prefer a warm environment that provides areas of shade where they can rest during the hottest parts of the day. If your property has a lot of foliage on it, mosquitoes will find the areas they’re looking for and want to stick around.

Anyone who has left their front door open for a couple of minutes at dusk or who has discovered a hole in their window screen after leaving that window open all day is familiar with the annoying buzz of mosquitoes around your home as they fly around your living room. However, the majority of mosquitoes spend their lives outdoors. You are most likely to find them in warm, moist environments. If your property fits the bill, you’ll discover them every time you step outside, especially in the early morning and early evening. Mosquitoes are also prolific in wooded areas.

Getting rid of a large mosquito population on your property can feel impossible, and in some ways, it is. There is no tried and true method of getting rid of every single mosquito from your property. However, that doesn’t mean that you simply have to put up with an out-of-control mosquito problem every time you go outside. 

Getting rid of as many areas of standing water as possible on your property will go a long way in reducing the mosquito population. Beyond that, we recommend mosquito control from our experts at Midstate Termite & Pest Control. We provide mosquito control services that will make your yard a pleasant place to be again. Our mosquito control services in Tennessee is a seasonal service during the time of year when mosquitoes are most active.

Preventing mosquitoes is about removing the things they need to survive. The following tips will help.

• Minimize standing water. This includes:

  • Creating proper drainage systems for your lawn

  • Filling in low spots in your driveway

  • Removing buckets, toys, and other items that can collect rainwater

  • Removing bird baths

  • Fixing leaking fixtures

  • Not leaving pet dishes outside

  • Cutting back foliage to allow more sun to reach moist areas in your landscaping

• Minimize excess foliage. This includes:

  • Cutting back branches

  • Trimming hedges, shrubs, and plants

  • Keeping your grass trimmed short

  • Removing lawn debris

Because mosquitoes can fly long distances, you can’t remove every mosquito from your property, but you can make your property a place that is unattractive to them. By doing this, you can drastically reduce your mosquito problem. Reach out today for help with mosquitoes and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Tennessee.