Florida Mosquito Facts

As someone who’s lived in Florida all of my life, I know a lot about mosquitoes. But there’s a lot of people that live here that aren’t from here. And more than that, there’s a lot of people that spread misinformation about this pest. That’s why today we’re going to cover some basic mosquito facts, and then some tips about how to keep them away from your home.

Florida Mosquito Facts: The Truth

This article is going to be formatted a bit more simply than most I’ve posted. Just little bite sized chunks of info that are easier to digest.

• Mosquitoes have very specialized mouths. Everything from a saw-like ridging to easier pierce your skin, and then a feeding tube inside to draw out the blood.
• Mosquitoes are some of the most proficient spreaders of disease in the insect world. They can transmit to both people and animals, and this includes horrible things like EEE, malaria, and yellow or dengue fever.
• These pests also have a huge impact on the local economy. When tourism is down in Florida, it impacts almost every industry in the sunshine state.
• They find you like some sort of alien tech. They locate your position by tracking your carbon dioxide that you exhale, your body heat, and your body odor.
• The average life of a female mosquito is two weeks, the male one week, but some can survive several months.
• Female mosquitoes can lay up to 250 eggs in each batch. Eggs can hatch up to seven years after being deposited.
• Mosquitoes are a part of the food web and provide nourishment for larger insects, fish and birds.
• Mosquitoes play a role in the pollination of plants; both males and females consume nectar for energy.

Florida Mosquito Facts: Misconceptions

• • Spraying for adults is the best method of mosquito control.
    Adulticiding is the least efficient method. Eliminating mosquitoes before they become adults is preferable.

• • Bug zappers are effective against mosquitoes.
    Bug zappers do not control mosquitoes and can reduce the populations of beneficial insects.

• • Electronic repellers keep mosquitoes away.
    No, they don’t repel mosquitoes. Save your money.

• • The citrosa plant repels mosquitoes.
    Although citrosa oil (citronella) has been used widely as a mosquito repellent, the undisturbed plant itself does not release these oils and is thus not effective as a repellent.

• • Bats, owls and other birds can control mosquitoes.
    Although they may include mosquitoes in their diet, they do not consume enough mosquitoes to make an appreciable difference in their populations.

• • Purple martins and bats are effective for mosquito control.
    False. Purple martins and bats consume larger insects whenever possible. A man who sold purple martin houses started the myth of using purple martins for mosquito control in 1963.

• • Eating bananas or garlic or taking Vitamin B1 can actually repel biting mosquitoes.
    False. No evidence exists to support this claim.

• • Residential vegetation can produce mosquitoes.
    They may be resting in the vegetation, but standing water is required to “produce” mosquitoes.

• • Mosquitoes nest in vegetation.
    Mosquitoes do not nest.

• • Some mosquitoes can be two inches long.
    They don’t get that big. What you may have seen is a crane fly.

• • Mosquitoes can transmit AIDS.
    False.

Keeping Mosquitoes Off Your Property

Homeowner inspections are one of our largest and most important methods in helping to eliminate mosquitoes around homes and drains in residential communities.  Inspectors work to remove the mosquitoes by ridding the property of standing water thereby removing places for the mosquito to lay her eggs.  Drains are inspected and treated or mosquito-eating fish may be introduced to combat mosquitoes where appropriate. The most problematic mosquito is the Aedes aegypti that has the potential to spread dengue fever or one of the other viruses which it is capable of transmitting.  Homeowners are educated on effective methods of mosquito prevention and control including:

•    Emptying all standing water and water-holding containers in their yards
•    Keeping hot tubs and pools in working condition and appropriately chlorinated
•    Changing water in pet bowls, flower vases, and birdbaths at least twice a week
•    Screening rain barrels, water tanks, and cisterns or requesting fish
•    Emptying plastic swimming pools when not in regular use
•    Flushing out water-holding plants like bromeliads
•    Cleaning clogged roof gutters and draining flat roofs
•    Stocking ornamental ponds with mosquito-eating fish
•    Drilling holes in garbage cans and recycle bins
•    Removing old tires with stagnant water
•    Removing water from stored boats

So don’t forget, preventative action is the best step in Tampa mosquito control.

Our Mosquito Smack! Service

This may seem like a lot of work, and it is, but the best way to keep yourself ahead of the mosquito game is hard work. Hard work, and knowing when to call in the experts. Now it’s tempting to think that just blasting your yard with chemical pesticide will help, but it won’t. In fact, it’ll probably kill more beneficial insects than otherwise. That’s why we offer our own safe mosquito service.

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