Mosquitoes are often said to be the most dangerous animal on the planet because of all the diseases they spread. Mosquitoes are a type of fly. They have six legs, wings and are usually dark in color. The female has an enlarged proboscis, so she can stab through the skin and drink blood. She cannot make eggs unless she has a blood meal first. Females eat nectar and pollen, too, but it is the blood meal that causes the problems.
When the female takes a blood meal, she injects saliva into the puncture wound. It contains anticoagulants and anti-inflammatories so that the skin does not swell and the wound won't stop up before the female gets her blood meal. The saliva also contains diseases she has gotten from drinking other people’s blood. This is what makes the mosquito so dangerous.
Mosquito Life Cycle
After the female takes a blood meal, her eggs develop. Stagnant water mosquitoes lay their eggs on stagnant water in rafts. Floodwater mosquitoes lay a single egg in a cavity or other area that will flood when it rains. Once the eggs hatch, they both become larvae call wigglers. These larvae eat microscopic decaying organic matter, and some eat other small animals in the water. When the larvae have gotten as large as they can, they pupate into tumblers, so-called because if the water is disturbed, they tumble around. Finally, the pupa splits down the back, and the mosquito steps out and flies away.
Myth: All Mosquitoes Bite.
Fact: Male mosquitoes never bite. They live on nectar and pollen.
Myth: All Mosquitoes Bite Humans.
Fact: Most mosquitoes prefer other mammals and only bite humans when the other mammals are not present.
Myth: People With Fair Skin Are More Likely To Be Bitten.
Fact: Mosquito bites are more obvious on people with fair skin, but other people get bitten, too.
Myth: All Mosquitoes Carry Diseases.
Fact: Only a few species of mosquitoes carry diseases. However, those species can carry the Zika virus, malaria, West Nile virus, dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, encephalitis, tularemia, and dog heartworms. These diseases kill millions of people every year.
Myth: Bats Eat Enough Mosquitoes To Remove Them From Your Yard.
Fact: Bats prefer beetles, cicadas, moths, and other, meatier prey and only eat mosquitoes if the other prey is unavailable.
Myth: All The Mosquitoes In My Yard Can Be Eliminated.
Fact: Even if you remove all stagnant water sources from your yard, you cannot eliminate all of the mosquitoes that live there. Some species of mosquitoes fly in from two or three miles away.
Myth: I Can Reduce The Mosquitoes In My Yard Enough To Enjoy It.
Fact: Getting your adult mosquito population under control takes special equipment and treatments. White Knight Pest Control has the proper equipment and the right treatments. We can significantly reduce the mosquito population in your yard.
When you call us, we will send one of our trained technicians to your Salt Lake City house. We inspect the yard for places mosquitoes can breed. We will point out where you need to empty stagnant water, fill low spots with gravel and sand, and unclog gutters. After this is taken care of, we will treat places that do not easily dry out with an insecticide that kills the mosquito larvae. We then treat the yard with our mister, which gets into the shrubs and other low spots and kills the adults. Our treatment lasts about 30 days, so we encourage our customers to get their yards treated monthly from April to October. This will reduce the mosquito population enough to enjoy being outside. Contact White Knight Pest Control and reduce those mosquitoes in your yard with our effective mosquito control services.