Knowing The Biology Of Mosquitos Can Help This Summer

Not only is it still winter from a meteorological standpoint, but in several parts of the nation it still feels like winter.  Too soon, perhaps to consider how to deal with mosquitoes in the summer?  As Penn State University Extension’s Jamie Kopco points out now is a good time to learn more about biology of mosquitoes, so you can be prepared to deal with them. 

“A lot of people don't realize that there are important differences in what kind of still standing water different kinds of mosquitoes like,” Kopco noted. 

 He points out regarding mosquito species in his state of Pennsylvania alone. 

“There are roughly 50 different species of mosquitoes; somewhere in that ballpark.” 

Also mention different mosquito species prefer different types of standing water as their desired area to lay eggs. 

“Some of them are all about a little pool of water that builds up in a clogged drain spout, or a discarded tire or trash on the side of the road or something like that. They love these teeny, tiny little water. And then you have other types of mosquitoes that are like, give me a swamp. I want a swamp or a pond or something big.” 

Another differentiation between mosquito species based on their biology. How far they could fly? 

“Some species, especially the ones that kind of go for those real small breeding areas, they tend to stay close to home.  So, they might never travel more than 100-200 yards their entire life. So, if you can find where they are breeding and clean that up, you might make a big difference on how many mosquitoes you've got.  Where other species of mosquitoes will fly for miles, and especially if, like the storm system rolls through, the wind might blow them some. You can be like we're getting hit by all these mosquitoes all summer long and we can't find any breeding sites. But yeah, their breeding site might actually be an area two miles upwind and they're all just blowing in.” 

And Kopco says knowing when mosquitoes are active during a day part is important. 

“If the mosquitoes that are causing you grief are mostly active in the evening, if you can just coordinate your outdoor time to be like we're done with whatever we're doing outside, before the mosquitoes come out, that's a really easy way to just avoid them.  Versus if they're out during the day, then your evening campfire might be totally fine and not get mosquito pressure.” 

Then there are potential mosquito treatment methods based on biology.  Some of these, he noted, homeowners can do on their own. 

“There are different traps on the market that you can buy, that basically are just like a bucket of water and you throw some grass clippings or leaf litter in it and it creates this really appealing egg laying site for them. And it's got the one way door in it. So, the female mosquitoes can get in hoping that they're going to lay eggs and then they can never get back out,” Kopco noted. 

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