If you’ve ever been sitting outside around dusk and noticed mosquitoes coming out and looking for blood, you know just how frustrating and annoying these small flying insects can be.
Mosquitoes are universally hated by most people because of their ability to bite and leave behind extremely itchy marks. Because of this, mosquitoes bites are some of the most uncomfortable, yet also frustratingly common, bug bites you’ll ever get. However, it’s easy to forget that itching isn’t the real concern with mosquito bites.
Mosquitoes are actually considered to be the most dangerous animal in the world because of their unparalleled ability to spread pathogens from host to host as they suck the blood of humans and animals. While not all mosquito bites spread disease, mosquitoes do have the ability to do so. Across the world, mosquitoes are responsible for over a million deaths every year.
We know about the harm they cause and the annoying bites they leave, let's look at a refresher on what mosquitoes look like to help tell them apart from other stinging insects.
Here's how you can identify mosquitoes:
- They are most often a gray color but can have a variety of markings.
- They have six legs that are rather long and thin.
- They have a long appendage from their mouths that they use to suck blood.
- They have translucent wings.
Why Mosquitoes Are So Dangerous
While you might assume that all mosquitoes can suck blood, it’s only the females of the species that do this as the males feed on flower nectar. Because female mosquitoes need to drink blood to produce their eggs, they will get a blood meal from mammals, reptiles, or birds, and this includes humans.
Because of this, mosquitoes can spread illnesses between species. This makes them particularly dangerous. They spread and transmit many especially deadly illnesses. Here are just a few of the diseases that mosquitoes carry:
- Zika virus
- West Nile virus
- Dengue fever
- St. Louis Encephalitis
- Malaria
Ways You Could Be Attracting Mosquitoes To Your Yard
Since mosquitos are so dangerous, it’s especially vital to protect yourself and your family from them. However, you could unknowingly be attracting mosquitoes to your Bettendorf property without realizing it. Certain things make an area attractive to mosquitoes.
Here are some common ways home and business owners attract mosquitoes:
- Wearing dark-colored clothing that makes you easy to see.
- Wearing sweet-smelling perfumes or cologne.
- Spending time outside around dusk.
- Pregnant women and those with O blood type are, through no fault of their own, also more prone to mosquito bites.
- Spending time outside after working out as the smell of sweat attracts mosquitoes.
- Having standing water on your property as this is where mosquitoes lay their eggs.
- Keeping hot tubs, pools, or fountains that aren’t treated with the proper chemicals.
- Not trimming vegetation as this allows a place for mosquitoes to rest during the day.
- Having a lot of flowering plants on your property.
How To Keep Mosquitoes Away From Your Yard
Understanding the factors that attract mosquitoes is important knowledge you can use to help keep them away. However, mosquitoes are notoriously hard to keep out and remove without professional help.
The best way to protect your Bettendorf property from mosquitoes is to partner with the professionals at Quik-Kill Pest Eliminators. Our mosquito control programs are the most effective way to control mosquito populations. Give us a call to schedule your free inspection, or to learn more about our mosquito control and mosquito misting systems.