Mosquitoes are like those relatives in your family who arrive uninvited to crash your party, eat all your food, and outstay their welcome. While you might not be equipped to deal with family members who lack social cues, at least you can take your frustration out on the insect party-crashers by knowing how to kill mosquitoes in every stage of life.
This article will give you the information to beat them (mosquitoes) at their own game before they come and ruin your party. You can kill those mosquitoes if you know the perfect time in their life cycle to act. Let’s dive into the juicy details.
Mosquito Life Cycle and Control Methods
The key to basic mosquito control is understanding its life cycle. Each life cycle stage can be matched with a corresponding method of treatment. Once you grasp this knowledge, you’ll know which method to use in the attack, reducing mosquito bites and the overall mosquito population and leaving no mosquito unscathed!
During its life span, a mosquito goes through four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
Egg
Egg habitats and how they lay their eggs can vary depending on the species of mosquitoes. Here are some examples:
Culex female mosquitoes lay their eggs one at a time in stagnant or standing water. As each egg is laid, they’ll stick together and form an egg raft of 100 to 400 eggs.
Anopheles female mosquitoes lay eggs individually on the water (but not in rafts as the Culex do).
Aedes female mosquitoes lay eggs one by one in dry containers or on damp soil, birdbaths, fountains, or tree holes. When they get saturated or flooded with water, they hatch.
Having said this, in areas with colder temps (below 50 degrees Fahrenheit), these eggs enter diapause (dormancy) until the warm weather coaxes them to hatch.
Note: These hardy mosquito eggs have natural antifreeze preventing them from freezing completely, even if submerged under ice, until warmer temperatures arrive.
Egg Control Methods
A female mosquito must lay eggs to perpetuate her species, but if she can’t find a viable spot, she’s out of luck! She won’t be able to do her job if you remove all standing water from your yard.
You can avoid providing potential breeding ground situations by walking your property to:
- Clean out your gutters of any leaves or debris.
- Empty and clean birdbaths, fountains, and kiddie pools once or twice per week.
- Check to see if garbage/recycling containers are drained.
Larva
Depending on the species, after the female mosquito lays its eggs, it hatches into the larval stage within 24 to 48 hours.
Water-loving larvae, or wrigglers, live in water using their siphon tubes to breathe. They go through a molting period as they grow, shedding their skins three to four times and becoming larger until they develop into the pupa stage.
In just 5 days, this transformation can happen. Larvae that are cold-hardy in dormancy can delay further development until spring arrives.
Larval Control Methods
At this stage of development, using larvacides will prevent mosquito larvae from growing into a pupa. Here are a few different types:
Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) is a bacterial larvicide used in mosquito dunks. These small donut-shaped disks kill the larvae in standing or stagnant water sources like ornamental ponds, birdbaths, etc. They are natural and safe because they do not harm fish or birds.
Insect growth regulators: Insect growth regulators (IGRs) disrupt the larvae and pupae’s molting process, preventing them from attaining the adult stage of development. Methoprene and pyriproxyfen are commonly used.
Oils, films, and liquids: These are put on the surface of the water in a very thin layer. When the larvae and pupae come to the water’s surface to breathe, these applications will suffocate and kill them.
Note: Licensed pros typically apply IGRs and oils, films, and liquids, but the homeowner can use Bti as a DIY option.
Pupa
The mosquito pupal stage is the transformation into adulthood. Pupae, called “tumblers,” are still in a protective cocoon or chrysalis but can move and respond to their environment.
When the pupal skin splits in two to three days, pupae become adult flying mosquitoes.
Note: During the winter months, mosquitoes can adjust the timing of their other life stages to avoid pupating.
Pupal Control Methods
Oils, films, liquids, and IGRs also work on pupae. The oils, films, and liquids will suffocate the pupae when they come to breathe at the water’s surface. The IGRs prevent the pupae from attaining adulthood.
Note: Bti is ineffective at this stage, as it kills only larvae.
Adult
Once fully grown, it’s the female mosquitoes that bite. In the adult stage, they need a blood meal for egg development. Unfortunately for us humans, we are often their preferred target. But some species of mosquitoes also bite animals to obtain a blood meal.
Mosquitoes cannot function when the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. During the winter, some female mosquitoes enter a dormancy called diapause, while male mosquitoes have a short lifespan and typically do not survive past the mosquito breeding season.
Adult Control Methods
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) work with local mosquito control agencies to protect the general public from mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile and Zika.
Although mostly used by the pros, homeowners can use synthetic chemical pesticides to kill adult mosquitoes. Typically, local city governments use these and apply them using ULV spray. A few examples are deltamethrin, sumithrin, and d-phenothrin.
Note: These synthetic pyrethroids are in popular mosquito yard sprays, pet, and other household items.
How Long Do Mosquitoes Live?
A mosquito’s life span depends on the species of mosquito and environmental factors, such as location, rainfall, and temperature. A good example of the life span of one species of mosquito is the Aedes female mosquito. They typically live between two to three weeks during the mosquito season and up to six months in winter diapause (dormancy); males live approximately 10 days.
FAQ
Malaria, Chikungunya virus, dengue, Zika, and West Nile virus are some of the mosquito-borne diseases we must worry about.
• Malaria: For the first time in 20 years, several cases of locally acquired malaria were discovered in the U.S. in 2023.
• Chikungunya virus: Infected travelers re-entering the U.S. pose a risk of spreading it to unaffected areas.
• Dengue: The United States has experienced some local cases with limited dengue spread in states with hot, humid climates.
• Zika: The CDC reports that since 2018, no locally acquired cases of Zika virus have been reported in the continental United States (at the time of writing). But be aware if you are traveling in areas outside the U.S. where the Zika virus has been reported.
• West Nile virus: According to the CDC’s historical data, there have been thousands of cases of West Nile virus in the U.S. over the past twenty-plus years.
Wow, that would be amazing, right? Well, hold up for a minute — if mosquitoes went extinct, it would change our world’s small ecosystem. For one, it would mean much less food for those animals that eat mosquitoes, including fish, dragonflies, frogs, spiders, and bats.
Remember, not all mosquitoes bite or spread germs, so keeping the good ones around benefits our planet. For example, male mosquitoes don’t bite but help plants breed by pollinating.
Note: Scientists are working diligently to balance keeping the good mosquitoes and killing the disease-carrying ones that bite us and our pets.
1. Repel them with a mosquito repellent registered by the EPA that contains one of the following ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), p-Menthane-3,8-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanoate.
2. Trap them with mosquito traps: Some types have a sticky surface that attracts the female mosquito, while others have a fan that sucks them in. Ovitraps use a mosquito dunk to kill developing larvae (no electricity or sticky traps needed).
3. Disrupt their ability to smell: Mosquitoes are attracted to our breath when we exhale carbon dioxide. You can confuse them by incorporating various smells like citronella (candles), mosquito coils, and eucalyptus (essential oil diffusers) that they hate. Another method of dispersing CO2? Use a fan. Not only will it disperse your scent, but mosquitoes are weak fliers and can’t fight strong air currents.
Contact The Pros
Would you rather leave mosquito control to the experts? Pest Gnome connects you to the best pest control experts in your area. Let them tackle the mosquito party-crashers before they hit up the hors d’oeuvres. You’ll feel secure knowing you only have to bounce out your obnoxious relatives.
Main Photo Credit: Koldunova_Anna / Canva Pro / License
