The Folly of Spraying Adult Mosquitoes

It is an easy conclusion to jump to. If you spray your backyards or even whole housing development for mosquitoes several times during the season, you will be protected from mosquito bites for that duration. The unfortunate fact is that at best spraying may reduce the number of annoying mosquitoes for a few days to a week only and cost several hundred to many thousands of dollars.

This is due to the quick life cycle of mosquitoes. When adult female mosquitoes lay eggs it takes about 7 to 10 for a mature mosquito to develop and start feeding in human and animal hosts. In fact if you can totally destroy all the adult mosquitoes, there will be adult males and females produced within a day or two of spraying. This is because in a breeding pond there are not only eggs living, but larva and pupa as well. The pupa is only a day or two away from becoming adult predators.

Life Cycle of Mosquitoes

The adult females live from 10 days or less to almost 4 weeks depending on species, the ambient temperature and moisture. Availability of prey is also a factor in their longevity. Male mosquitoes do not live nearly as long, topping out at 10 days if conditions are perfect. The females must feed to live. They are the only bloodsuckers in the pair. Males do not bite.

After a good blood meal, the female finds a breeding pond. This can be as small as a bird bath or water trapped in a gutter of a house. Even a glass of water left out for a week would make a fine breeding pond. The ponds can be much larger as well, actually being a relatively stagnant pond, a swamp, or even an area the size of a lake if the water is stagnant and enough. Fish, frogs, and other insects feed on all stages of mosquito development but take only a very small toll on the total of the millions of immature insects.

The female lays eggs which in 1 or two days becomes wormlike larva which can be seen squiggling though the water. After several more days the pupa develops and stops feeding. The outer casing of the pupa split and the adult emerges.

In any one breeding pond all three stages exist at the same time, egg, larva, and pupa. Therefore if you spray the air with regular or professional canisters, you may kill the adults to some degree but their number is replaces as the pupa become new adult females thirsty for their blood meals. Millions of dollars a year are wasted by spraying which only makes the exterminators happy. In addition, insecticides enter the environment and can be harmful to good insects such as bees, mantises, butterflies, etc. Pets can also be affected adversely.

Other Mosquito Reduction Methods

There are electrical devices which attract insect and fry them with electricity. These are expensive and good for small areas only. I live in a 272 unit Condominium housing development. Unless, each person pays for their own device and electricity, they create a burden on the other condominium members who have to pick up the tab.

Biological attacks via pheromones and traps have not proved to be strategically effective. Perhaps in the future they will develop better methods but they are not here yet. Importing mosquito predators is also not effective as of this date.

This leaves one method which is very effective over the long run. We have diminished malaria (a mosquito born disease) in many areas of the world. That is finding the breeding ponds and treating the surface so the developing mosquitoes suffocate and die. This interrupts the whole life cycle of the mosquito and is often not that hard to do. A this film of almost any petroleum distillate, even (I have heard) a few drops of liquid, lemon joy, dishwashing soap can do the trick. Mosquitoes must breathe in all stages of its life cycle. The adults must also be able to stand on water when they go from pupa to adult for about an hour before they can fly. Water softeners may be very effective in not letting this crucial stage go through.

Conclusion

Don't waste money spraying and buying gadgets. Find mosquitoes breeding pools and render them unfit for mosquito breeding. That is the strategic answer.