Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are a family of pests that plague tropical areas around the world during the warm summer months. While in the more industrial nations, mosquitoes are often considered only a pesky nuisance, they have the potential to be killers anywhere. Stagnant water provides a breeding hole for these insects, and they will reproduce anywhere that water is readily available.

Not all mosquitoes drink blood to survive. Male mosquitoes, in fact, subsist on the nectar of flowers and never insert their proboscis into other animals. Female mosquitoes are the kind we are most familiar with, as they are the fearsome, annoying bloodsuckers of the species. They do not need blood to survive; however, they only need it to reproduce. Since the short life cycle of the female mosquito is based solely upon the generation of offspring, they are hematophagic for the majority of their lifetime, unfortunately for us.

Mosquitoes are vectors for a number of different deadly diseases, among them malaria and the West Nile virus. They also have an uncontrolled backwash mechanism, which allows infection to be spread from one individual to another. These two horrible characteristics come together to form a deadly combination that has allowed their death toll to be higher than that of any other insect. In fact, malaria has become such an epidemic in parts of sub-Saharan Africa that the heterozygous genotype for sickle cell anemia, an unfavorable trait in and of itself, is being naturally selected for due to its protection against the former disease.

Cases of diseases that are endemic to Africa and spread by mosquitoes have started to arise in the Western Hemisphere in recent years. This is a troubling sign for those native to the United States, as diseases that are very rarely given much thought in the first world are now becoming a real and dangerous problem. Before long, these diseases will be widespread within all of the 50 states. For this reason, it is paramount now more than ever to seek the professional aid of pest exterminators for your mosquito problems.

To request a free pest inspection, contact Preferred Pest Control today.