Mosquitoes go through 4 distinct life stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Ideally, mosquito control strategies should include point source reduction of breeding sites and routine larviciding (killing the larvae) along with judicious space spraying of adult mosquitoes when necessary.

Dragonflies are the best predators of mosquito larvae, and American burying beetles are nature’s efficient carrion-feeding cleanup crews. These natural enemies help flies and Mosquitoes Control.

Pollution

Mosquito control programs can impact the environment by affecting wildlife and plants. Mosquitoes breed in water, so when they are treated with pesticides, the chemicals can enter the environment through the soil and water. This can affect plant and animal populations, including birds, fish, amphibians, insects, mammals, and other animals.

The pesticides used for mosquito control may also be harmful to pollinators, as they are absorbed into the bloodstream and can poison them. However, these effects are not necessarily permanent and can be prevented. Pollinators can be protected by using less toxic insecticides and by making sure that treatment is not conducted near pollinator habitats, such as home gardens, aviaries, or wildflower meadows.

Aedes mosquito species, such as inland floodwater mosquitoes (Aedes vexans), Asian tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus), and tree hole mosquitoes (Ochlerotatus triseriatus), prefer to breed in moist soil that becomes periodically flooded or in containers where they can develop in temporary pools of water. These mosquitoes can transmit the pathogen that causes dengue fever, and they are also capable of transmitting the encephalitis-causing West Nile virus.

To minimize environmental impacts, mosquito management should include point source reduction of breeding areas and routine larviciding (killing baby mosquitoes) in those areas that cannot be eliminated. Communities can help by keeping their neighborhoods free of debris such as brush piles, old cars, and broken containers that can hold water. They can also work to reduce mosquito breeding habitats, such as by eliminating puddles around houses and repositioning outdoor objects, such as table umbrellas and furniture, so they don’t collect water. Neighborhoods can also encourage the mosquitoes’ natural predators by providing them with habitats that are attractive to them, such as bird feeders and bat houses.

Diseases

Mosquitoes can cause a number of diseases including malaria, dengue fever and yellow fever. Mosquito-borne diseases are one of the world’s leading causes of illness and death.

Mosquito control is a vital part of public health. Almost every state has some form of organized mosquito control at the county or city level and there are over 735 mosquito control organizations that specialize in area mosquito management.

The most common methods of mosquito control are source reduction and insecticide spraying. Source reduction involves preventing larval development in the first place by draining or covering breeding sites. This can be done by using tarps over water bodies or removing standing water through ditching, diking, or stormwater systems.

Most mosquitoes that transmit diseases in humans are in the Aedes family and breed in a variety of habitat types including flooded soil, tree holes, stumps, logs & artificial containers such as discarded tires. Aedes mosquitoes are hard to find and inspect, making inspections of all potential breeding sites time consuming and expensive.

A recent study found that mosquito treatments have few or no apparent impacts on nontarget insects, with the exception of nonbiting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) that are closely related taxonomically to mosquitoes and exhibit similar diel activity. However, the lack of consistent detection of treatment effects on midges suggests that monitoring methods need to be improved.

Animals

Animals are a vital part of any ecosystem, and they play an important role in keeping it balanced. But when an imbalance occurs, animals often respond with extreme behavior that can be bad for the environment. Some of these animals are invasive species that have no natural predators and can only be stopped by human intervention. Others are endangered species, like elephants, several species of sharks, some bats and certain types of bees. Regardless, these animals need to be kept safe and healthy in order for the ecosystem to function properly.

Depending on the mosquito species, an overabundance can cause serious problems for humans. Many Culex mosquitoes, including the common house mosquito (C. pipiens) and the western encephalitis mosquito (C. tarsalis), feed on warm-blooded mammals. Both species can transmit the pathogens that cause encephalitis and malaria. In addition, they can bite people and livestock at night and rest during the day in protected places such as crawlspaces or sewers.

Large biting mosquito populations can also have social, cultural & economic impacts by limiting community activities that require outdoors activity. Examples include cancellation or postponement of pleasurable events; needing to wear repellent while enjoying activities; and a reduction in outdoor tourism. To minimize these impacts, reasonable mosquito control strategies typically begin with adequate surveillance and disease testing and continue with monitoring throughout an entire mosquito life cycle.

Humans

Mosquitoes are among the most dangerous animals in the world and can kill people and livestock if they carry diseases such as West Nile virus. Insecticides used in mosquito control work to prevent disease transmission and can save lives by reducing the number of mosquitoes around homes, neighborhoods, and other public places.

Mosquitoes are more active near water, especially at sunset and when the weather is calm and cloudy. They can bite a person or animal through clothing if they fly close enough. Both males & females feed on blood and can transmit viruses that cause illness to humans, horses, dogs, and other animals. They breed in urine-soaked straw, chicken manure, compost piles, wet hay bales, and grass clippings. They are also common in poultry houses, barns, and feedlots.

In addition, our website is preventing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, homeowners can reduce the need for insecticide spraying by draining standing water and eliminating mosquito breeding sites on their property. They can do this by installing gutters and downspouts that drain freely, by removing dense ground covers such as English ivy and replacing them with less-dense native plants such as pachysandra procumbens (Allegheny spurge) or Eurybia divaricata (white wood aster).

EPA and CDC encourage maximum adherence to integrated pest management (IPM) strategies which rely heavily on natural mortality factors and seek to use control tactics that interfere with these factors as little as possible. Mosquito control is often a key component of IPM programs.