Your DIY Pest Control to Preventing and Getting Rid of Mosquitoes with Foggers
There are few insects in the world that are more annoying than the mosquito, but the dangers that are associated with mosquito bites goes far beyond itching bumps and ruined outside excursions.
It is crucial to eradicate mosquitoes at all costs by whatever means necessary. Thankfully, there are a wide array of DIY products and equipment that can eliminate and repel mosquitoes just as effectively as professional pest control.
For centuries, mosquitoes have been vectors for diseases that are passed to human beings through their saliva when feeding on human blood. Mosquitoes serve no beneficial purposes within the animal kingdom and apart from some benefits for plant pollination, they only exist to breed and feed on human and animal blood.
It is important to know what you can do to combat mosquitoes for both your health and your outdoor recreational activities. This guide will serve as a handy reference sheet that will not only educate you on the types of mosquitoes and the diseases indicative of their species but will also contain all of the information that you need to get rid of mosquitoes.
“Vector-borne diseases account for a significant amount of the global infectious disease burden, including morbidity and mortality. In particular, mosquito-borne infectious diseases (MBIDs) have the greatest burden in number of cases, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years and their prevention and control is critical.â€
Why you need to get rid of Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes can breed almost anywhere within the world, but their most dangerous concentrations are located in moist and humid regions where stagnant water and ambient air temperatures are most prevalent.
With such a rapid speed of reproduction, and a nearly universal area of coverage and habitation, there is only so much city and county pest control operations can do to keep the mosquito populations down.
In this guide to Mosquitoes, you will learn:
- The most common types of mosquitoes and the diseases they carry
- Comprehensive measures to kill mosquitoes and get rid of them on your own
- The signs of an infestation within your yard
- The methods, equipment and chemicals for killing mosquitoes yourself
- Natural ways to repel mosquitoes
- Preventative measures to prevent future infestations
Although this guide will provide you with all the information you need to combat mosquitoes on your own, never hesitate to contact an exterminator if no progress is being made.
Common types of Mosquitoes and their dangers
Mosquitoes are a universal human pest and their distribution is found in every corner of the Earth, including Antarctica. Although there are thousands of species, they all share one common trait – their need to bite and siphon blood from humans and warm-blooded animals to reproduce.
“There are over 3,000 species of mosquitoes in the world, and at least 176 of them can be found in the United States.â€
Mosquitoes are a parasitic group of insects and their lifespan is dependent upon mammalian blood. If it were only the case that the worst attribute of a mosquito bite is a bothersome itch, you could probably just overlook their existence as a fact of life. But mosquitoes cause hundreds of thousands of human deaths per year due to the transmission of deadly diseases.
These insects multiply at a rapid, constant rate and a female can lay upwards of 500 eggs per lifetime, ensuring that an endless supply of mosquitoes will continuously thrive in a region. Although it is important to know the lifespan of a mosquito, the fact becomes a moot point due to their incessant reproductive behavior.
The lifespan of a mosquito
The mosquito lifespan has many stages and it is important to know the timeframes to better understand their longevity.
Mosquitoes live for 7 to 10 days if male, and upwards of two months if female. It is important to point out that a lot of this has to do with how warm and moist the weather is in any given region. If you live in an environment that is warm and humid year-round, you can count on mosquitoes never going away.
Mosquito larvae
Mosquitoes also lay eggs in safe areas over the winter months, which essentially means that if you live in a region that is warm and humid, you can expect to deal with mosquitoes in the spring, summer, and early autumn months. This behavior is universal across nearly all mosquito species.Â
The most common types of mosquitoes found in North America are:
Culex Mosquito
The culex mosquito is a small, dark mosquito that features brown and black stripes along its thorax and this species is predominantly found in deeply humid, tropical to subtropical climates, such as the Southeastern region of the United States.
Culex mosquitoes tend to rest inside forests or woodlands during the day, but then fly over open land during the night to a different habitat in which they feed, only to return to their daytime habitat again in the morning.
Dangers – This strand of mosquito is particularly dangerous to humans as it can transmit pathogens that can lead to encephalitis, in addition to the spread of millions of germs and bacteria.
Anopheles Mosquito
The anopheles mosquito originates from the African continent and is ubiquitous for being the primary strand of mosquito to transmit malaria to humans. This species of mosquito is found worldwide, but mostly prefers cooler climates in comparison to the culex mosquito. The anopheles is slightly larger than the culex and is known for its feathery appearance of yellow and black. This species is similar to most mosquito species in that they prefer to search for blood in the early morning and early evening hours.
Dangers – The anopheles is most commonly associated with malaria, but this species can also pass numerous other diseases to humans, including West Nile Virus and Zika.Â
Aedes Mosquito
The most common type of mosquito throughout the world is the aedes, which is particularly widespread in tropical and subtropical climates. The aedes has a black appearance with white strands along its body. The aedes is also distinctive due to its unusual behavior of thriving and feeding during daylight hours, particularly in areas of moisture such as drainage ditches and canals and bodies of water.
Dangers – This species is famously known as the yellow fever mosquito, but they are also capable of transmitting Zika, dengue fever, as well as West Nile Virus.Â
Where can you typically find Mosquitoes?
Mosquitoes will typically be living outdoors, but there are some instances where you may find mosquitoes nesting inside your home. When searching for mosquitoes outdoors, you may find the task to be arduous, since mosquitoes will not be shy about seeking you out to feast on your blood.Â
Sources of water and moist areas
But mosquitoes do have breeding spots and water is universally associated with them. Mosquitoes love to breed and hibernate in moist environments. Any matter that is saturated with water, such as mud, water-logged trees and leaves, and even soil in areas that feature consistent rain, can be used as an egg habitat for mosquitoes. The eggs can hatch in only a matter of days and in some cases, immediately.
Mosquitoes will also deposit eggs in safe areas prior to the first freeze after a hot season, ensuring that new batches that have dried out are ready to hatch once humid temperatures resume. The eggs drift on top of the water in a state known as diapause and can be incredibly hard to see with the naked eye. Once hatched, the larval stage begins.
Puddles, stagnant standing rainwater in your yard
These reproductive areas are most commonly found in bodies of water, but during the most active times of mosquito season, these areas are likely going to be in your yard, including mud puddles, saturated ground, and any containers or structures that hold stagnant rainwater. This is why it is crucial to keep your yard as free as possible from stagnant, freestanding water.
During mosquito season (typically April-November), you should frequently inspect your yard after rainfall to empty any containers or structures that have collected water, as this will help to prevent easy spots for mosquitoes to breed and thrive near your home.
What attracts Mosquitoes? Why do they want your blood?
Mosquitoes need mammalian blood to reproduce and they seek out blood by both carbon dioxide from exhalation as well as body heat. Female mosquitoes can bite and suck blood through their proboscis multiple times in their life span. Blood is required to produce eggs and a female mosquito will typically bite a host multiple times to develop her offspring.
A mosquito needs animal blood to receive protein and ensure that their eggs will fully develop, so there is no limited number of times that a mosquito can bite you! But there are variations depending on the mosquito species in question. Some mosquito species can produce at least a few eggs without having any blood meal; if they get a blood meal, they will be able to produce a big batch of eggs.
Another group of mosquito species requires one full blood meal to produce a batch of eggs. The mosquito can sense when its gut is full of blood and stops feeding, withdraws its proboscis and flies away to digest the blood meal which provides the raw materials for synthesizing the yolk protein to be deposited in the developing eggs. Another group of mosquito species will need more than one blood meal to produce a batch of eggs.
Typically, the bite of the mosquito is a single insertion of its proboscis to fill it to satiation; if it needs a second bite it will be days later when the mosquito may decide to bite you again. This may sound like mosquitoes do not bite frequently, which is true, but the sheer number of mosquitoes that are continuously replenished is what factors into the constant biting wherever you go outdoors.
How to kill mosquitoes inside the home
Can Mosquitoes live indoors?
Mosquitoes can indeed live inside of your home. If mosquitoes find themselves in your home, you may wonder how to get rid of them?
Mosquitoes cannot reproduce without blood and only female mosquitoes actually bite humans and animals, so if you ever see mosquitoes inside of your home—which is inevitable if you frequently open windows and doors—and you are not being bitten, it could be males inside of your home.
A simple flying insect repellent, such as Picaridin Insect Repellent by Sawyer Products will kill them eventually.
How do you kill mosquitoes indoors?
Since foggers (more on these later) disperse a massive amount of mosquito chemicals into the atmosphere, they are not ideal for indoor use. Apart from aerosol sprays, the best way to battle mosquitoes inside of your home is undoubtedly with mosquito traps, of which DynaTrap is the most effective mosquito trap on the market.
All measures should be taken to find the breeding source inside of your home, and pay particular attention to your kitchen and bathroom, as well as all plumbing, should be inspected to find the breeding site before you begin to treat
How to get rid of Mosquitoes in the yard using foggers
The most comprehensive measure that you can take to rid mosquitoes from your yard is to invest in a quality mosquito fogger.
Foggers are generally easy to use and with just a little bit of research, you will be well on your way to using the best mosquito-killing method on the planet. Thanks to our guide below you will definitely solve the problem of how to get rid of mosquitoes in your yard.
Mosquito foggers
Foggers are efficient because they can disburse a mosquito insecticide to controlled areas that you will be using outside, keeping those areas mosquito-free for hours at a time.
It is important to know exactly how to use a fogger to maximize the potential of your purchase and enjoy your outside area. You can buy handheld foggers as either propane or electric, and both types have positive and negative attributes when using.
Both types will certainly work to kill and repel mosquitoes from your chosen outside area, but there are limitations to be aware of.
Propane foggers
As a general rule of thumb, if you would like to utilize your mosquito fogger for both your yard and during camping or fishing trips, then propane foggers are your best bet. Likewise, if you wish to use your fogger continuously without the need of replacing propane tanks, then electric foggers, are a good option. Propane foggers, also known as thermal foggers, are some of the most commonly utilized types of foggers for residential mosquito control.
Burgess 1143 Propane Fogger
A perfect propane fogger is undoubtedly the Burgess 1443 Propane Insect Fogger. This product is reasonably priced and features a safety switch to limit overuse of the fogger. After one application and a five-minute wait, your surrounding area will be insect-free for up to six hours, as the chemical particles linger in the atmosphere and create a residual on the surrounding surfaces.
When it comes to killing mosquitoes and finding just the right kind of product to keep them away with minimal expense, then electric foggers provide a sure-fire system to aggregate the insecticide through heat. This causes the chemicals to reach a high rate of efficiency in a short amount of time. Unlike propane foggers, you only need to plug an electric fogger into an electrical outlet, with no need for frequent propane tank replacements.
Black Flag 190107 Electric Insect Fogger
A streamlined and great introduction to electric foggers can be found with the Black Flag 190107 Electric Insect Fogger. This product is also reasonably priced and is of superior quality in comparison to other electric models. You can continuously use the fogger until you need to refill the chemical reservoir. It is also great to not have to worry about whether or not you have a lighter or match handy to light the tank.
No matter which type of fogger you decide to use, it is important to remember that mosquitoes are attracted to moisture and areas where humans and animals frequently congregate. This usually means your yard.
The benefit of using a mosquito insecticide as fog, is that the particles become dispersed into numerous amounts which act as a residual once they stick to surrounding areas. Mosquitoes will be killed once the chemical is breathed in or if they land on areas covered in the chemical.
Once administered, the chemical will keep the mosquitoes away for up to six hours with each application. It is important to remember that mosquitoes continuously breed, and measures should be taken to eliminate all mosquito breeding grounds of collected water around your home. Taking precautions will help to reduce the need of continuously having to use your fogger.
ULV Foggers
ULV fogging is a process where a ULV fogger machine atomizes insecticides into tiny, microscopic particles that are amplified in potency and reach by the fogger.
ULV fogging can potentially reach and cover your entire yard with just a few quick applications from the ULV sprayer. ULV foggers are sometimes known as ‘cold foggers' due to these product's ability to utilize a high air pressure at a low density, to disperse insecticide into the atmosphere for a long-lasting residual.
You can think of ULV foggers as the ultimate weapon in killing and controlling mosquito populations, as this type of fogging is usually used by professional pesticide companies regulated by regional ordinances.
The droplets of a chemical, when used through a cold fogger, can provide a better application of chemicals against mosquitoes if the logistics of your situation is more complex.
ULV foggers are somewhat similar to propane foggers, but thermal fogging simply heats a chemical solution into a standard flow of fog. ULV fogging, however, does the same but has the added benefit of increasing the internal pressure of the fog to increase the potency as well as the reach of the chemical. ULV fogging gives a better performance with a longer residual.
One of the best ULV foggers to consider purchasing is the Tri-Jet 6208 Fogger. This product is one of the more comprehensive ULV foggers as it features a wide array of particle sizes. This comes in handy if you are dealing with a particularly potent mosquito infestation, as you can increase the air pressure to full volume to clear the mosquitoes. The Tri-Jet 6208 is also versatile when it comes to chemicals as it will accept either water or oil-based chemicals, which is beneficial since many mosquito insecticides are oil-based.
Backpack Foggers
One of the downsides of using foggers is that many of them are cumbersome and difficult to carry and manoeuvre. A mosquito backpack fogger is basically a more commonly known version, just a bit more advanced for covering large areas of land.
These models are usually more in line with a commercial mosquito fogger, as they possess a high-powered mainframe that disperses mosquito chemicals in a thick or low rate, depending on the severity of the mosquitoes in your yard.
To use a backpack fogger to spray your yard for mosquitoes, you will need to add fuel (engine-based foggers) or plug into an extension cord for electric models. Apply a mosquito chemical of your choice and use the nozzle to fog all areas of your yard where mosquitoes harbour, as well as areas you frequent the most when outside. Depending on your chosen chemical, commercial backpack foggers will leave a substantially longer residual control, due to the high-powered dispersion techniques of these model types.
When deciding which product will work best for mosquito elimination and repellent, there is really no contest between the industrial-grade power of a backpack sprayer and the more low-volume, spot treatment ready usage of a traditional fogger.
A traditional fogger will likely only give you a small radius of treatment, whereas a motor-powered backpack fogger will disperse much more chemical for much longer.
If you want to have days of protection, a backpack fogger is best, but traditional foggers are certainly good products if you do not need to go all out in mosquito treatment. One of the best introductions to backpack foggers can be found in the Cardinal 3HP Backpack Mosquito Fogger. This product is not just a quality mosquito fogger, it is also a model that carries with it a three and a half gallon tank, which allows you to fog up to twice as long as standard foggers.
Additionally, this model features a two-stroke engine with a turbo booster to increase fogging and misting actions to optimal levels, which makes fogging much shorter and more powerful.
When mosquito season is over, you do not have to put this fogger into storage since it also works as a leaf blower during the fall and winter months. It also makes foliage watering a breeze in comparison to using a standard water hose. This is a perfect purchase to make in this line of foggers.
Guide to the Best Mosquito Foggers
Mosquito Traps
Mosquito traps represent a great way to control mosquito populations and are ideal for indoor mosquitoes, since you will not have to bother with spraying harmful chemicals into your living atmosphere.
DynaTrap Insect Traps do not utilize chemicals, instead they work by using an attractant via UV light and small, CO2 emissions. These lure the mosquitoes into a compartment that traps them, causing rapid dehydration and death.
DynaTrap produces many different types of models, but the most suitable model for indoor use is the DT3019W. This model is smaller than the previously discussed models and uses AtraktaGlo technology to lure flying, indoor pests into its trap.
The attractant covers up to 600 square feet and can be placed into any electrical socket where mosquitoes and flies are problematic. You will need to replace the glue cards every one to two months, eliminating mosquitoes and flies inside of the home.
Nearly all DynaTrap models work in a similar manner. Flying insects are attracted to the bright, UV light inside of the unit, in addition to the carbon dioxide coating that lines the outer structure of the trap. Once a mosquito lands in the coating, they are trapped inside of the cage where dehydration and death will usually occur within twenty-four hours.
DynaTrap models are highly effective and this is achievable without the need for harsh insecticides or cumbersome equipment. The flying insects are not able to escape the cage once they are trapped inside, which means practically no work on your part to eliminate large numbers of mosquitoes from your home.
With only periodic replacements necessary, the DynaTrap models are a safe and chemical-free method for killing mosquitoes that works very well.
Natural home remedies to kill and repel Mosquitoes
When it comes to killing mosquitoes, it is important to know that chemicals are almost always necessary to get the job done. Thankfully, these chemicals are well-tolerated by the human system, but at the end of the day, they are still chemicals. There are some natural remedies you can utilize to repel mosquitoes from biting you.
“Natural repellents and some essential oils may be effective in keeping mosquitoes away because they block their sense of smell, making it harder for these insects to land on a human to feed.â€
Essential oils such as lavender, citronella, eucalyptus, clove, peppermint, and lemongrass can activate a repellent smell on your skin that will keep mosquitoes from biting.
Additionally, you can utilize these essential oils as candles to keep the surrounding air free from flying mosquitoes.
Although these products work well to keep mosquitoes from biting you, it must be stressed that they will not generally kill mosquitoes. They are the main products to consider when trying to learn how to get rid of mosquitoes naturally.
In Summary
As you can see, mosquitoes are a lot more dangerous than the irritating bites they produce. They are vectors for dangerous diseases and efforts must be taken to eradicate them from your home and yard as much as possible.
Their life cycle is constantly multiplying, with very little known efforts to stop their massive reproductive rates, which will likely only continue to get worse due to climate change.
Thankfully, there are many products on the market that work towards killing them as much as possible. From high-tech equipment to simple and effective traps, these products are the best types of mosquito-defense known to humankind.
Using this guide as a research tool, we hope that you will consider some of these highly effective products to combat an increasingly dangerous epidemic.
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Related Mosquito Posts:
The lifespan of a mosquito
How to use mosquito fogging chemicals
Mosquito fogger safety
Best commercial mosquito foggers
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Article References:
- American Mosquito Control Association. (2019). Retrieved from:Â https://www.mosquito.org/page/biology.
- Omodior, O. (2018). Mosquito-borne infectious disease, risk perceptions, and personal Protective behavior among U.S. international travelers. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6222040/.
- What are the best natural mosquito repellents? (2019). Retrieved from:Â https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325337.php#lemon-eucalyptus.
