After the Snowpocalypse of 2021, a lot of our customers were surprised to find that it had little impact on the mosquito population. We pointed out to them that Alaska has a horrible mosquito issue, and they don’t exactly have a warm winter. The fact is that, while some mosquitoes will die, the majority will simply slow down and become lethargic, seek shelter and then hibernate. Once the temperatures hit 55 degrees hibernation is over, mosquito eggs begin to hatch, and life begins anew.

But this does beg the question, particularly while we are in the midst of a Texas summer, what impact does the heat have on mosquitoes?

Mosquitoes are cold-blooded. This means that they are unable to regulate their body temperature and are impacted by the temperatures around them. Their ideal temperature is 80 degrees, and they will shelter from the sun during the day, appearing in high numbers at dawn and dusk when it is cooler. Some species, such as the Asian Tiger mosquito, will be out during the day, but for the most part, they want shade and cool. Prolonged exposure to the sun will cause dehydration and they obviously want to avoid that.

It is possible to reach a temperature where mosquitoes do dehydrate and die, but sadly not here in the Houston area. What saves the mosquito from being impacted by our high temperatures is our humidity. Unlike the dry dessert, where mosquitoes fail to thrive, here the combination of summer storms and high humidity means that mosquitoes are not affected by the temperatures. In fact, our weather provides an excellent environment for them. We have some species of mosquitoes that only become active in the fall and cooler months, so sadly not only does our weather encourage mosquito breeding, but we never have a time of year without them (except our week of the Snowpocalypse!)

Luckily, Mosquito Joe is ready to make outside fun again with our outdoor pest control services! Fill out a form or give us a call for a free quote today!

National Mosquito Control Awareness Week

The last week of June every year is Mosquito Control Awareness Week (MCAW).  Some folks we talk to are surprised that there exists a week devoted to the mosquito, but if we can devote a week to sharks – who are responsible for a very, very small number of deaths, then we should certainly devote a week to the deadliest animal on the planet.

The concept of MCAW is just as its name describes, to bring awareness not only to the mosquito and the diseases they carry but to what we can do to reduce the population where we live.

Mosquitoes carry EEE, West Nile, Malaria, Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya Virus. Transmission occurs once the mosquito bites, sharing saliva and potential blood particles, transferred from the last bite they took. There is no evidence that Covid can be transferred through a mosquito.

Mosquito Joe works with Nothing But Nets every year, donating a portion of its’ revenue to the organization, who supplies pesticide-treated mosquito nets to families in sub-Sahara Africa where Malaria is rampant. Closer to home, we work hard to educate whenever we can to help spread the word about some simple things you can do to keep the population down. We have a lot of information in our blogs about mosquitoes, what you can do yourself, how to best deal with bites, how to look for trouble spots, and more.

The biggest takeaway for mosquitoes should be water, water, water. Water is where they lay their eggs, where the eggs hatch into larvae, and where the larvae grow into adults. The less water you have, the fewer mosquitoes.  Remember, one teaspoon of water will give you 300 eggs. And with a life cycle of 3-5 days, those 300 can multiply into the millions in less than a month. So, tip and toss and dump that water every time it rains. Keep your gutters running clear and your fallen leaves and pine needles picked up.  Flush out your French drains and keep tarps and kids’ toys stored inside and away from the rain. Rinse out your birdbaths and scrub the sides when you do – eggs cling to the bowl and if you don’t scrub you’ve simply refreshed their water. And a HUGE issue we see all the time, especially after this last winter weather, your septic tank lids. If they are cracked or warped replace them and where possible, screw them down.  You would not believe the mosquitoes that can reproduce in those tanks.

Finally, and we apologize in advance for this, we will leave you with this most epic of videos.

One of the questions we hear a lot is, “why do mosquitoes need blood anyway?” When you really sit down and think about it, this is a really good question. We thought we would tackle it here and provide some answers.

Male mosquitoes are vegetarians/vegans and only feed on plant nectar. That’s why they spend most of their time, when the sun is out, under leaves: shading and feeding. Female mosquitoes also feed off plant nectar (and shade from the sun), but when they are preparing to lay eggs, they need more nutrients. For example, iron is required for optimal egg development and viable offspring and protein are required to build strong eggs.

Some studies have been conducted to try and determine what attracts a female mosquito to one person over another. We often hear customers who complain that they always get bitten while their spouse does not. Studies have shown that O type blood is the preference for a female. They also tend to opt for folks who are sweating or have a higher body temperature from heat or exercise, or in the case of mowing the lawn, both. This is most likely due to the fact that the higher the temperature the easier you are to see for a mosquito as they see your heat. The more you are working out the more CO2 you are expelling, again, making it easier for them to smell you through their olfactory sensors that seek out CO2. This is why pregnant women are more apt to get bitten (they expel more CO2).

When a female mosquito bites she uses her proboscis that is composed of six needle-like parts. You can check out an awesome video of this process here to see how they do this. They gently perforate the skin with one of the 6 sharp needlelike parts of the proboscis. They inject saliva into our bloodstream to stop our blood from coagulating, the result of that is also what causes the itchy raised welt that we all know and hate. They then suck up the blood through a straw-type section of the proboscis.

Mosquitoes spread diseases like West Nile, EEE, and Malaria through these mouthparts which is what makes them the most dangerous.

So, it’s a simple answer for a very complex process that has enabled mosquitoes to survive, multiply and maintain their reputation as the worlds’ deadliest animal.

Control the mosquito population in your yard with one of our mosquito control options – give us a call or fill out the form to the right for a free quote.

Mosquito Misting Systems have been in use since the 1990s when Fly Control Systems were used to protect valuable racehorses and were modified for home use. Since then, tens of thousands of systems have been installed in properties of homeowners across the US.

How Misting Systems Work

A network of specially designed nozzles is positioned around the area of a property that needs to be protected from mosquitoes. Nozzles are also positioned around the landscaping and eaves of the home. These nozzles can be attached to eaves, fences, and other permanent structures. They can also stand alone on risers in the middle of landscaping where there is no structure. Each nozzle can control mosquitoes in an 8-10 foot radius.

These nozzles are fed by small tubing that is attached to a control unit. This control unit has timers, a pump and generally a reservoir of mixed pesticide. However, some units can mix the pesticides automatically. These units do need to be connected to a tap water source.

The pesticides used in mosquito misting systems are pyrethrins (natural) or pyrethroids (synthetic). Botanical oils can also be used to prevent mosquitoes if you prefer a more natural option.

These systems will automatically activate 1-4 times a day and can also be activated with a remote if needed by the owner. They generally mist from 30-60 seconds with each activation. This mist will kill active mosquitoes in the area and also kill mosquitoes that come into the area and lands on the residual mist left on landscaping.

Things to Consider When Shopping for a Misting System

• Misting systems should always be installed, filled, and maintained by a certified pest control professional. This ensures that all legal, ecological, and safety concerns are met.
• Not every property is appropriate for a misting system. Some properties are subject to winds that can make the systems ineffective. Some properties may not have enough landscaping to allow for effective residual killing time.
• All misting systems should be part of an Integrated Pest Management system which includes treating or eliminating standing water that mosquitoes use for laying eggs.
• Misting nozzles should be kept under 10’ from the ground as the winds can cause the mist to drift out of the treatment zone.
• Care must be used when misting around lakes and ponds. Misting systems around these areas should only use products that won’t harm aquatic life.
• Misting system should not be activated when people, pets or food is in the treatment zone.
• Misting system will require maintenance and filling periodically. The maintenance includes repairing or replacing blocked nozzles, repairing system leaks, cleaning or replacing filters, and winterization.
• Misting systems generally cost between $2500 – $5000 depending on the size and number of nozzles used.
• The larger the system the more often it will need to be filled.

Alternatives to Misting Systems

Misting systems aren’t for every property. Often properties may be better suited for Mosquito Barrier Treatments. These are applications of Mosquito Control agents by pest control technicians that protect properties from mosquitoes for 3 weeks.

Whenever deciding on mosquito control for your property it is best to rely on the expertise of a certified pest control technician to help you decide on the best alternatives for your specific property. Mosquito Joe can help you with that decision. Mosquito Joe can also repair and maintain systems that are currently installed, even by other companies. Contact Mosquito Joe for a free estimate at 281-815-0228 or 979-859-5998 or email us at nwhoustonbrazos@mosquitojoe.com.

As reported by a study from the Office of the Texas State Climatologist at Texas A&M University, “Texans should expect warmer weather, more wildfires, and urban flooding, and increased impact from hurricanes through 2036.” This warmer, wetter weather is sure to bring us many problems, one of which is a dramatic increase in mosquitoes. Our fellow Texans can relate to the annual mosquito season battles in the summertime, and the idea of these issues becoming any worse is enough to make someone hysterical. However, using our services here at Mosquito Joe we can eliminate these issues for you before summer even arrives, with no contracts!

We offer a range of service options here at Mosquito Joe to treat these populations – the most popular being our barrier treatment. The barrier service covers your entire yard (or the backyard only if that is your preference) out to a foliage barrier/fence and is done on a three-week cycle.

To control mosquito populations before they arrive, our technicians spend time during this service walking your property to treat and eliminate any standing water on your land. This water can be held on the property itself in your gutters, objects in the yard, or holding in drains. Water is where mosquitoes breed by the millions, within a month- one teaspoon of water can hold up to 300 mosquito eggs. Finding the sources of mosquito issues (potential or current) is imperative to controlling the population. The second part of our barrier service involves treating the foliage on the property – trees, bushes, flowerbeds, or any leafy, cool places that a mosquito might hide. While mosquito populations thrive in warm, wet weather, they tend to spend more time in shady areas and are very bad flyers – requiring foliage to rest on in order to make it across the yard. For this reason, we treat the foliage (top AND bottom of the leaves) with our synthetic product, eliminating mosquitoes as they hide or make their way towards you. Our technicians treat any flowering plants, vegetable gardens, or fruit trees with our organic garlic product. Unlike our synthetic product, the all-natural garlic works by driving mosquitoes away due to their sensitive sense of smell. The products we use are similar to nail polish in the way they work – the products take about thirty minutes to dry down on the foliage in the yard, and during this time we like to have all people and dogs inside. After the thirty minutes are up, everyone is free to be outside, turn on sprinklers, get in the pool, etc! The products won’t wash away and instead, they break down over the 3 weeks.

Fighting the mosquito population in someone’s yard is an uphill battle since mosquitoes are able to breed so quickly. In our first service, we set the expectation of a 75% reduction in mosquitoes, 85% after a second service, getting you at our ultimate goal of a 95% reduction in your mosquito population after your third service! The products we use have an outdoor life of three weeks and tend to break down in the heat and sunlight, so Mosquito Joe comes out to treat every three weeks to maintain the barrier in your yard. We can guarantee our service for our customers who stick with our service every three weeks and we work with no contracts, so you can choose to pause/end service when you would like! Our customers are never tied into service with us. Mosquito Joe also offers two entirely all-natural options for customers that are interested and these last two and three weeks depending on which you choose. We also install and maintain misting systems, which you can read more about in our past blog! If you have issues with other pests: chiggers, ants, fleas, and ticks – you can also call Mosquito Joe for a hand with these issues as well!

As most Texans can attest, summertime is no fun when you can’t even enjoy being outdoors. Mosquitoes may have ruined the fun for you and your family in the past, but this summer we encourage you to take the time to protect your yard from these mosquitoes before summer begins! While mosquitoes do not have a ‘hibernation’ season in Texas due to consistently warm weather, mosquitoes tend to make their big leap in March and April, or May (if you’re lucky!). Get a free quote with us here at Mosquito Joe and start your service before then and make your outside fun again!