Mosquitoes – Myth vs. Fact

 

Mosquitomyths 300x300 Mosquitoes – Myth vs. Fact
Myth:
Purple Martin birds as well as bats are great for mosquito control.

Fact: Purple Martins and bats do eat mosquitoes, but they are not prone to only eating mosquitoes. They eat dragonflies, mayflies, stinkbugs, June Bugs and a wide variety of other insects.  Because neither kind of animal goes out of its way to seek out mosquitoes, they are actually quite ineffective for mosquito control.

Myth: Mosquitoes can be repelled by high-frequency emitting electronic devices.

Fact: Studies have yet to prove whether this method for mosquito repellent is effective or not.  You may choose to try it in your own backyard, but consider the lack of scientific evidence before you spend a lot of money on equipment.

Myth: Certain plants can be planted in your yard to repel the insects.

Fact: While the citrosa plant may not be appealing to the mosquito, studies have not proven that the plant is a strong enough repellent to improve human comfort in environments where mosquitoes usually thrive. Citrosa, lemon thyme and citronella plants do not keep mosquitoes away by themselves. The leaves have to be crushed to release their oils.

Myth: All mosquitoes bite.

Fact: Only the female mosquitoes bite because the protein from human and animal blood is used to develop their eggs.  In fact, male mosquitoes don’t even have a mouth that can penetrate human flesh.

Myth: A change in diet will attract or repel mosquitoes.

Fact: While some people believe that bananas will attract mosquitoes and garlic will repel them, the truth about mosquitoes is that they are likely to go for you unless you are wearing mosquito repellent that is sold in stores, no matter what you have eaten.

Myth: Mosquitoes base their biting preferences on blood type.

Fact: Finally, one of the mosquito myths has some truth to it!  Ten years of research into the behavior of mosquitoes has led to the conclusion that type O blood is the most preferred by mosquitoes.  Type A, conversely, is the least appealing to these pesky insects.  However, there is more to it than that.  Higher weight individuals with warmer body temperature, such as just after exercising, will also be appealing to mosquitoes.  The bottom line is that carbon dioxide is an appealing scent to all mosquitoes, no matter the victim’s weight, blood type, or any other factor.

Now that you know the truth about mosquitoes, you are undoubtedly interested in learning how to really keep them away.  See what the experts at HomeTeam Pest Defense have to say and learn more from the company’s blog.

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