Monthly Archives: November 2021

It’s happened to all of us at one time or another, we spend a day or evening enjoying some quality time outdoors only to return home and realize, we’ve been bitten!

Even the most vigilant mosquito swatter has fallen victim to the blood-sucking pest that buzzes freely among us during the day and evening hours. And if you’ve ever wondered how a mosquito finds you, even in the dark, we have the answers.

It’s actually the female mosquito that’s after your blood; males avoid human contact at all costs. Females rely mainly on three senses to search for their blood meals—sight, smell, and thermal senses. Their sense of smell is quite good, due to olfactory receptors in their antennae that detect chemicals in sweat and breath. They also use other cues to find their hosts, such as moisture detection (aka hygric cues). To learn about how mosquitoes find you, what scents mosquitoes like, and what you can do to avoid the bite, keep reading.

Mosquito Vision

Mosquitoes have two compound eyes made up of hundreds of small lenses on each side of their head. The lenses, called ommatidia, enable the mosquito to see many directions simultaneously. As mosquitoes fly within 15 to 50 feet of a potential host, their ommatidia identify the host, although the image is not perfectly clear. They use their other senses to make up for visual shortcomings.

Related Topic: What Colors Attract Mosquitoes?

Mosquito Sense of Smell

Can mosquitoes smell you? Absolutely. Female mosquitoes use their olfactory senses to detect scents that are as far as 100 feet away. The mosquito’s sense of smell is the primary indicator that female mosquitoes use to find their next blood meal.

What scents do mosquitoes like? They have their favorites! Here are the smells that are most attractive to mosquitoes:

• Blood. Studies show that mosquitoes prefer Type O blood and are not as attracted to Type A.
• Perfumes and colognes that feature floral scents are highly appealing to the female mosquito.
• Skin bacteria. Certain compounds present on human skin and in sweat create an odor that attracts mosquitoes.
• Alcohol. Beer at the barbecue may be welcoming mosquitoes to the party! A study discovered that people who had recently consumed alcohol were more attracted to mosquitoes than people who had not.

Mosquito Carbon Dioxide Detection

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is another primary clue female mosquitoes use to find you. Your breath contains it, and they can smell it. How far can mosquitoes detect carbon dioxide? Each time you exhale, you send out a beacon to mosquitoes within a 100-foot radius.

Mosquitoes use hair-like sensors near their mouths to seek out the carbon dioxide source because they know that where there’s CO2, there’s a tasty blood meal. The more carbon dioxide output there is, the easier it is for a mosquito to identify the host. This means pregnant women and overweight people tend to be at greater risk for a bite. The same is true for someone who is exercising.

Are Mosquitoes Attracted to Heat?

Yes, they are. Mosquitoes detect body heat, and this factor plays an important role in whether a female mosquito decides to bite. Mosquitoes’ eyes gather thermal sensory information. When they sense body heat within four feet, they move closer to the host. This also means if you are warmer than the person standing next to you, mosquitoes are more likely to target you.

Related Topic: Why Do Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears?

One Way Mosquitoes Can’t Find You

Mosquitoes can’t find you if they aren’t in your yard! While you can’t hold your breath indefinitely or change your blood type, you can control whether mosquitoes crash your next outdoor gathering. One of the best ways to keep mosquitoes away is with a mosquito barrier spray from your local pest control pros at Mosquito Joe. We offer natural treatments that help keep mosquitoes and other pests away for up to 21 days. To learn more, or to schedule an appointment, call 1-855-275-2563 or visit us online.

With Thanksgiving approaching, you may be thinking more about turkeys than you normally do. And all this thinking about turkeys may have you wondering, “do turkeys eat ticks?”. You can’t find anything about the topic on social media and none of your friends seems to know for sure. Well, don’t worry, we have the answer. 

The answer to this burning question is, YES! Turkeys do eat ticks! Their sharp eyesight and acute hearing make them talented tick gobblers. Both domesticated turkeys and all five subspecies of wild turkeys in the U.S. eat ticks and a cornucopia of other problematic insects. For that, we are truly thankful.  

Learn just what a turkey can do with their practiced pecks.  

How Many Ticks Do Turkeys Eat in One Day?  

A single, full-grown turkey can consume 200 or more ticks per day, under the right conditions. A female turkey can raise a clutch of 4 to 17 poults every year, which means after one year of reproduction, her turkey family (two generations, including her and her mate) could eat up to 3,800 ticks per day, altogether. That’s way more ticks than most other birds consume. All of this gobbling up of ticks helps keep the population from getting too out of control, which can help reduce the spread of tick-borne diseases. 

Can wild turkeys control the tick population?  

Wild turkeys can be beneficial because they eat ticks that are on the ground, in the grass, in low vegetation and even ones on their own bodies during self-grooming. Even though these birds are also tick hosts (i.e., ticks latch onto them), they tend to eliminate more ticks than they spread.  

Turkeys also eat other bugs, mollusks, and small creatures that can be irritating to humans and/or harmful to gardens. These include slugs, stink bugs, grasshoppers, snails, beetles, caterpillars, and small snakes. They also eat praying mantises, which are tick-eaters themselves—but turkeys are better at tick control than any bug ever could be (sorry, praying mantises). 

If you’re interested in attracting wild turkeys to your property, there are several ways to do it. For example, you can create areas for dust baths, scatter food (like cracked corn) on the ground, and create protected nesting sites. Just keep in mind that turkeys will undoubtedly gobble up all your birdseed in the process. They can even be aggressive during mating season.  

Related Topic: Control by Predators: What Animals Eat Ticks?  

Other Birds That Eat Ticks  

All this talking turkey may have you wondering if there are any other birds that eat ticks? Yes, many!  

Here are some other feathered friends known for having ticks on their menu:  

• Chickens   
• Guinea fowl 
• Peafowl 
• Ducks  
• Quails 

• Partridges 
• Woodpeckers 
• Egrets 
• Oxpecker (endemic to Africa) 
    

These birds are known to seek out ticks as a favored food source. They could be considered true tick predators—especially the oxpecker!  

However, there are many other birds that eat ticks less frequently. Many will eat a tick if they come across one when foraging, so they are not considered true tick predators, like the turkey. Numerous ground-dwelling birds, including smaller songbirds, also fit this description.  

The Battle Against Tick-Borne Illnesses 

Although turkeys and other birds certainly do their part to control the tick population in many areas, they can’t be counted on to do it all. And with tick populations—as well as Lyme disease cases—increasing in many areas of the country due to climate change, it is important to take the job of tick control into your own hands.  

The pros at Mosquito Joe are experts when it comes to controlling pest populations like mosquitoes and ticks. We provide top-notch tick control services that help protect you, your family, and your pets from ticks and Lyme disease. To learn more about our natural barrier sprays or to schedule an appointment call, 1-855-275-2563, or visit us online today! 

Have you ever wondered what mosquitoes were like when dinosaurs roamed the earth? Were they like everything else during that time, giant flying fortresses that were capable of carrying off unsuspecting prey? Or have mosquitoes always been small, annoying pests that prey on their victims under the cover of darkness? Well, some 46 million years ago mosquitoes weren’t much bigger than they are today, which raises the question, what is the biggest mosquito and where do they live?

The biggest mosquito is the Toxorhynchites speciosus, also called the Australian elephant mosquito. As an adult, the Toxorhynchites speciosus reaches a length of greater than 1.3 inches. The largest recorded mosquito had a wingspan of more than 4.3 inches!

Where can you find these giant mosquitos buzzing around? The gigantic Toxorhynchites speciosus is predominantly found in Australian forests.

Other Facts About This Massive Mosquito

While the Australian elephant mosquitoes may be the biggest mosquitoes in the world, they aren’t a threat to humans because they don’t consume human blood. Thankfully, there’s no need to worry about getting the biggest mosquito bite! Elephant mosquitoes are “friendly” insects that feed on the larvae of aggressive mosquitoes and on flower nectar, plant sap, and rotting fruit juices. Since they don’t bite, they don’t carry any vector-borne diseases.

This giant mosquito is charismatic and visually stunning, with bright patterns of gold, blue, green, and white along the body and legs. They get their nickname, “elephant mosquitoes,” because of their long proboscis that looks like a trunk. The females lay their bright-white eggs on a surface of the water—often in tree holes, rock indentations, or other small natural containers. Their larvae are larger than typical mosquito larvae and feature deep reddish and grayish hues.

Related Topic: Types of Mosquitoes

How Big Are Mosquitoes in Alaska?

Maybe it is because so much of Alaska is still wilderness, but many people think mosquitoes are the biggest in Alaska. However, it just isn’t true. Most Alaska mosquitos are similar in size to mosquitos in the lower 48 states. The legend of the giant Alaskan mosquito probably comes from the snow mosquito, which is the largest mosquito in North America, measuring as large as a honeybee. Clearly, the snow mosquito is no match for the giant elephant mosquito.

Have You Spotted a Giant Mosquito-Looking Bug?

The crane fly, also known as the mosquito eater or mosquito hawk, is a giant insect that looks like a massive mosquito. Despite their mosquito-like appearance, they do not bite. In fact, most mature crane flies don’t eat at all and only live a few days.

You can tell the difference between a giant mosquito and a crane fly by examining the insect’s body and wings. A mosquito has a humped form with folded wings, and a crane fly has a straight body and holds its wings outward. Another difference is the crane fly is a lousy flier and tends to wobble through the air. A mosquito is an agile, swift flier.

Small Mosquitos, Big Problems

Even small mosquitoes can cause big problems for you. Don’t let mosquitoes ruin your outdoor fun, call your local pest control pros at Mosquito Joe. Our trained and certified technicians offer effective solutions to control mosquito infestations of any size. We offer both traditional and natural mosquito treatment options that help make the outdoors fun again. To learn more, or to schedule an appointment, call 1-855-275-2563 or visit us online.