California is in the midst of a major mosquito problem. Of the 3,000 different species of mosquito found worldwide, 53 show up in California, and about half of those setup shop in the Central Valley. Recently, two invasive species have shown up to wreak havoc.
The Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes have been spotted in California recently. Better known as the Yellow Fever and the Tiger Mosquito, respectively, you’ll find neither is a welcome guest. Both bite during the day rather than the bugs’ typical habit of striking at dawn and dusk. They’re also known to be even more aggressive biters, striking more frequently than average. As they clamp down, they send their long noses into your skin to suck up blood for nutrients. And, like other mosquitoes, they can transmit dangerous viruses when they bite. The ones we look out for most in California include West Nile, Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, and Yellow Fever.
Tulare County is considering releasing genetically engineered mosquitoes to reduce their populations. However, that state-run program is running into some issues. Even if it goes through, it won’t be enough to eliminate the problem. Some homes and businesses will still find themselves overrun by these blood-sucking insects.
Some people have worse luck than others when it comes to mosquitoes. Certain things attract them, including your blood type, the color of your clothes, and even the type of soap you’re using. Like most of us, the bloodsuckers seem to dislike the smell of wildfires and disperse when the air gets too smokey, but they come back in full force once the smoke clears out.
In fact, standing water used to fight those fires can offer them the perfect breeding ground, increasing population size. Standing water is one of the major things pest experts look for as they inspect your property following a mosquito infestation. They only need about a quarter of an inch of water to lay their eggs and can lay hundreds of them at a time. Five days later, they hatch and come biting. It’s important to ensure standing water isn’t gathered in buckets, trash cans, flowerpots, or your yard. You should cover any gaps in walls, doors, and windows and check that screens aren’t damaged. Pest control experts can do a walk-through of your property to find those entryways and seal them up. They will also check around for plants like lilies, water hyacinth, bamboo, and more that could be attracting them, then help you rethink your landscaping options.
At PestMan Pest Control, we chose our name because we are the #1 experts in Visalia and the surrounding area. If PestMan were our superhero name, our power would be the ability to wipe out any pests that stood in our way. Doing that doesn’t take superhuman abilities; instead, we combine years of experience, the best tools and materials in the industry applied through an integrated pest management (IPM) approach, and a complete dedication to our craft. If you’re looking for the good guys to take out the bad bugs,
contact PestMan Pest Control today.