What Smells Do Mosquitoes Hate? How to Get Relief

a thumbnail from the video featured in this blog

Enjoying a beautiful, warm day in your yard can be spoiled by the unpleasant experience of getting covered in mosquito bites. After constant, miserable itching, you’re ready to find a solution to keep these bothersome insects away from you. So, what can you do to ward off mosquitoes? Are there any smells that mosquitoes hate that you could spray around your yard or even put directly on your skin to keep from getting bitten?

Scientists have studied the varying effectiveness of certain scents to repel mosquitoes, but insufficient research has been done to compare these to chemically-formulated repellents. Studies show that mosquitoes don’t like the smell or taste of DEET, which is one reason that repellents with that chemical compound tend to be more effective than some others. According to Alan Brown, Board Certified Entomologist and Technical Director at ABC Home & Commercial Services, DEET is the number one scent to … Read Full Post »

How Many Times Can A Mosquito Bite?

If you’ve ever spent a beautiful evening in your yard, only to later discover that you’re covered in mosquito bites, you’ve likely wondered how many times a mosquito can bite. Was it just one mosquito that’s to blame for your current situation, or was it a whole swarm that descended on your property?

Simply put, a mosquito can bite as many times as she wants or can. There is no limit. Female mosquitoes (and only females!) feed on blood until they are full. If a mosquito is interrupted before filling up, she’ll just bite again. Once her abdomen is full of blood, she rests for 2 to 3 days and then lays her eggs. Most mosquito species live up to about three weeks. During that time, a female can lay up to five clutches of at least 100 eggs at a time. Unfortunately, this means that your mosquito problems aren’t going … Read Full Post »

Do Mosquito Foggers Work? How To Get Relief

March 13, 2020. Posted by Vanessa Jenkins Green in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • Houston

A backyard with lots of greenery that might make a homeowner wonder: do mosquito foggers work

Whether we’re attending neighborhood barbecues, hosting parties outside, playing with our kids in the backyard or all of the above, we tend to spend more time outdoors as the weather starts to warm up. Unfortunately, warmer weather doesn’t just mean we get to spend more time with family and friends in our yards—it also means that mosquitoes are back. Anyone who has been on the receiving end of multiple mosquito bites knows that it’s an unpleasant experience. And, if you’ve recently felt attacked by these biting insects while spending time in your own yard, you’re probably looking for a solution. Fortunately, there are a lot of options for mosquito control out there, but some of these methods are more effective than others. You have likely heard of a variety of different products that claim to kill these pests, such as bug zappers, citronella candles and mosquito foggers. But, how effective … Read Full Post »

Do Mosquitoes Nest? Controlling These Pests

February 28, 2020. Posted by Holt Myers in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • San Antonio

A backyard with lots of greenery that could contain a mosquito nest

Some people aren’t bothered by mosquitoes, but most of us can’t stand them. Their itchy bites, that annoying whine in the ear, even the tiny tickle on the skin when they’re hovering around—for many of us, mosquitoes are seriously annoying! Summertime is prime mosquito season, but if you live in a warmer, wetter part of the country, you might have to deal with them for the better part of the year. And if you have a mosquito problem at your home, you might find yourself wondering whether or not mosquitoes make and live in nests.

This is a great question, and the answer involves an issue of semantics. Mosquitoes do not technically nest or build nests for living and breeding the way that ants, termites, bees, wasps and other insects do. Since mosquitoes aren’t social the way these other insects are, they have no need for a nest. While mosquitoes don’t … Read Full Post »

Are Mosquitoes Attracted To Perfume?

June 14, 2019. Posted by Vanessa Jenkins Green in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • Orlando

Spending time outside during certain times of the year can put you in closer contact with a number of insects. You’ve noticed those days you’re outdoors and wearing perfume, you’re getting bitten by mosquitoes more often. Is it all in your head, or are the rumors true? Are mosquitoes attracted to perfume?

Unfortunately, these insects are more likely to sense your presence if they can smell you. Mosquitoes feed on nectar when they aren’t producing eggs, so when we put on that fragrance, it sends off even more signals for them to come to find us. However, it’s not just a flowery perfume that could be attracting them—mosquitoes can smell deodorant, cologne, scented lotions and even fragranced body wash with the olfactory receptors in their antennae. By switching to unscented products, you could provide yourself with some degree of protection from itchy mosquito bumps.

There are many other rumors that get spread … Read Full Post »

Can Mosquitoes Bite Through Clothes?

March 22, 2019. Posted by Vanessa Jenkins Green in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • Houston

Mosquitoes are a problem for most of the year in the warmer parts of the country. But even so, it can feel like they come back earlier each year. You thought you were at least going to have a few weeks of relaxation in beautiful weather before they showed up again, but these bloodsucking pests had different plans. As you’re relaxing in your backyard you may be wondering: Can mosquitoes bite through clothes? Will I be safe from these biting insects if I just cover up?

Mosquitoes prefer to access blood directly through the skin, but that doesn’t mean they won’t use their proboscis to get to the blood through the clothes you are wearing. Generally speaking, loose, long-sleeved and light-colored clothes significantly reduce the chances of your getting a mosquito bite. That being said, they do not completely remove the possibility of being bitten.

We’ll teach you how to stop mosquito … Read Full Post »

How To Get Rid Of Mosquitoes In The House

March 6, 2019. Posted by Holt Myers in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • San Antonio

Your home is normally the best place to relax and unwind. But recently, just when you were decompressing after a long day, you heard it. That ominous buzzing in your ear that tells you that there’s a mosquito nearby.

Nothing interrupts your moment of Zen quite like hunting down one of these bloodsucking pests so that you can avoid getting bitten. Naturally, after one of these experiences, you’re left wondering how to get rid of mosquitoes in the house. In this blog post, we will explore why mosquitoes may decide your humble abode is a perfect place to stick around, and provide you with tips on how to keep these pesky pests in their natural environment.

Steps You Can Take To Reduce Your Indoor Mosquito Population

Do you constantly feel like you are swatting away mosquitoes, even when you are inside? When trying to control an indoor mosquito problem, the following do-it-yourself methods … Read Full Post »

How to Protect Yourself from Mosquito Bites

April 20, 2018. Posted by Russell Jenkins in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • Dallas-Fort Worth, Tyler

Rising temperatures means more time spent outdoors at pools, sports, barbecues and cookouts. Unfortunately, mosquitoes can ruin all the fun.

Prevent the bite of summer by taking time this spring to prevent one of the most irritating and dangerous of pests—mosquitoes.

If you ask most people which insect they hate the most, they will mostly likely put the malicious mosquito in the #1 spot. Mosquitoes are especially troublesome in the state of Texas.

Mosquito-Borne Threats

Every year, there are dozens of reports of mosquito-borne diseases, including:

Encephalitis (human symptoms include high fever, convulsions, delirium and other central nervous system problems)
Malaria (human symptoms include fever and flu-like symptoms, including chills, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea)
Zika (human symptoms include fever, rash, muscle and joint aches, red eyes
Babies of infected mothers risk microcephaly and poor pregnancy outcomes)
West Nile Virus (human symptoms include fever and flu-like symptoms; more severe cases can affect the nervous system and … Read Full Post »

What You Should Know About the Aedes Triseriatus Mosquito

July 24, 2017. Posted by Les Stobart in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • Corpus Christi

Summer. Mosquitoes. These two things go together like chips and salsa, although we can all agree that we’d prefer our warm weather without the mosquitoes. One of the most common mosquito species you are likely to encounter in the southern states of the U.S. when it’s hot outside is the Aedes triseriatus.

What You Should Know About the Aedes Triseriatus Mosquito

Your next question is most likely: how can I identify this type of mosquito? Where does it breed? What risks does it pose to me, my family and my pets? Perhaps most importantly, how can you protect against these biting pests? Let’s learn more about this pesky pest.

Aedes triseriatus Identification and Habitat

When you’re sitting in your backyard, enjoying time with friends and family or just listening to the quiet, you’re not likely to pay attention to which type of mosquito is biting you; you only know you’re getting bitten. So how do you … Read Full Post »

Types of Mosquitoes in Florida

July 7, 2017. Posted by Vanessa Jenkins Green in Mosquito Control, Pest Control • Orlando

Your new house has a problem. You knew this before you bought it. The place is gorgeous inside and out. Lots of open space. A lush yard. A patio that has a top-of-the-line grill. A bar. It’s what the deck doesn’t have that is the problem: screens.

Unlike many Florida patios, the previous owner decided not to enclose the space, which means bugs, which also implies bug bites. More specifically, mosquito bites.

What You Need To Know About The Different Types of Mosquitoes in Florida

You thought this would be a minor problem, that you could avoid the busiest mosquito times and enclose the space when you had enough money. Except there doesn’t seem to be a time when mosquitoes aren’t around. And you can no longer tell where the bug bites end, and your skin begins.

Is there anything you can do to protect yourself from mosquitoes? Absolutely. It starts with learning about what … Read Full Post »