Mosquitoes are one of the most unpleasant things a person can encounter. In case of mass attacks, such insects pose a real danger. In addition, some individuals carry a huge number of infections. It’s quite easy to understand where mosquitoes come from in a room in the summer, but what do such parasites do with the onset of cold weather? There are cases when even in winter you can find several mosquitoes in the house. If you don’t want problems with insects, then you need to be fully prepared. The following information about mosquitoes will help you avoid a lot of trouble, restore a quiet life and not experience unpleasant bites.
In winter, people can breathe a sigh of relief and not hear the annoying squeak. Regardless of such a factor, the sudden disappearance of mosquitoes is sometimes puzzling. Where do insects go in late autumn and winter? It is immediately necessary to understand that mosquitoes are divided into two broad groups, one of which carries dangerous diseases:
- Malarial;
- Common non-malarial.
The distribution factor is the likelihood of the spread of infections and various diseases. All females drink the blood of mammals to complete reproduction and lay a sufficient number of eggs. Enzymes contained in the blood help form a large clutch of future larvae. Males behave somewhat differently and choose nectar or plant pollen as food. Have you seen mosquito bites on your body? Do not doubt that it was the female who did her best, who urgently needed to lay eggs after fertilization.
Hibernation sites for adult mosquitoes
Only female mosquitoes drink the blood of humans and warm-blooded animals for reproduction. This way, future offspring receive the proteins and lipids necessary for growth. Males feed on flower nectar and pollen.
There is no point in adult mosquitoes flying far from humans for the winter. Otherwise, with the arrival of warmth, they will not be able to immediately begin laying eggs.
When do mosquitoes hibernate? The signal to seek shelter is the reduction in daylight hours. In countries with temperate climates this is mid-September. In October, blood-sucking insects no longer bother people.
Adult mosquitoes (imagoes) choose warm places for wintering and prefer damp rooms. Water attracts females because they lay their eggs in it after waking up.
Where do mosquitoes overwinter in the adult stage:
- Cellar, basement;
- Animal sheds;
- Outbuildings (garages, storage facilities, warehouses);
- Roofs and attics;
- Free spaces between the wooden beams of houses;
- Deep cracks in the walls;
- Window frames;
- Corners under ceilings;
- Furniture cases;
- Ventilation shafts;
- Spaces under sinks and bathtubs.
Choosing a place to live
Most often, where insects breed and spend time, they also talk about what they do in winter. If we talk about the most interesting of them, then this is, of course, a blood-sucking species, including mosquitoes. Let's take a closer look at the features of choosing housing.
Mosquitoes choose tall grass, bushes or weeds to rest. The breeding process is usually carried out in standing water with a small volume - it can even be a birdbath, street decoration in which water accumulates, and sometimes drains.
Midling midges have a wider range and can choose to live on beaches, ponds, streams or wetlands. Reproduction can occur in water, regardless of its quantity.
The midge lives near running water, including streams and rivers. They lay eggs under water, while the larvae attach themselves to stones located at the bottom - in this position they remain until the individuals turn into adults - adult insects.
Despite some differences, the presented pests choose the same shelter for the winter.
Where do forest mosquitoes hide in winter?
Female mosquitoes living in the forest feed on the blood of animals, mushroom pickers and berry pickers. With the onset of cold weather, they look for shelters in which they can safely spend the winter.
Where do mosquitoes live in the forest in winter?
- Hollow trees;
- Burrows of rodents, foxes, hares;
- Accumulations of dry grass and leaves;
- Wet soil;
- Free spaces between boulders.
Females choose places near water bodies. If spring comes early and the air temperature rises sharply, by the end of April the forests are teeming with insects.
When and why do they wake up?
Now it is clear how mosquitoes winter. But how do they wake up and begin their physical activity in the spring? After winter, as soon as the air temperature begins to rise and reaches 15 °C, the insects “come to their senses.” They begin to crawl out of basements, sewers and various crevices. Pests fly into apartments and houses in search of food.
We must remember that using only fumigators and repellers will not get rid of the invasion of blood-sucking parasites. It is necessary to promptly repair any leaks in basements, be it water supply or sewerage.
What happens to mosquitoes during hibernation?
When mosquitoes go into hibernation, changes occur in the body to adapt to the cold. Fat accumulates in the abdomen. Breathing and metabolic processes slow down. This state is called diapause.
At low temperatures, the insect falls into torpor and does not die even in the cold. Sometimes the body produces a viscous fatty substance - glycine, which prevents the bloodsucker from turning into a piece of ice.
During diapause, female mosquitoes become resistant to insecticides. If you spray a can of toxic substance in a barn, the blood-sucking insects will survive.
Now it’s clear where mosquitoes come from after winter. With the onset of warmth, the females’ metabolism returns to normal, they come out of their shelters and begin to actively bite people in order to lay eggs.
When does mosquito season end?
The activity of mosquitoes depends on environmental conditions, primarily humidity and temperature. If the thermometer drops below +10⁰С, insects stop reproducing and biting and become lethargic. And, if you wonder where mosquitoes go in winter, you need to understand that the males die, and the females prepare for hibernation, in other words, they fall into a state of suspended animation, when all life processes slow down greatly.
Since mosquitoes are widespread throughout the world, it is impossible to definitively determine when their activity will cease. It all depends on the climatic and weather conditions of the region where a particular species lives.
For example, in the Krasnodar region of Russia, the mosquito season begins in early spring, while in Siberia insects wake up closer to summer. This also applies to the duration of the period of insect activity - in the south it lasts much longer than in the north.
Mosquito activity
How mosquito larvae and eggs overwinter
Eggs are characterized by the highest resistance to low temperatures and are preserved even in frost. Mosquito larvae also tend to go into diapause—to delay their development.
A female mosquito does not need to find a natural body of water to lay eggs. Any water source is suitable.
In winter, mosquito eggs and larvae are stored in the following places:
- Flooded basements;
- Car tires;
- Bottom layers of swamps, ponds, ditches;
- Road potholes.
As April (May) approaches, a rapid transformation into an adult insect occurs. This takes 4-10 days.
Dream country
Mosquitoes live in all regions of the planet, with the exception of Antarctica and several polar or subpolar islands. For example, Iceland is just such an island where there are never mosquitoes.
We recommend reading: “How do snakes winter?”
The absence of mosquitoes in Iceland and similar regions is due to the vagaries of their unpredictable climate. For example, in Iceland in the middle of winter the water often warms up unexpectedly, causing the ice to break, but then the water freezes again just a few days later. By this time, the insects have emerged from their pupae, but new frosts begin before they can complete their life cycle.
Where do mosquitoes come from in winter?
For some residents of apartment buildings and dormitories, mosquitoes plague their lives throughout the year. Why is this happening?
Perhaps the house has a room with water and a consistently warm temperature (flooded basement, cellar). There, mosquitoes lay eggs, and through ventilation shafts they climb into people's apartments and drink blood.
To solve the problem, you need to find the source of mosquito breeding and pump out (dry) the water. If you freeze the room, the mosquitoes will hibernate and stop bothering the residents, at least in winter.
Egg stage
The first three stages of insect development are egg, larva and pupa. Basically, the mosquito goes through these stages while in water. In autumn, the female mosquito lays eggs in water. Females can lay up to 300 eggs at a time. The eggs may remain dormant in the water until spring. They hatch only when conditions become favorable, temperatures begin to rise, and sufficient rainfall occurs.
The first three stages usually last from 5 to 14 days, depending on the type and ambient temperature, but there are some nuances. Mosquitoes living in regions where the temperature drops and snow falls in winter spend the cold season in a state of diapause.
Insects delay their development, usually for several months, and resume it only when there is enough water and heat for their survival.
How do foreign mosquitoes behave?
Blood-sucking insects are found in different parts of the world. In tropical countries, adult mosquitoes hibernate during drought. People suffer from an invasion of bloodsuckers in the autumn-winter period.
Mosquitoes are found in the Scandinavian countries, Canada, Alaska and even the Arctic. Over the years, they have developed resistance to negative temperatures.
Arctic mosquitoes do not need warm shelters. They survive under thick layers of snow and ice. These mosquitoes are the most aggressive.
The period of activity of northern insects is no more than 14 days a year. In a short period of time, female mosquitoes must have time to bite the maximum number of people and animals in order to lay many eggs.
Video “Why do they bite”
From the video you will learn why mosquitoes bite.
Insects come in different colors: yellow, black, green and gray.
I got rid of MOSQUITOES and FLIES once and for all! Housewife Irina Goncharova says: I just turn on Read more>>
Their abdomen consists of 10 segments, and their wings are covered with peculiar scales. The mosquito's legs are equipped with claws, the proboscis is long and consists of a number of scales. The mouth is hidden in the lower lip, which is presented in the form of a tube. Inside the lip are the lower and upper jaws - with this organ the female cuts a hole in the skin, sticks her proboscis there and sucks blood from the capillaries.
Females after winter
When warm weather returns, the mosquito woman (if she has eggs to lay) should find blood. She needs protein in her blood to help her eggs develop.
In the spring, when people reappear outdoors wearing short sleeves, this is the time when newly awakened mosquitoes come out to hunt.
Once the female has eaten, she will rest for a few days and then lay her eggs in any standing water she can find.
Under ideal conditions, females can live for six to eight weeks. Females typically lay eggs every three days during their adult lives.
Let's get to know each other better
Flies belong to the order Diptera, the short-whiskered family. Scientists count about five thousand species of flies, which are divided into more than one hundred genera. In this publication, we will not dwell on a detailed classification of insects; we will only note that they are all divided into two large groups: those living in the wild and those ecologically associated with human settlement.
People in their homes can observe several types of flies: house flies, autumn flies and others.
All of them have the following characteristics:
- The body of the insect is dark in color, and some species have a metallic sheen.
- The body is covered with bristles and hairs.
- All types of flies have large heads.
- The oral apparatus has the shape of a proboscis, which is adapted for licking or sucking food.
- The fly's organ of vision, a very complex structure of the eye, helps it survive. They consist of literally thousands of individual lenses, and are also very sensitive to movement.
- Some insect species have very precise three-dimensional vision.
- The front pair of wings is used for flight, and the back pair, called halteres, is used to maintain balance in the air.
Flies are diurnal. They pose a threat to humans because they are carriers of pathogens of various diseases, both human and animal. Diptera reproduce quickly. If a female appears in the apartment, then after a short time she can give birth to offspring. Therefore, you must try to get rid of these “uninvited guests” immediately.
What to do so as not to hear the lady buzzing flies
To prevent flies from appearing in your apartment, you need to take comprehensive preventive measures:
- install good double-glazed windows;
- use mosquito nets;
- eliminate cracks in the floor;
- Do wet and dry cleaning frequently.
Such simple preventive measures will help you resist the fly army. If the mosquito net you installed is damaged, then insects appeared through them. You need to buy a new product and then you can sleep peacefully. This way you will cut off the paths for winged parasites to enter the room.
The appearance of flies may be a signal that not enough attention is paid to the cleanliness of the apartment. Try to store food in closed areas. Clean the table thoroughly after the meal, do not leave crumbs on it. Also, get rid of the habit of accumulating dirty dishes. By keeping a clean apartment, you will deprive insects of a favorable habitat.
How to get rid of flies using folk remedies? Grandma's most proven method is geranium. This beautiful plant has a specific smell that parasites “don’t like.” This is why our grandmothers so actively grew geraniums and decorated their balconies with them in the summer.
You can prepare an effective mixture: 40 g. ground black pepper and sugar and 100 ml of milk. Soak a cloth in this mixture and place it where there are insects. Folk remedies are safe, but they must be used very carefully. If family members are allergic to some component, then it is better to abandon this method and choose another.
Flies are dipterous insects that hibernate during the winter.
How to get rid of insects?
Most often, the problem of how to get rid of flies in an apartment in winter is not particularly difficult. After all, most often we are talking about one, perhaps several accidentally awakened individuals, which, upon awakening, are so lethargic and slow that they can be eliminated without much difficulty.
But sometimes, even in winter, small flies appear in the apartment and begin to actively breed. These could be, for example, fruit flies, which need warmth and food to reproduce, namely rotting fruit, fermented jam, or even the remains of mild alcohol (beer or wine). They find all this in the apartment, especially if insufficient attention is paid to maintaining order or food is stored incorrectly. Then very soon you can notice a swarm of small flies in the kitchen.
But regardless of the number of flies in the house, it is necessary to take measures to get rid of them. For this use:
- folk remedies (ammonia, turpentine);
- traps;
- repellents (essential oils, herbs);
- chemicals.
First of all, you should use safe products and only resort to insecticides as a last resort. The problem is that after using chemicals, the room must be properly ventilated, and this is quite difficult to do in winter without damaging the heating system.
Houseplants will help control flies. So, insects will not live in the room where there is a pot of geraniums. Another option is to grow mint or basil on the windowsill. The smell will drive away flies, and fresh herbs will be useful for preparing healthy vitamin-rich dishes.
And yet in winter it is necessary to ventilate the room more often, since cold air negatively affects flies.
