There is nothing more annoying than hearing the squeak of a lonely mosquito while half asleep. Sleep disappears and wary anticipation begins. Now he will sit on your hand or face, you can kill him and rest with a feeling of satisfaction. Not so. In a dark and quiet apartment, you can clearly hear this parasite flying somewhere nearby, but you can’t see where. The night hunt begins. The light turns on, the newspaper is picked up and it turns out that the insect is nowhere to be found. And everything starts again.
Such a quest interferes with proper rest and has a bad effect on the human nervous system.
Ways to enter the house
- Most often, mosquitoes sneak into an apartment through windows and balcony doors that are open in the summer heat. By smelling the carbon dioxide exhaled by humans, they can fly long distances to feast on fresh blood.
- At night, they are also attracted to lighting devices. Feeling their warmth, mosquitoes rush into the welcomingly open windows. Sometimes insects cling to the mosquito net from the outside, and the moment it is removed, several individuals break into the apartment.
- Another way is the front door; in the minutes that it remains open, more than a dozen bloodsuckers are able to enter the apartment from the landing. There they prefer to hide from the heat of the day.
In flight
- In apartment buildings, the basement can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes if there is high humidity. Then ventilation holes, cracks near pipelines, and an elevator shaft become convenient roads for bloodsuckers.
- These little vampires are not averse to using human clothing to move around, which is so easy to get into the home.
What does a mosquito look like and what is it?
Appearance
Mosquitoes belong to the family of dipterous insects and are classified as blood-sucking mosquitoes. The size of adults can range from 3 mm to 5 cm, depending on the species. The color of the body also varies. Most often there are individuals with a black or gray color, but there may be species with a body of orange, red, yellow or green. Although insects belong to the dipteran family, they actually have two pairs of wings, one of which has lost its function.
Common mosquito
A special feature of these blood-sucking pests is their oral apparatus, which consists of elongated long upper and lower lips, which form the so-called sheath. Inside the case there are 2 pairs of jaws with sharp teeth. Females have a more developed oral apparatus, so they can bite through the skin of a person or animal and drink blood. Males' jaws are not very developed, so they are "vegetarians", that is, they feed only on plant juice.
Reproduction
They belong to insects that are characterized by complete transformation. Mosquitoes go through four stages of development: egg - larva - pupa - adult. The first three stages take place in reservoirs; only adult individuals reach the surface.
The type of mating of these flying insects is called eurygamy, that is, the males gather in a swarm and wait for females to fertilize them. Females attract males with a squeak-like buzzing sound produced by the movement of their wings. The female flies into the swarm and is fertilized by the male. After mating, the male returns to the swarm, and the female flies off in search of blood necessary for bearing offspring. It is noteworthy that in urban conditions the common type of mating is stenogamy, that is, alone, since there is not so much open space in the city, and it is difficult to form a swarm in such conditions.
Mosquito eggs
The number of eggs in a clutch directly depends on the amount of blood drunk, which is why insects are so aggressive towards humans. In one clutch, a female can lay from 30 to 150 eggs. Eggs are laid on the surface of a reservoir in calm, standing water with minimal flow speed, for example, in puddles, ponds, lakes, and reed thickets.
After a few days, larvae emerge from the eggs into the water. They look like small worms, dirty gray in color for squeakers and green or red for jerks. The larvae are food for various animals, birds and fish, so fishermen use such larvae (bloodworms) as bait. The larvae can live at the bottom of the reservoir, swimming out every 15 minutes for a new portion of oxygen, or they can swim near the surface of the water, sticking the “tail” of the body into the air, this is where the respiratory organs of the larvae are located.
Mosquito larvae
Over the course of 20 days, the larva molts 4 times, shedding its old, tight skin and gradually increasing in size. So, during this time, the size of the larva’s body can increase 500 times. After the last molt, the larva turns into a pupa. The pupa also lives in the reservoir, periodically rising to the surface for oxygen. The pupa is identical in lifestyle to the larva.
After 5 days, an adult emerges from the larva and moves to live on land. The lifespan of males is about 3 weeks, while that of females is about 3 months, but under unfavorable conditions the life of pests becomes shorter.
Lifestyle and nutrition
Favorable conditions for living and breeding of pests are warm weather (more than 16 degrees) and high humidity (more than 80%). However, mosquitoes quickly adapt to unfavorable conditions for them. In temperate climates, insects are active from May to October. In the summer, in nature, mosquitoes often live near ponds, lakes, swamps and other places with high humidity.
In winter, they move to warm barns where domestic animals live. In urban environments, they live in basements or sewers. When the air temperature is less than 16 degrees, mosquitoes enter winter suspended animation. In this way, the lifespan of females can be extended up to a year.
Many species of mosquitoes are harmless to humans because they feed on plant nectar. But females often feed on blood, which is needed to bear offspring, so bloodsuckers settle next to humans. Bloodsuckers sense their prey many meters away using their antennae.
How to find a mosquito in a room?
If mosquitoes interfere with sleep and there are clearly not 2-3 of them, then the problem needs to be solved radically. Physical methods and searches for each individual are clearly not enough here. It would be best to use some kind of repellent. Cotton pads with aromatic oils applied to them placed near the bed will repel insects and allow you to get a good night's sleep.
Coniferous, citrus scents, aroma, thyme, wormwood are suitable. A vanilla pod wrapped in a paper napkin and placed at the head of the bed will have the same effect on them. The powder of the same spice can be diluted in water and sprayed into the room with a spray bottle. Parasites do not like the smell of cloves.
How to get rid of mosquitoes in an apartment if there are only a few of them and it is not clear where they are hiding? The LED flashlight found in phones will help here. By directing the beam parallel to the wall close to it, you can see the shadows of insects magnified several times. This will reveal the location of the mosquitoes. All that remains is to slam down the annoying bloodsuckers.
Effective means
After the bloodsuckers' entry routes into the apartment are blocked, proceed to destroy the population. There is a wide selection of products on store shelves to help eliminate the problem.
Fumigators
A fumigator is a device that heats an insecticide placed inside. This may be a plate impregnated with a toxic substance, or a toxic liquid. The device is plugged into a socket and heats up. When exposed to heat, the insecticide evaporates and its particles spread throughout the apartment, killing mosquitoes.
The main active ingredients used to create the poison are prallethrin or diethyltoluamide, which are considered harmless to humans, dogs, cats, and birds. The poison has a destructive effect on insects, disrupting the functioning of the nervous system, causing disorientation in space, paralysis and death.
High-quality fumigators are produced by the following companies:
- Raid;
- Raptor;
- Mosquitop.
Read the instructions before use. Indoors, it is recommended to leave the device turned on for 2-3 hours. If there is an air flow, the device can operate all night.
Ultrasonic repeller
An environmentally friendly method is highly effective in the apartment. Its principle is based on the natural characteristics of the life of mosquitoes.
- After fertilization, the female avoids males, as she no longer needs them.
- The repeller produces a sound identical to the male's squeak, so the female flies away.
- The device operates from the electrical network. The frequencies at which sounds are produced are not receptive to the human ear, so the operation of the device does not cause discomfort to people.
Ultrasound devices are in demand in children's rooms. The product of the Italian company Chicco receives good reviews. It is recommended to install it near the child's bed.
UV lamp
The device resembles a flashlight. LED lamps are installed inside, projecting ultraviolet radiation, which is only detected by flying bloodsuckers. An electric grid is stretched around the lamp.
The light attracts mosquitoes, they rush towards it, stumble upon the mesh and die from an easy electric shock. The Terminator and Skat lamp models are suitable for use in an apartment.
How to attract with light?
You can try to get rid of mosquitoes at night using this method using either a flashlight or a table lamp. Insects are attracted to heat, so they will quickly flock closer to the lighting fixture. Here they can be destroyed with the palm of your hand or a rolled up newspaper.
Attention! Please note that mosquitoes do not react to sodium lamps and LED lights. Regular light bulbs should be used.
You can catch a mosquito at night by unexpectedly turning on the light at the moment when it circles above the bed. It's better if it's a flashlight so it doesn't blind your eyes. In a bright beam, the insect will immediately become visible, and before it has time to react, you can try to kill it.
Introductory part
Before we move on to tips, let's remember what attracts female mosquitoes to humans - this knowledge will help us kill a mosquito in the dark.
The first is, of course, blood and the protein it contains. Moreover, if a mosquito has a choice between blood groups I, II, III and IV, it will choose the first. Why? Scientists explain this by saying that group I has existed among people for many thousands of years and mosquitoes have been drinking it for about the same number of thousands of years, and the remaining groups are considered relatively new and are not very familiar to them. Does a lamp help against mosquitoes?
Does a lamp help against mosquitoes?
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In second place after blood is carbon dioxide (CO2), which people emit when breathing. The more intensely you breathe, the faster the mosquito will detect you. Detection radius is approximately 50 meters. In addition to carbon dioxide, mosquitoes are attracted to the smell of sweat or alcohol.
Mosquitoes also readily fly to heat and light. Moreover, they perceive light not as people, but as a source of heat. Therefore, they fly into the light of ordinary incandescent lamps or fires. But LED lights are practically not attractive to them.
Interesting! We haven't tested it ourselves, but based on the above, if you get bitten by mosquitoes at night, you need someone who has drunk a bottle of beer, is breathing heavily, is holding a floor lamp, is sweating, and has blood type O. In this case, with a 99% probability they will not bite you! But whether you can sleep next to such a defender is another question.
How to catch with a vacuum cleaner?
Before using a vacuum cleaner to catch mosquitoes at night, you need to make sure that you will not disturb anyone in the room with an unexpected sound, especially children. The difficulty lies in the fact that the device must be prepared in advance so that you don’t have to take it out of the pantry late in the evening.
Fishing with a vacuum cleaner
This method is effective when insects sit in places that are difficult to reach. It is enough to quickly bring the hose tube to the little vampire and turn on the unit. The mosquito will no longer escape from the dust bag.
Where do mosquitoes prefer to hide at home?
Despite their apparent cunning and sophistication, small domestic parasites behave in a rather primitive way, and their behavior is monotonous and predictable. Most often, they choose walls and ceilings as their location, just as in nature they usually choose tree trunks. In a living room, they can be found at the junction of the wall and ceiling. Since insects like to sit on the grass, in its lower part, you can pay attention to indoor plants.
It must be borne in mind that insects remain sitting in one place until the moment when they feel air vibrations from an approaching potentially dangerous object. When declaring war on small vampires, show maximum imagination and ingenuity. The result will not be long in coming.
Trap in a glass
This method is suitable for followers of Buddhism who consider themselves not entitled to destroy the life of even an insect. You need to prepare a transparent glass, find the parasite on the wall, and catch the mosquito with as sharp a movement as possible, covering it with the container. Whether the flying bloodsucker has fallen into a trap will be visible through the glass.
After this, you need to carefully place a sheet of paper under the glass so that the bloodsucker cannot fly out. Now you can do whatever you want with the mosquito: release it into the street, swat it, the main thing is that it does not interfere with sleep. When there are only one or two insects, this method will save the situation.
Why are mosquitoes dangerous?
By piercing the body, the female injects saliva under the skin, which includes substances that inhibit the function of blood clotting. Saliva provokes itching, redness, swelling and causes an allergic reaction.
Mosquitoes are carriers of dangerous diseases. An insect bite can become the basis for the development of parasitic, bacterial infections, malaria, and West Nile fever.
At the end of the last century, scientists seriously feared that mosquitoes were carriers of HIV infection, but fortunately, the assumption was not confirmed. Although some experts still do not exclude this possibility.
Use of a fumigator
Perhaps the most reliable way to kill a mosquito is to use an industrial fumigator. They come with replaceable solid plates or with liquids poured into a special container. When heated, the fumigator releases toxic substances into the air that kill insects.
It happens that the device itself is not at home, but the consumables from it are lying around. Then you can use the means at hand. For example, place the plate on a hot iron. To kill insects faster, the plate can be placed in a metal bowl, set on fire and immediately blown out. It only needs to smolder, releasing toxic substances. They walk around the entire room with the container so that the insecticide spreads throughout the room as quickly as possible.
Attention! The fumigator is not recommended for use with closed windows.
When the liquid in the bottle runs out and mosquitoes keep you awake, you can pour essential oils of lavender, geranium, mint, and eucalyptus into it. The effect will be different; these products repel insects. However, a night's rest will be provided.
About the safety of mosquito repellents for children and pets
The safest mosquito repellents that do not affect pets and children are ultrasonic repellers.
As for essential oils, many are confident that their use is safe, but this is not the case. For example, essential oils can have a stimulating effect on pets - remember how cats behave under the influence of valerian oil.
Geranium on the window will repel insects
Essential oils of geranium or cloves can have a negative effect on the child's body. If children spend a long time in a room with a strong smell of such oils, they may experience weakness, dizziness, and sometimes nausea. In addition, allergic reactions are possible.
