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Mosquitoes |
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The mosquitoes are
insects which make up the family Culicidae.
There are approximately 3,000 different
species of mosquitoes throughout the world.
They
have a pair of scaled wings, a pair of halteres, a slender body, and long
legs. The females of most mosquito species suck blood (hematophagy) from
other animals, which has made them the most deadly disease vectors known to
man, killing millions of people over thousands of years and continuing to
kill millions per year by the spread of diseases. |
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Life Cycle Of Mosquitoes |
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| There are four
stages to the life cycle of a mosquito: egg, larva, pupa and adult.
-The female mosquito needs the blood meal to develop her eggs. Male
mosquitoes do not bite - they feed solely on plant nectar.
-Female mosquitoes can develop several hundred eggs at each blood meal and
lay them in or around water. The eggs are attached to one another to form a
raft or the individual eggs float on the water.
-These eggs hatch within 24-48 hours releasing larvae that are commonly
called "wrigglers" because you can usually see them wriggling up and down
from the surface of the water. Wrigglers occur in all kinds of standing
water, such as; ditches, woodland pools and kept bird baths - anything
that holds water for more than a week.
-In about 7-10 days after the eggs hatch, larvae change to pupa before
becoming adult mosquitoes. The newly emerging mosquito has to stand on
still water for a few minutes to dry its wings before it can fly away. That
is one reason that mosquitoes don't breed in rapidly moving water such as
running brooks and streams or even a pond that has a fountain.
-The female mosquito begins to seek out an animal to feed on several days
after emerging from the water. Adult mosquitoes can live for a period of
four to
eight weeks.
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Danger from Mosquitoes |
| Mosquito bite can
cause many life threatening diseases like malaria, typhoid, etc. They can
transmit virus from one person to another. They can even become a trouble
while you are busy doing some important work. They can even give you some
skin disorders, etc.
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Control & Prevention Tips |
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Eliminate standing water - Mosquitoes will breed in any puddle that last
more than 4 days.
- Remove Old Tires
- Tin cans, plastic
containers
- Make sure roof
gutters are draining properly
- Chlorinate
swimming pools.
- Aerate Garden
ponds or stock them with fish.
- Change water in
bird baths (twice weekly)
- Empty plastic
wading pools when not in use
- Wear long, loose and
light-colored clothing.
- Use insect repellent
products with no more than 35% DEET for adults and less than 10 % for
children.
- Use mosquito net.
- You can natural insect repellent.
- Spray kerosene on stagnant water as
kerosene helps in killing and keeping mosquitoes away.
- Consult a Professional Pest Control
Company.
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