How does Weather Affect Mosquito Activity?

Nearly everyone knows the awful sensation, the quiet buzz, then the irritating little sting. It means mosquitoes have arrived, and they’ve found whatever skin you’ve left vulnerable. Many people may not know much about mosquitoes except how they ruin your camping trip or backyard barbecue. We will explore how certain weather patterns affect mosquito activity, so you can be better prepared.

Warm, Moist Weather- a Mosquito’s Friend

It’s known that mosquitoes enjoy wet and warm climates. The southern US is favored mosquito territory, but they exist almost everywhere. Certain weather conditions can bring them out in force, wherever you live. They are most active in temperatures above 80 degrees. As temperatures climb higher, mosquito activity can decline. Mosquitoes will bite less when it becomes excessively hot. However, higher temperatures also make any diseases they carry more active and hence more transmissible. So when mosquitoes are around, a cool spell following very hot temperatures could be ripe for mosquito borne diseases, as highly infectious mosquitoes increase their biting activity. Just as important, relatively high nighttime lows increase mosquito activity. So if nights are warm for an extended period, beware mosquitoes at all other times as well.

Rain, the Good and the Bad

Mosquitos have a high affinity for warm, standing water. Any stagnant pond or even waterlogged junk you forgot to clean up is ripe for mosquito infestation. On the other hand, where standing water already existed prior, rainfall can disrupt the eggs that have been laid and therefore inhibit later mosquito activity. But once it passes this same rainfall will increase mosquito infestations if the water tends to pool nearby. Young mosquitoes will spend about ten days in the water only, so if a pool forms you may have some time before the problem becomes serious. The bottom line is to prevent pockets of extra, stagnant moisture whenever possible, as soon as possible. In general, heavy rains increase the numbers of mosquitoes in the area.

Cold Weather and Mosquitoes

When temperatures fall below 50 degrees, mosquitoes go dormant. Cold winter temperatures do not, however, actually kill the mosquitoes. As long as the temperature is within a typical range for your region, mosquitoes have documented adaptations that allow them to hibernate during cold. For certain species that will die in the cold, they have reproductive strategies that let their eggs survive to hatch the following season when it warms up. Mosquitoes are even a problem in Alaska.

Hopefully we’ve taken some of the mystery out of mosquito activity. With awareness of how weather patterns affect mosquito activity, you can be best prepared for dealing with these pests before they become a problem and ruin that summer barbecue.

Found mosquitos on your property? Call Preventive Pest Control today for professional Las Vegas mosquito control.