Five Ways You Are Unknowingly Attracting West Palm Beach Mosquitoes

Do you remember a time in your life where you would have done anything to be attractive? We aren’t just talking about attractive looks, we are talking about attractive smells, attractive personality, and all the things that attract people to you. Now, before we go too far down this rabbit hole, we aren’t here today to figure out how attractive you are to people, we are here to find out how alluring you are to hungry mosquitoes. Here are five ways you might be unknowingly attracting mosquitoes here in West Palm Beach.

A Little About Mosquitoes

How much do you know about mosquitoes? Did you know that only female mosquitoes drink blood, or that they can beat their wings over 300 times a second? Our guess is that there are many interesting things you don’t know about these blood-sucking pests, like the fact that they are terrible flyers and cannot travel over 2 miles an hour, or that they are the most dangerous creature on the planet. That’s right, mosquitoes are responsible for over 1 million deaths annually. This is due to the wide number of diseases they can pick up and transmit such as malaria, dengue fever, and West Nile virus.

Mosquito Attractants

Dark Colors

Mosquitoes do not have the best vision so they use darker colors contrasting with backlighting to spot their victims. Wearing lighter colors when outside will help you better blend in with your surroundings and become less visible to hungry mosquitoes.

Carbon Dioxide

When their vision fails them, mosquitoes will try to use carbon dioxide to hunt down their prey. If you are outside working or playing hard, more carbon dioxide will be produced from your breath which will naturally attract more mosquitoes.

Lactic Acid

When the oxygen level is low inside your body, carbohydrates break down and create lactic acid. Surprisingly, mosquitoes have the capability to use lactic acid to find their victims when out of other options.

Heat

If all else fails, mosquitoes can try using heat in the air around them to spot living creatures. If you are naturally warm-blooded or are running a fever, you will be more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes when outdoors.

Certain Chemicals

Many studies have been done on mosquito attractants. In these studies, certain chemicals such as Octenol, Phenols, and Butanone, were found to draw in mosquitoes. Octenol is even used in many mosquito bait systems.

How To Keep Mosquito Populations Down Around Your Property

Mosquitoes only need two things to breed, blood and a source of stagnant water to lay their eggs in. To be honest, there is not much you can do to limit their supply of blood. Even if you make yourself less attractive to mosquitoes they will still find a blood meal from other people or animals. What you can do is eliminate sources of standing water on your property. This will, in turn, make it harder for mosquitoes to breed nearby, and will reduce their population.

To take prevention a step further, we suggest investing in professional mosquito control courtesy of Native Pest Management. By letting us treat your property you can give your yard the best chance possible to deter unwanted blood stealers. Then you can enjoy your summer bite-free.

Reach out to us today to find out more about our methods for treating mosquitoes, or to schedule exterminator services for your West Palm Beach property.