General FAQs
What are some things I can do to reduce mosquitoes around my home?
In addition to a mosquito control service, there are several measures you can take to get rid of mosquitoes around your home.
- Replace any standing water in bird baths, ponds, or pools at least once a week to reduce breeding sites.
- Introduce mosquito eating fish to ponds with standing water.
- Turn over any empty flower pots, children’s toys, and other objects that might hold water.
What health risks do mosquitos pose?
Mosquitoes are known vectors of several serious parasites and illnesses. Some of the most serious being: West Nile Virus, Malaria, Chikungunya, and Yellow Fever. More information can be found on our site or on the Centers for Disease Control’s website.
How long will a barrier treatment last?
Our mosquito treatments are designed to last between 3 to 4 weeks. Depending on weather and other environmental factors, a mosquito treatment may not last as long. Our monthly mosquito barrier treatments are a guaranteed service. If you are not seeing results, call us and we will come back out for an extra mosquito treatment service at no additional cost.
My town/city/county sprays for mosquitoes; why do I need your service?
Municipal mosquito treatment services are designed to reduce the population of mosquitoes on a large scale and not necessarily for the comfort of individuals. Our mosquito treatment services are customized to your home and your needs. Our goal is to allow your family to get out and enjoy your yard, without worrying about being bitten by mosquitoes.
Are mosquito traps or magnets a good alternative to a misting system and treatment program?
You cannot compare the mosquito magnet to a misting system or Palmetto Mosquito Control’s Barrier Service. Mosquito traps or magnets capture only the insects that are located downwind of the machine. There is no independent field research that supports the manufacturers’ claims that the mosquito traps actually reduce the population of mosquitoes and gnats in a specific outdoor area. One female mosquito can produce about 1,500 eggs that will emerge as adults in about 15 days. Anecdotally, many of our customers owned one or more mosquito magnets prior to purchasing our system or service.
When should I consult a professional about my mosquito problem?
Mosquitos carry a variety of diseases and it’s important not to expose yourself, members of your family or pets to illness. If you find yourself getting mosquitos bites while outside Palmetto Mosquito Control is happy to provide a free estimate for any of our mosquito treatment services. We can come up a proper treatment plan with either a Mosquito Misting System, a Mosquito Barrier Treatment, a one-time Special Event Treatment or a Neighborhood Mosquito Control program. For a free inspection, you fill out this online form with the proper information or you can call any one of our eight locations to make an appointment for a time and date that works best for you.
When does mosquito season start?
Mosquitoes hibernate during winter months and come back when the temperature starts to rise during the spring, which can be early as February or March in North and South Carolina. Mosquitos peak during the summer when it’s the hottest, which is why bug spray or treatments are extremely important during June, July and August.
Are mosquito treatments and sprays harmful to pets?
In order to minimize potential exposure to pets we suggest that animals remain indoors for at least thirty minutes after treatment is applied.
How can I minimize exposure to mosquito mists?
As for future exposure, Palmetto Mosquito Control can minimize risk of exposure by installing a misting system. Precise placement of nozzle heads allow the product to be distributed to the most beneficial area and minimize potential accident exposure to children, pets and adults. During installation we make sure that both the tank and operating system are hidden from view and securely locked.
How do mosquitoes spread disease?
Mosquitos are considered a vector for disease, in other words they have the ability to transfer disease from one human to the next. If a mosquito feeds on an infected host, they then spread this virus or disease to next person they feed on. This causes diseases such as Zika or West Nile Virus to spread rapidly.
How long does a mosquito live?
Mosquitoes can live anywhere from 4 days to an entire month. Their lifespan primarily depends on weather and living conditions. On average females have a much longer lifespan than males at 42-46 days compared to males living only about 2 weeks.
What attracts mosquitoes to humans?
Initially, Mosquitoes locate humans by the carbon dioxide we all exhale. Once the mosquito gets closer, they tend to notice bodily functions and scents such as moisture, sweat, scent and even the heat from your body temperature.
I noticed that some people are more prone to mosquito bites than others, why is that?
This question still remains somewhat a mystery. However, the reason that some humans get bitten more that others might come down to blood type, body scent or perfume.
A recent study found that people with blood Type O were more likely to get bit, due to the fact that mosquitoes are attracted for unknown reasons to this type of blood. In this study, those with blood Type A were the least likely to get bit and blood Type B was found somewhere in the middle. Other than blood type, mosquitoes are also attracted to certain chemicals in your skin that some people produce more than others, such as lactic acid.
Why do mosquito bites itch?
All mosquito bites are actually from a female mosquitoes, since they need the nutrients in blood to produce eggs. When a female mosquito bites an animal or human, she pierces the skin and begins to feed. As she does this, she is also injecting her own saliva that contains anticoagulant in order to prevent your blood from clotting around the bite, allowing her feed much faster.
Your body recognizes the protein in the mosquito’s saliva as an attack or foreign substance and immediately releases histamine to the bite, causing the redness and swelling of an allergic reaction. In other words, the swelling and itching that you feel after the bite is a reaction from the histamine your body produces due to the mosquito’s saliva.
When do mosquitoes usually feed?
The native southern house mosquito mostly feed at dusk and dawn, as they don’t usually like direct sunlight. However, with the introduction of the Asian Tiger Mosquito, an invasive species, bites can now happen at almost any time of day.
Are mosquitoes attracted to water?
Mosquitoes can live in water and females actually lay their larvae in pools of water. Once the larvae hatch, they even spend their first two stages of live primarily in water. This is also what attracts mosquitoes to humidity, as well as humans due to the water vapor that we all exhale.
Mosquito Illnesses
Mosquitoes can not only be an annoying, serious problem in man’s domain, mosquitoes cause more human suffering than any other organism. In their book Mosquito; “A Natural History of Our Most Persistent and Deadly Foe,” Andrew Spielman and Michael D’Antonio, wrote that mosquitoes serve no useful purpose in the ecosystem other than to perpetuate their species. Unfortunately, in the course of reproducing, mosquitoes kill millions of people each year by the transmission of some of the deadliest diseases on Earth. Not only can mosquitoes carry diseases that afflict humans, they also transmit diseases and parasites that effect dogs, cows, and horses. Mosquito attacks on farm animals can lead to the loss of weight and decreased milk production, thus mosquitoes can also adversely affect portions of a nation’s economy and way of life..
Certain mosquitoes are capable of transmitting diseases such as Zika Virus, Malaria, West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, Eastern Equine Encephalitis and Dog Heartworm. Different mosquito species transmit different diseases. For example, only the genus Anopheles transmits the malaria parasite. This particular sub-species of mosquitoes exists everywhere on the planet, except Antarctica. Malaria was once endemic in the United States but because of economic development and more stringent mosquito-control measures, malaria is not a serious threat in the United States.
Mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, such as the Asian Tiger Mosquito, can transmit Zika virus, yellow fever and dengue. Zika virus is a mild virus to adults, usually leading to symptoms much like those of the common flu. However, Zika can be passed to the fetus of pregnant women. If passed, Zika may cause Microcephaly, a birth defect that causes the brain to not fully develop. Yellow fever is a zoonotic disease, a disease that can be passed between humans and animals, making eradication impossible. Fortunately, a vaccine exists, but can cause serious illness in a small fraction of individuals. There is no vaccine for Dengue, which can cause hemorrhaging, shock, and death. Dengue fever is not common in the continental United State, but is endemic to popular tourist cities such as Puerto Rico, Latin America, and many Eastern Asian countries. The average death rate for Dengue fever is about 5 percent, roughly 3 percent higher than the mortality rate of the 1918 flu pandemic.
West Nile Virus (WNV) originally appeared in the Western Hemisphere in 1999 in New York City. The virus was first isolated in Uganda in 1937 and was typically found in Africa, the Middle East, West Asia, and Europe. Once the virus was introduced in New York City, it exploded across the United States. Like Yellow fever, West Nile virus is a zoonotic disease, and it often transmitted via infected birds. Unfortunately, the mosquito that transmits West Nile virus is Culex pipiens, often referred to as the common house mosquito, and is common to urban and suburban settings.
Rigorous mosquito surveillance and control is crucial to preventing mosquitoes and their transmitted viruses from spreading throughout the world. Municipalities must not limit their mosquito-control programs, especially if the programs have been successful in preventing widespread outbreaks. To develop effective control measures, it’s important to understand the mosquito life cycle and behavior.
More information about Mosquito Borne Illnesses can be found through the CDC website http://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dvbd/index.html