Pest Command.com

Let’s say it’s summer time. The last thing we think about when heading outside is those pesky bugs we know are out there but forget about until they bite us.
You’re out in your backyard enjoying the sun and grilling your dinner. Ouch! You look down at your arm and see a painful, swelling bite. Moments later, you feel another one bite you. What are these pesky insects? Why do they bite? Do they carry diseases? What can you do to protect yourself?
It is a MOSQUITO, those blood sucking pests we encounter every year. These insects have been around for over 30 million years. And it seems that, during those millions of years, mosquitoes have been honing their skills so that they are now experts at finding people to bite.

How do they find us? Well they can find us using three sensors:
1. Chemical sensors - mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 100 feet away. We gives off these gases as part of normal breathing.
Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to attract mosquitoes (people who don’t sweat much don’t get nearly as many mosquito bites).
2. Visual sensors - if you are wearing clothing that contrasts with the background, and especially if you move while wearing that clothing, mosquitoes can see you and zero in on you. It’s a good bet that anything moving is “alive”, and therefore full of blood, so this is a good strategy.
3. Heat sensors - Mosquitoes can detect heat, so they can find warm-blooded mammals and birds very easily once they get close enough.

Ok here is a bit of trivia for you. It is the female mosquito that bites and not the male. Why you may ask, well its because she needs a blood meal in order to produce eggs. So what does the male do, well he lives for a very short time for the purpose of mating.
These insects are of great concern not only for you but for many people around the world, and there is a lot of information to pass about them, such as do they pass diseases, how do you prevent them from biting and what can I do to keep them out of my yard. Stay tuned the answers to these questions and more.