I don’t usually gripe or complain that much, especially on my blog. But bear with me, and please offer some advice! This is the cause of my distress:
(I always wonder, who poses for these photos?And no, this is NOT one of my photos!)
If you haven’t met this gal before, she is an Asian Tiger mosquito. As I’ve been doing a little research, I saw that one expert says she is “more aggressive, seeks hosts over a broader range of human activity, and has a bite that results in considerably more irritation." He’s not kidding. We have been itching, as my dad would say, "like a man on a fuzzy tree." And the problem is that this gal has a whole lot of friends.
In doing further research, I have learned that at least SIXTY-THREE species of mosquitos call Georgia home. I had no idea we were so special here (can you hear the sarcasm dripping here?). I’ve grown up in Georgia, and we’ve always dealt with mosquitos. And they have always loved me. LOVED me. Apparently, I am the haute cuisine of the mosquito world, because they will come from miles around to bite me—they’ll fly right on by everyone else in the group but head straight to me for their “blood meal” so they can lay their eggs. They only have to mate once to fertilize all the eggs they’ll ever have, but they must have their blood meal before each time they lay eggs. So not only am I being bitten, I’m providing fuel for MORE mosquitos—future generations to come bite me!
My particular gripe is with these Asian Tiger mosquitos. They've only been in the U.S. for a few years, and I don’t recall ever seeing them until this year. The reason I notice them in particular is because they bite during broad daylight! The Asian Tiger mosquito is the only one that bites during the day. Like I said, I’ve always been a mosquito banquet, but in past years, I could just try to do my outdoor stuff during the day because the skeeters didn’t come out 'til around twilight. If I was going to be outside then, I’d put on some kind of spray. But now, I can spend 10 minutes outside right in the middle of the afternoon, and come inside with at least 10 new bites. And they love Kathryn as much as they love me. The poor thing has so many mosquito bites on her right now I’ve lost count. And that’s just from playing on the swing for a short while and picking some blueberries!
In trying to figure out how to get rid of them, I found this information: “The Asian Tiger mosquito will deposit eggs in almost any water-holding container in urban, suburban, rural and forested areas. The primary habitats of larvae are artificial containers such as flowerpots, cans, buckets, ornamental ponds, birdbaths, old tires, cemetery vases, and clogged rain gutters. Asian Tiger mosquitoes also still utilize natural containers such as tree holes, bamboo stumps, and leaf axils. As long as water remains in these containers long enough to complete their larval and pupae stages Asian Tiger mosquitoes will use these items to successfully reproduce.” Ack! I don’t have anything like this around! We’ve very careful not to leave anything with water around, we’ve made sure our gutters aren’t holding water, and our water barrel has a good screen on it. But I can’t do much about tree holes and leaves!!! I don’t want to spray something to kill every living creature in my yard. There is a new mosquito magnet thing, but it is expensive and I’ve heard a lot of folks say it doesn’t work anyway. These pesky things are keeping me inside when I’d like to be outside: I haven’t been weeding like I should; skeeter-infested nature walks aren’t fun; even taking my dog out results in bites (they bite her, too!), and we seem to bring a couple of them indoors with us every time we go outside (which results in more bites until we manage to find and kill the intruder!). I don’t want to have to coat myself and Kathryn from head to toe with mosquito repellant chemicals every time I want to spend a few minutes in the garden! Help! What can I do to take back my yard???
In doing further research, I have learned that at least SIXTY-THREE species of mosquitos call Georgia home. I had no idea we were so special here (can you hear the sarcasm dripping here?). I’ve grown up in Georgia, and we’ve always dealt with mosquitos. And they have always loved me. LOVED me. Apparently, I am the haute cuisine of the mosquito world, because they will come from miles around to bite me—they’ll fly right on by everyone else in the group but head straight to me for their “blood meal” so they can lay their eggs. They only have to mate once to fertilize all the eggs they’ll ever have, but they must have their blood meal before each time they lay eggs. So not only am I being bitten, I’m providing fuel for MORE mosquitos—future generations to come bite me!
My particular gripe is with these Asian Tiger mosquitos. They've only been in the U.S. for a few years, and I don’t recall ever seeing them until this year. The reason I notice them in particular is because they bite during broad daylight! The Asian Tiger mosquito is the only one that bites during the day. Like I said, I’ve always been a mosquito banquet, but in past years, I could just try to do my outdoor stuff during the day because the skeeters didn’t come out 'til around twilight. If I was going to be outside then, I’d put on some kind of spray. But now, I can spend 10 minutes outside right in the middle of the afternoon, and come inside with at least 10 new bites. And they love Kathryn as much as they love me. The poor thing has so many mosquito bites on her right now I’ve lost count. And that’s just from playing on the swing for a short while and picking some blueberries!
In trying to figure out how to get rid of them, I found this information: “The Asian Tiger mosquito will deposit eggs in almost any water-holding container in urban, suburban, rural and forested areas. The primary habitats of larvae are artificial containers such as flowerpots, cans, buckets, ornamental ponds, birdbaths, old tires, cemetery vases, and clogged rain gutters. Asian Tiger mosquitoes also still utilize natural containers such as tree holes, bamboo stumps, and leaf axils. As long as water remains in these containers long enough to complete their larval and pupae stages Asian Tiger mosquitoes will use these items to successfully reproduce.” Ack! I don’t have anything like this around! We’ve very careful not to leave anything with water around, we’ve made sure our gutters aren’t holding water, and our water barrel has a good screen on it. But I can’t do much about tree holes and leaves!!! I don’t want to spray something to kill every living creature in my yard. There is a new mosquito magnet thing, but it is expensive and I’ve heard a lot of folks say it doesn’t work anyway. These pesky things are keeping me inside when I’d like to be outside: I haven’t been weeding like I should; skeeter-infested nature walks aren’t fun; even taking my dog out results in bites (they bite her, too!), and we seem to bring a couple of them indoors with us every time we go outside (which results in more bites until we manage to find and kill the intruder!). I don’t want to have to coat myself and Kathryn from head to toe with mosquito repellant chemicals every time I want to spend a few minutes in the garden! Help! What can I do to take back my yard???
