For people (and animals!) who live in areas where they are active, mosquitoes can become almost unbearable. But only the female mosquitoes bite – they are what are called ectoparasites, which means they are parasites that live on the outside of their host. They use their exposed, elongated mouth part, called a proboscis, to suck the blood from a host like a syringe.
The loss of blood is minuscule and has little effect on the host, but the saliva of the mosquito irritates the skin and can leave the bitten area itching for days. Worse yet, mosquitoes act as vectors for disease, meaning they pick up the disease from one host and carry it to the next. The most common and dangerous mosquito-borne illnesses include malaria, yellow fever and west nile virus.
Mosquitoes go through various stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, pupa and adult. It takes approximately 40 days for the insect to go from egg to adult. Once they reach the adult stage, the males live about 5-7 days, while the females can live for 1-2 weeks.
During their adult life, the females seek a host in order to get that sweet, tasty blood. Once they have achieved their goal, it takes them a day or two for digestion and growth of eggs, which they lay in stagnant water. They then seek another host and repeat.
Now that you know more than you ever wanted to know about mosquitoes, watch the video to find out how to trap them in order to avoid the negative impact their day to day lives have on ours! How well did the trap work for you? Any hints or modifications that you found were especially helpful? Tell us in the comments.
Please Share This Mosquito Trick With Your Friends and Family
