As we wrap up April, and National Pest Management comes to a close for another year, we wanted to point the focus at the one pest we love to hate here on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Sure, mosquitoes are found almost everywhere on Earth, including Alaska and the Arctic. But Florida has a special relationship with the blood suckers.
The Good
We know, starting with the positive aspects of mosquitoes seems like a strange pivot. But at least it’ll be a short section, right? Right?
Mosquitoes play a vital role in our local ecosystem. The biggest positive is that they’re incredibly efficient pollinators. No, they’re not in the same class as bees and butterflies, but they do handle pollination for several special and unique plants. In fact, there are species of orchids that could not exist without mosquitoes.
Remember how we mentioned they exist in the Arctic? Because of their hardiness and adaptability, they can live there and act as pollinators where butterflies and bees just can’t survive. Outside of special circumstances, though, mosquitoes are what we call accidental pollinators. They go to feed and accidentally transport pollen from one plant to another. And yes, mosquitoes feed on plant nectar. It’s only the pregnant females who go after blood.
Mosquitoes are also important for nutrient support. You might recall the mosquito life cycle - eggs laid in water, water dries up, return of water sparks eggs hatching into larvae form. They stay in larvae form for 4 to 14 days, during which time they both provide a food supply to fishes, baby turtles and aquatic insects, and they feed themselves on organic debris in water, breaking down nutrients.
When mosquitoes emerge as adults and take flight, they move nutrients from water to land and provide a food supply to birds and bats.
The Bad
This part seems obvious. The pregnant females bite humans and pets – really any mammals – and ingest their blood, spitting their saliva back into our bodies. That causes a histamine reaction - the scientific way of saying we get a red, itchy bump. And especially here in Florida, thanks to our subtropical weather, they tend to swarm us. It’s very easy to get bitten and hard to prevent it.
Bites cause allergic reactions and can be severe in some instances. Skeeter syndrome is probably the worst allergic reaction, causing swelling, inflammation, heat, and pain that can last for days. You can develop hives, blisters, headaches and rashes. You can also cause real skin damage if the itchiness gets too strong. The histamine reaction can also trigger other dangerous medical issues, like lupus flare ups.
Okay, that section was surprisingly short. But that’s mostly because we wanted to highlight something specific for…
The Ugly
Mosquitoes are considered by many experts to be the most dangerous animal on the planet. They are responsible for an estimated 700,000 deaths every year.
Mosquitoes are what we call vectors, as in they can absorb a disease from one animal and transmit it to another. This can be same species to same species, or across species. It’s not the bite that kills you; it's the toxins inside their salvia that can contain things like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, Zika, and West Nile virus. Mosquitoes are responsible for some 400,000 deaths every year, just from malaria.
In addition to the parasite that causes malaria, mosquito bites can also transmit Filarial worms, which attack our lymphatic system and cause pain, headaches, fever and in some cases, elephantiasis – extreme swelling in the legs, arms or genitals, with skin becoming hard, grey and thickened.
The Solution
For years, there was only one answer to fighting mosquitoes in the Sunshine State: DEET-based harsh chemical deterrents. We didn’t just spray them on our skin, we sent planes up to dump them all over our communities from up above. We would tell people to wear long sleeves and pants and make sure when you’re camping that you use mosquito netting.
Then a few years ago, something remarkable happened. Because we are always on the lookout for the greenest, most organic and safest pest control treatments, Good News Pest Solutions was one of the first ones on board. Our exclusive No Bite Zones Mosquito Protection Program actually transforms pregnant momma mosquitoes into vegans. And the trait gets passed down to the eggs they lay.
So now our clients benefit from all of the good that mosquitoes can do, and they avoid almost all of the bad. The solution doesn’t come with a guarantee, but our clients have seen widespread success. And now as the program has evolved, our Mosquito Protection Program has been simplified and you can do it yourself. Just request delivery of our Paqs and we'll drop them off with your regular service. As always, for more details on our Mosquito Protection Program or any of our services, please give us a call!