136 HOUSEHOLD PESTS AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM 



its body parallel to the surface. Mosquitoes breed in water, 

 and unfortunately for us, rain barrels, roof gutters, or any 

 place where water remains for two weeks or more can 

 raise a large number of these nuisances. Their life his- 

 tory can be understood by studying the diagram be- 

 low. The common culex, the house mosquito, lays from 



two hundred to four 

 hundred eggs. The 

 little wigglers which 

 come from the eggs live 

 in water, obtaining their 

 oxygen through a long 

 tube which sticks out of 

 the water when they go 

 to the surface to breathe. 

 It takes from two to 

 three weeks for the mos- 

 quito to complete its life 

 from the egg to the adult. 

 Since mosquitoes live 

 during this time under 

 water, and since they 

 must come to the surface 

 to get air, a simple way 

 to destroy them by pre- 

 venting their breathing 

 is to pour oil over the standing water in which they lay 

 their eggs. Sometimes it is necessary to drain swampy 

 areas where standing water makes breeding places, and 

 many households have been relieved from the plague of 

 mosquitoes by the simple removal of empty cans or bar- 

 rels which might hold water. Why not make a survey of 



The four stages in the life history. Read from 

 top to bottom as follows: egg, larvae (wig- 

 glers), pupae, adult. At the left is seen the 

 culex; at the right, the harmful anopheles. 



