HABITS OF DOMESTIC MOSQUITOES 



Biting Habits 



Only the female mosquitoes bite. They feed on the blood of man or 

 animals, whereas the males feed on the nectar from flowers. The house 

 mosquitoes bite at night, and hide away in dark places, usually in houses 

 or outbuildings, during the day. The yellow-fever mosquito bites late in 

 the afternoon or early in the morning. In cloudy weather or in the darker 

 portions of rooms it may bite throughout the day. 



Flight Habits 



The domestic mosquitoes do not fly far. When abundant about a house, 

 they are probably breeding nearby. The yellow-fever mosquito seldom 

 travels more than a few hundred yards from its breeding place, but the 

 house mosquitoes may invade homes as much as a mile away. All these 

 mosquitoes can be carried long distances in trains, boats, automobiles, 

 and aircraft. 



Overwintering 



The house mosquitoes overwinter as adults, but only the fertilized females 

 survive. They hide in buildings and other protected places, such as street 

 drain traps and storm sewers. In cool places they remain inactive, but in 

 warm places they may continue to breed throughout the winter. 



The yellow-fever mosquito is killed by cold weather in the northern 

 part of its range. Farther south it may overwinter in the egg stage, and 

 in warm buildings it may continue breeding during the winter. In the 

 extreme southern portion of this country and in the Tropics it breeds the 

 year around. 



HOW TO CONTROL DOMESTIC MOSQUITOES 



Eliminate Breeding Places 



You can eliminate the breeding places of the domestic mosquitoes by 

 the following practices : 



(1) Inspect your premises frequently. Remove all temporary water 

 containers. Punch holes in the bottoms of tin cans or remove both ends 

 and flatten them. See that cesspools, septic tanks, rain barrels, and tubs 

 in which water is stored are tightly covered, and that open cisterns are 

 covered or screened and the spouts screened. 



(2) Once a week empty and thoroughly wash bird baths and pans used 

 for watering chickens. 



(3) Examine eaves troughs occasionally to find out whether they are 

 stopped up or sagged, and after rains examine flat roofs to see that no water 

 is on them. 



(4) Do not permit water that may be drained under the house from the 

 refrigerator to stand in puddles, or water from any source to form pools in 

 the yard or in the street gutters. 



(5) Interest your neighbors and local officers in the prevention of 

 mosquito breeding. 



