Summer BBQs are perfect ways to enjoy time with your friends and family on beautiful summer afternoons. Whether you invite an intimate group or the whole neighborhood, grilling out is what summer memories are all about. At the same time, pesky mosquitoes often want to crash the party even though they are unwanted guests. Check out how you can enjoy a mosquito-free BBQ this summer.
Alabama Mosquitoes
There are about 60 mosquito species in Alabama due to the state’s rich ecosystem. Some mosquitoes feed on plant nectar while others prefer birds over mammals. While only specific mosquitoes will bite humans, there are plenty of these hungry insects to ruin anyone’s day. Moreover, there are several species that are carriers for diseases like yellow fever, malaria, dengue fever, the West Nile virus and the Zika virus.
Alabama’s most prevalent mosquito species is the Asian tiger mosquito. You can recognize the Asian tiger mosquito because it has black and white stripes on its body and legs. These blood-thirsty mosquitoes were accidentally imported to the United States in the mid-1980s from Japan. In fact, the Asian tiger mosquito has significantly overtaken the second most popular Alabama mosquitoes known as the Yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti). Both of these mosquito species live near humans even though the female mosquitoes are the only ones that feed on mammal blood.
What Attracts Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes love to lay their eggs in standing pools of water. This includes bird baths, empty planters, clogged gutters or low lying areas on your property that form large puddles after a summer rain. Typically, mosquitoes love to hunt for their blood-meals around dawn or dusk.
When there are plenty of people around, mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide that humans exhale. Then these pests go for the highly heated areas on a person such as wrists, elbows, neck and forehead. In addition, mosquitoes can see their victims better when they wear black or dark colors because they stand out against the horizon.
How to Enjoy Your Summer BBQs Mosquito-Free
To truly get rid of mosquitoes around your property, you should hire a pest control company. One of the best ways to eliminate mosquitoes is to install a professional misting system. The misting nozzles are strategically placed around your yard to target mosquito breeding grounds. If you live in or around Birmingham or Huntsville, contact Mosquitonix Alabama to find out more about enjoying many mosquito-free BBQs.
