Do mosquitoes ever truly go away? In a word, no. So, do you need mosquito control in the winter in Florida? Sure do. In the temperate Florida climate, mosquitoes can hang around well into the winter and emerge on particularly warm days to feed (on blood). Keeping your mosquito control going year-round is one of the best ways to combat the bite.
How Mosquitoes Survive the Winter
In the fall, mosquitoes mate and the males die off, leaving just the females. The females then lay eggs in either standing water or damp soil. After laying eggs, the female mosquitoes take refuge from the chill by hiding in hollow or damp logs, dog houses, wood piles and even in your garage. Once a warm day comes along, the female mosquitoes emerge from their hiding places to feed. Because the mosquito population in the winter is made up of only the females, the mosquito population during the winter is lower – but it’s not gone.
Meanwhile, the mosquito eggs hatch during the winter and remain in the larval stage until springtime when temperatures are consistently warm enough for them to survive. This is true of most species of mosquitoes that inhabit Florida.
Dealing with Wintertime Mosquitoes
Dealing with wintertime mosquitoes is much like dealing with them in the spring or summer. On warm days, take precautions and wear clothing with long sleeves and long pants, use mosquito repellant and keep up on your regular mosquito control service. It’s also helpful to check around your property and empty any standing water where mosquitoes might have laid eggs. You can also add mosquito dunks or cakes to ponds, pools and other bodies of water to kill off any mosquito larvae that have emerged from eggs laid there in the fall.
Even though you don’t see them as often, mosquitoes are still out there during the winter just waiting for a warm day to find a snack. Keeping your mosquito control services going year-round and taking precautions about standing water can help you avoid the bite during the winter and cut down on the number of swarming hungry mosquitoes you’ll see come spring.