Think December should spell some natural mosquito control? Not in Brevard County. The reality is that mosquitoes are always hanging around, even in December and January. The good news is that you won’t see them much. In fact, you may only see them on the occasional unseasonably warm day we have here and there throughout the winter.
To understand why you have to learn a bit more about how mosquitoes survive. They typically make it through the winter by staying in their larval stage. Toward the end of the fall, female mosquitoes lay their eggs. Those eggs stay dormant until spring (unless it gets really warm for a longer period of time). The eggs usually stay in damp soil throughout the winter months, and when the conditions are right – aka when it starts to rain and the temperature goes up – they hatch.
Even those not in the larval stage, though, may survive through a Florida winter, though it’s primarily the females who do so. When their mating season finishes in the late fall, the male population dies off. The females hide in protected areas (like your garage or doghouse) and hibernate until it gets warm. They can live for up to six months in hibernation, but Florida winters don’t usually last that long.
Thanks to those who do hibernate, you’re going to see some mosquitoes this winter, but there are some things you can do to reduce their population near you and to reduce the number you’ll see next spring with mosquito control. Start by emptying any standing water that might collect around your yard. If you have ponds or water features in your garden, you’ll want to add mosquito dunks to those to help kill off any larvae that managed to survive the winter.
If you start to notice trouble over the course of the winter thanks to a warm spell, give us a call, and we’ll handle the problem for you!