Mosquito Eater Facts You Should Know

Mosquitoes are among the peskiest pests ever. Despite their puny size, they’re also among the most dangerous because they are typically the carriers of all sorts of diseases – dengue, Zika, malaria, West Nile virus, elephantiasis, yellow fever, and many others. Therefore, it’s important that you don’t allow them to populate in your property.

There are different ways to get rid of mosquitoes. Repellents, according to a Modesto pest control company, are the most reliable, be they chemical or natural; citronella and eucalyptus are just some of the natural scents commonly used to banish mosquitoes. Pest control experts also say that taking care of fish may control the mosquito population as well; goldfish and guppies prey on mosquito larvae. There are also these garden bugs called the mosquito hawk or mosquito eater (as called by some) – they should be helpful, given their name, so it’s good to have them in your garden, right?

Do Mosquito Eaters Really Help Prevent Mosquitoes?

The Modesto pest control company, however, says that mosquito hawks or crane flies are no help; they are the biggest lie in insectdom as they do not eat or kill mosquitoes like hawks do their prey. Why these bumbling bugs are given the moniker remains a mystery. One thing’s for sure: They don’t eat those pests. So, what is true about “mosquito eaters?”

Rounded up below are “mosquito eater” facts that you should know:

Mosquito hawks, the most popular “mosquito eaters,” don’t eat other insects as well – they prefer nectar. They are rather gentle creatures; plus, it’s not just that they don’t like mosquitoes — they are anatomically unfit to catch and kill them.
Mosquito hawks or crane flies are so gentle; they neither bite nor sting. They look like giant mosquitoes, though, which is rather freaky.
The real deal or the true mosquito eaters are actually a genus of real mosquitoes – Toxorhynchites or “Elephant Mosquitoes,” and the large genus of fish, Gambusia, better known as “Mosquito Fish.”
Toxorhynchites’ larvae really prey on the larvae of other mosquitoes.
Gambusia, the large genus of fish commonly found in Mexico, also feeds on mosquito larvae. A large female mosquito fish can consume anywhere between 100-200 mosquito larvae per day. Therefore, this species can really help control populations of pesky disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Other real mosquito eaters that very few know as mosquito predators are dragonflies, bats, Killifish, and the largest swallows in the US, the Purple Martins, frogs, turtles, spiders, and damselflies.
“Mosquito eaters” is also the name used for a range of pest control products that trap and kill mosquitoes.

So if you’re hoping to use a mosquito eater to get rid of mosquitoes in your property, you now know that the most popular “mosquito eaters” are no good and other insects and animals are the real deal. If you are struggling with a mosquito problem, contact the Stockton Pest Control specialists at AAI Pest Control today!