After she obtains a blood meal, the female mosquito lays the eggs directly on or near water, soil and at the base of some plants in places that may fill with water. The eggs can survive dry conditions for a few months. The eggs hatch in water and a mosquito larva or "wriggler" emerges.
While these insects may die if you smack them when you feel a bite, there's no biological or anatomical reason they would die after feeding. In fact, these nuisance insects are capable of biting multiple times in a night. They'll keep going until they're full. So, you know that mosquitoes don't die after biting.
When a mosquito bites you, it pierces the skin using a special mouthpart (proboscis) to suck up blood. As the mosquito is feeding, it injects saliva into your skin. Your body reacts to the saliva resulting in a bump and itching.
There is no limit to the number of mosquito bites one of the insects can inflict. A female mosquito will continue to bite and feed on blood until she is full. After they have consumed enough blood, the mosquito will rest for a couple of days (usually between two to three days) before laying her eggs.
Mosquitoes rest in dark, humid places like under sinks, in showers, in closets, under furniture, or in the laundry room. Mosquitoes entering your house from outdoors can start laying eggs indoors.
Bites at night
Bad news for deep sleepers: Mosquitoes are more likely to bite you at night. Nearly 80 percent of bites by the mosquitoes that carry malaria occur during the time when people are in bed, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.
While mosquitoes do not technically build nests in the traditional sense, they do seek out stagnant bodies of water where they will lay their eggs in one place. The more moist areas in your yard, the more mosquito eggs you may have. Female mosquitoes will lay small, white, oval-shaped eggs in rows near or on the water.
Mosquitoes hate the smell of lavender, citronella, clove, peppermint, basil, cedarwood, eucalyptus, peppermint, lemongrass and rosemary. They also hate smells such as smoke, for further insight, see our exploration on, does smoke keep mosquitoes away?
Mosquitoes may bite you more for various reasons, including your blood type, your clothes, your breathing, or even the bacteria living on your skin.
Unfortunately, mosquitoes can bite through clothes! Mosquitoes are more likely to attack exposed skin but can still pierce through covered areas to reach your hidden blood vessels. While tight-fitting clothing may protect you from ticks, mosquitoes can easily bypass the fabric to bite you.
Your Feet Stink
The short answer as to why mosquitoes go after feet and ankles is that our feet often carry a strong odor.
Blisters. If you develop blisters after being bitten by an insect, don't burst them because they may become infected. Blisters don't usually cause pain unless they rupture (burst) and expose the new skin underneath.
WHY DO MOSQITO BITES ITCH MORE AFTER YOU SCRATCH THEM? When you scratch a mosquito bite, this causes the skin to become even more inflamed. Since inflammation causes your skin to itch, you can get into a cycle where scratching will cause even more of an itchy sensation.
Mosquitoes are attracted to the smell of lactic acid, uric acid, ammonia and other substances your body releases when you sweat—all of which affect your body odor and can make you a more appetizing snack for mosquitoes.
Skin Bacteria
Surprisingly, though, having lots of bacteria but spread among a greater diversity of different species of bacteria seemed to make skin less attractive. This also might be why mosquitoes are especially prone to biting our ankles and feetthey naturally have more robust bacteria colonies.
Mosquito larvae live in stagnant pools of water, and adult mosquitoes hang out in weeds, tall grass, and bushes. These things are much more likely to be low to the ground, so the mosquitoes are closer to your legs and arms than your face.
Researchers found that mosquitoes were attracted to human scent that contained a high level of carboxylic acids, which are secretions that protect the skin, said the study published in Current Biology.
Deter Insects
We may be fans of Vicks, but insects decidedly are not. Dab a bit on your arms, legs, neck, or other areas of exposed skin to keep bugs (including mosquitoes) at bay, however, it is not as effective at preventing bites as a commercial insect repellant.
Sanitizer contains form of alcohol, ethyl alcohol to name one as active ingredient. And other main ingredients are also water, glycerin and fragrance. But disinfectant cannot be used as mosquito repellent. Almost 99% of disinfectant available in market has no effect on terminating or repelling mosquito problem.
To reduce the possibility of a mosquito biting you, you could consider wearing white, green or blue. Lighter colors are less interesting to mosquitos than darker shades like navy and black, red or orange.
The first method is what Lifehacker calls the “flashlight hunting method”. Grab a torch and turn off all of the lights in your room except for one small light source, like your phone or a small lamp. Eventually, the mosquito will make its way to the light, hopefully landing on the wall or surface near it.
Although mosquitoes are attracted to light, many people find that yellow bulbs are the best choice. Since light at this wavelength is less visible to the pests, they are less successful in using it to locate a meal.