Only female mosquitos drink blood.
Only the female mosquito drinks blood, and these bites can transmit diseases such as the West Nile virus. Two types of pesticides kill mosquitoes -- larvicides and adulticides. Larvicides target mosquito larvae and pupae growing in water while adulticides kill adult mosquitoes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that use of pesticides alone will not remove a mosquito population. Does this Spark an idea?
Larvicides
Mosquito females lay eggs on water. Larvae develop in water into pupae and then hatch into winged adults. Larvicides only work in water. Three basic types of larvicides are beneficial bacteria, the insect-growth regulator methoprene and surface film. Beneficial bacteria species such as Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis or Bacillus sphaericus are mixed with food that the larvae eat, become poisoned and die. Methoprene does not kill larvae or pupae but prevents them from maturing into breeding adults. Surface film pesticides use alcohol or mineral oil to shut off the breathing tubes mosquito larvae use to breathe with. Since they cannot breathe under water, they drown.
Adulticides
In order to kill adult mosquitoes, adulticides are sprayed by crop dusters or by hand. Types of adulticides include organophosphates, pyrethroids and pyrethrum. Organophosphates kill mosquitos by paralyzing the central nervous system. Specific organophosphates for mosquitoes include malathion, chlorpyrifos and naled. Pyrethroids also kill by paralyzing the mosquito. Specific pyrethroids used for mosquitoes include permethrin and resmethrin. Public mosquito control programs rarely use pyrethrum, made from crysthanamum flowers, because it is expensive and it breaks down in sunlight faster than pyrethroids.
Other Chemicals
Other chemicals, although not pesticides, help adulticides work more effectively. These chemicals include mineral oil and piperonyl butoxide, or PB. Mineral oil helps the adulticide stick to the mosquito. PB stops a mosquito's body from being able to rapidly break down insecticides. Over-the-counter mosquito killing products and public spraying programs both use PB.
Safety
When used properly and in very low doses, pesticides for mosquitoes pose little health problems for pets, wildlife and people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many pesticides for mosquitoes are regulated depending on local or national laws in order to ensure that these pesticides are used safely and in very low doses. In America, workers participating in public mosquito control programs must go through a training program before they can work with these pesticides.
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