Mosquitoes: Do They Bite or Sting?

Mosquito bites can really sting but rest assured mosquitoes do bite.

One could also argue that mosquitoes suck. That would be true on two fronts. Through an elongated mouthpart, which they pierce the skin with, they suck our blood. Our entire family is at risk for mosquito bites, including our pets. The longer we remain outdoors, the higher our chances of receiving bites. You might notice that one family member or another seems to be bitten more than anyone else. That could be due to their diet or the color of their clothing. It could also be that they simply have more exposed skin for mosquitoes to target.

Why Does a Mosquito Bite Feel Like a Sting

Some mosquito bites hurt or sting more than others, like the bites of Asian tiger mosquitoes, dreadful daytime biters. Their mouth anatomy, called a proboscis, does puncture our skin but it does not inject venom like a bee or scorpion stinger. You might for a brief moment feel a stinging sensation. Mosquito bites leave behind incredibly itchy skin welts that could become lesions if scratched excessively – so we must avoid scratching or else risk a secondary infection. Wash the bite site with warm soapy water as soon as possible, and treat further if necessary.

There are various ways to get relief from a mosquito bite:

• Cold compress to reduce swelling and itchiness
• Aloe vera to reduce itching and help heal the skin
• OTC topicals, like calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream to treat the itch
• OTC oral antihistamines to treat stronger reactions

If you believe your mosquito bite is infected, seek medical advice from a practitioner. Better safe than sorry!

What Can You Do to Prevent Mosquito Bites?

If you have a long history dealing with mosquitoes living around your property, you have likely tried various means of preventing bites. You might have even tried it all!

The first way to avoid their bites is to avoid being outdoors during busy mosquito hours – typically dusk to dawn. You can dress in clothing that mosquitoes are not attracted to or cannot bite through – purple, blue, white, or green and denim or tightly woven wool. DEET is another common solution to bite avoidance. These could all be very difficult to practice consistently.

Off your body, you can try citronella torches or candles that offer negligible deterrence. Fans are another alternative, physically blowing the mosquitoes away from you, but they can take up space and be very loud.

Mosquito Control is Always Recommended

Avoiding mosquito bites is recommended to reduce your chances of contracting a mosquito-borne illness. St. Louis encephalitis and West Nile virus are just two of those possibilities. Reducing mosquitoes lowers your mosquito bite risk, obviously. Mosquito Squad of El Paso offers mosquito control solutions, including mosquito fogging, which can reduce their population 80 to 90% for weeks before your next treatment is due. If you are in search of worry-free mosquito control, we can provide you with the very thing.

Search for vector control near me and call Mosquito Squad of El Paso.

Mosquito Squad is ready to serve you with effective El Paso with mosquito control, other vector control services, as well as a variety of outdoor pest control services, including residential and commercial mosquito control , fire ant control , fly control , and scorpion control .

Find out more about our mosquito control. Get in touch with Mosquito Squad today by filling out our form online or calling us at (915) 800-0343 for a free pest assessment and quote.

Also read: What is a vector, why control them?