What Do West Nile Virus Mosquitoes Look Like?

Posted by Mosquito Squad Plus

August 20, 2026

What Do West Nile Virus Mosquitoes Look Like?

With severe cases of West Nile virus confirmed in El Paso this summer, residents might understandably be curious about whether they can identify mosquitoes that carry the virus.

West Nile virus, or WNV, is most commonly spready by mosquitoes that belong to the Culex genus. These mosquitoes are quite ordinary looking – generally small and a brownish or tan color. They do not have the bold black-and-white markings you might recognize with other mosquito species.

It’s important to remember that even if you do recognize a possible Culex mosquito, that doesn’t mean the mosquito automatically carries West Nile virus. Only a small portion of these mosquitoes are actively infected at any given time.

It’s additionally important to know that a mosquito carrying WNV does not look different from an uninfected mosquito. The only way to identify if a mosquito is a carrier is to have it lab-tested.

About Culex Mosquito Activity and Breeding Site

Culex mosquitoes are commonly active from dusk through dawn, at which time the likelihood of a mosquito bite will increase. Because they lay their eggs in standing water, it’s super-important to understand that your property could be at higher risk of activity if you live by a natural water source, drainage site, or have areas or items around your home that could collect rainwater.

After rain or irrigation, it’s smart to double-check flowerpots, outdoor toys, buckets, birdbaths, pet bowls, and potentially clogged gutters or downspouts. If you keep a birdbath or outdoor pet water bowls, refresh them every couple of days, or use an agitator to keep the water moving.

What Can You Do to Alleviate Mosquito Pressures at Home?

Because we can’t identify an infected mosquito by sight, we have to treat every mosquito bite as something worth preventing if at all possible. Wearing long sleeves, long pants, and tightly-woven fabrics can all help. Wearing an EPA-registered mosquito repellent product can too.

Make professional mosquito control services with Mosquito Squad of El Paso a standard part of your mosquito bite prevention strategy. Our regular mosquito barrier treatments and outdoor pest control services can effectively reduce mosquito populations by up to 95% for about three weeks between visits.

A Mosquito Squad Plus of El Paso, we know identifying the mosquito isn’t essential, but reducing the number of mosquitoes around your home and preventing bites whenever possible can be.

Where Do We Offer Mosquito Control Services?

Mosquito Squad Plus is much more than just an El Paso mosquito control company. We proudly serve the following areas and beyond with highly effective pest control solutions, including El Paso rodent control: