Rain creates the standing water they need to breed. Plus, floodwater mosquitoes lay eggs in soil that, once soaked, allows all the eggs that were already there to hatch at once.
When it rains, it pours, or at least it feels like that when it comes to mosquitoes. It’s annoying when you’re trying to spend time outside after a rainy week only to be chased off by mosquitoes.
Blame floodwater mosquitoes. The females lay tough, drought-resistant eggs in low-lying soil, and those eggs can wait a long time for water. When a heavy rain floods the ground, a huge amount of floodwater mosquitoes can all hatch at the same time.
As for the other kinds of mosquitoes, all the standing water left behind by rain does not help your situation. That’s because rain fills every container, ditch, clogged gutter, and low spot in the yard. Any water-holding container left outside for long enough can easily turn into a breeding habitat for the next generation. Between the eggs already in the soil and the eggs laid in freshly filled containers, the yard can suddenly have a lot more mosquito nurseries than it did the week before.
It takes roughly one to two weeks for a mosquito to go from egg to biting adult in warm weather, so the worst of the surge tends to arrive a week or two after the rain, not during it. That’s why, in Kansas City where heavy summer rains and thunderstorms are common, this cycle can repeat all season.
On your end, you can mitigate this by dumping standing water. Once the rain stops, go outside and look for anything holding water and empty it. If your gutters are clogged, be sure to address that since clogged gutters are great places for mosquitoes to start the next generation.
If you're tired of every rainstorm being followed by a wave of mosquitoes, Mosquito Squad of Kansas City can help. Mosquito Squad pairs source-reduction guidance with a barrier treatment. Through this treatment, you can expect an up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
