Yes, mosquito development is driven by temperature. They develop much faster in warm water and can go from egg to biting adult in just one week when it’s warm outside.
If it feels like mosquitoes breed faster when it’s warm outside, it’s not in your head. Mosquitoes are cold-blooded at every stage of their life which means water temperature greatly affects how quickly they reach adulthood.
Roughly speaking, when water temperature is in the 60s, it takes two weeks or more for mosquitoes to go from egg to adult. When water is in the upper 70s or 80s, the same cycle can finish in five to seven days. Larvae feed and molt faster. Pupation takes less time. Adults emerge sooner. Then those adults go on to lay more eggs, sooner. That means a container that produced two batches of mosquitoes in May could produce four or five in July.
Warmer conditions also raise the metabolic rate for mosquitoes. That allows them to fly at their full speed and it also makes them hungrier and more eager to seek out a blood meal so they have what they need to lay yet more eggs. So you’ll experience more bites per mosquito per week, on top of having more new mosquitoes arriving every week.
Keep in mind that some water gets hotter than others. Shallow, dark, sun-exposed, and still water is the worst about this. Water in a black plastic container can get hot faster than you’d imagine. This is why a five-gallon bucket from the hardware store can out-produce an acre of open water.
In practice, the best thing you can do to slow the mosquitoes down is to check your property for standing water once per week. Dump any containers you find without exception. And if that doesn’t do the trick, treat shaded foliage where mosquitoes rest during the day.
If you are tired of dealing with mosquitoes on your property, Mosquito Squad of Lake Country can help. Mosquito Squad treats the resting zones and flags breeding sources during walkthroughs, helping protect your yard with up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
