Most mosquitoes are at their most active at dawn and dusk, when cooler air and higher humidity let them move and feed without drying out. The big exception is the Asian tiger mosquito, common in New Jersey, which bites right through the middle of the day.
You might associate mosquitoes with dawn and dusk, and that reputation is mostly earned. So if you find yourself being bitten by a mosquito in the middle of the day, you might wonder what’s going on and why that’s happening.
Mosquitoes are small. They dry out fast in the sun and when the humidity is low. That’s a large part of why you don’t see them very much in the middle of the day. Most species spend the heat of the day resting in cool, shaded cover and feed when the temperatures are low and the humidity is higher. Around sunrise and sunset, the air cools and humidity climbs, which is when they come out to feed in force.
Then there is the exception that breaks the rule: the Asian tiger mosquito. It’s well-established in New Jersey and it will bite you in broad daylight. It rests in shade and ambushes from low to the ground, going after ankles and legs through the afternoon. If you’ve been bitten in your backyard at two in the afternoon, this is probably the species that did it.
Even with this in mind, the best window for your open-yard time, with regard to mosquitoes, will be the bright, breezy midday. The worst will still be around dusk. But if you have a lot of tiger mosquitoes in your yard, timing your outdoor time alone won’t fix it. That’s where treating the yard helps.
If you're tired of planning your evenings around the bugs, Mosquito Squad of Princeton can help. Mosquito Squad can apply a barrier treatment to the shaded resting zones where mosquitoes wait out the day, helping protect your yard with up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
