Salt marshes stay full of mosquitoes all summer because they're reflooded again and again by the tides, and each flooding triggers a fresh hatch of eggs waiting in the marsh soil. Instead of one seasonal batch, the marsh produces brood after brood throughout the summer, keeping the supply constant.
South Jersey's extensive salt marshes are beautiful, and they’re vital to local ecology. But they also produce an absurd number of mosquitoes. The reason this is the case, and why they never, ever seem to let up through the summer, comes down to how their mosquitoes reproduce.
Most mosquitoes lay their eggs in pools of standing water. Salt marsh mosquitoes don't do that, rather preferring to drop eggs on wet dirt high up on the shore. These eggs can sit there for weeks, and they’re not bothered by dry weather.
Finally, water reaches them from a high tide, a storm, or a heavy rain. The waiting eggs hatch, and they usually all open at the exact same time. Each time this happens, a huge new group of bugs is born. And this can happen multiple times over the course of a summer.
Because the marsh is protected and constantly reflooded, it can't be treated like a backyard. Mosquito control there is handled by special agencies with special methods. But you, as a homeowner, can still do a lot to manage mosquitoes on your own property. Removing your own standing water and trimming back vegetation are two actions that go a long, long way toward reducing the number of mosquitoes that will bite you when you go outside.
If you're tired of the marshes keeping your yard under siege all summer, Mosquito Squad of South Jersey can help. Mosquito Squad treats the resting areas on your property and helps you cut your own breeding sources. This can help you protect your yard with up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
