Where Do Mosquitoes Hide In Winter and Fall?

Where do mosquitoes hide in winter and fall? Good question. Where do they go when they are not biting you? Is there any way you can reduce your misery come spring by reducing their numbers when they are hiding? Here are some tips on mosquito control in fall and winter, and how to prepare for spring.

First of all, let’s clear up a common misconception. Mosquitoes don’t just disappear or die off in the fall. It’s unusual, but some mosquitoes bit in the fall or even during winter. So it is critical to find where mosquitoes hide. They could be in your yard, your garden, or around commercial and industrial properties. Once you have a good idea where they are, you can start to eliminate mosquitoes even outside of peak mosquito season. Of course, mosquito control is difficult enough without having to hunt them down, so here are the tips you need to get started.

Breeding Habits

First, some facts. Mosquitoes tend to become inactive below 50º F (10º C), although they may still be lurking around your yard. A brief Indian summer may bring them out again as ferocious as ever. Mosquitoes still mate well into fall. Once they are done mating, the males die, and the females prepare to survive winter. The males’ only function is to mate with the females, and they don’t bite. However, the females produce eggs, and they need the protein in blood to form the eggs. That is why only females bite.

Female mosquitoes can lay eggs in the fall. They may not lay rafts of eggs as in summer, but in the fall, they do lay in smaller numbers in moist areas. Come spring, these eggs hatch to give you an early infestation of adults. This normally happens when a rise in temperature accompanies rainfall. Overwintered females also emerge to breed and bite.

Where do They Hide in Winter

During the winter months, adult female mosquitoes may still be alive. So where do mosquitoes hide in winter, during these colder months of the year? Think about it. Just like humans, mosquitoes need protection from the cold. They overwinter in places protected from the cold, such old hollow logs, disused downpipes and guttering, animal burrows, and any other damp areas that are sheltered from the winter weather.

By understanding where mosquitoes hide in winter, you can get an early start on mosquito control. It may be possible for you to control the overwintered females before they emerge. You can also catch them just as they are emerging in the spring. To start, us an effective mosquito spray in areas where you believe they might be hiding in your yard. You can do this yourself, but we recommend having Mr. Mister to do it for you. Commercially available mosquito sprays can be dangerous to work with. And if you don’t use them correctly, you could get unsatisfactory results. It is always best to have a mosquito problem dealt with by professionals!

Applying mosquito spray will effectively control mosquitoes that have been hiding in your yard over the winter. But you can’t catch them all while they hibernate. There are too many potential hiding places for that. Once she reappears, a female can lay 300 or more eggs every 3-4 days. She will continue at that pace for her entire lifetime. On average, this amounts to over 4,000 eggs from one female! Little wonder your life is a misery during warm summer evenings!