Featured
The Ultimate Guide to Rodent Control
Call Us
Licensed Technician
Anyone who’s spent a summer evening outdoors knows the buzz of a mosquito and the itch of mosquito bites. So what’s the difference, and how do male vs female mosquito habits affect our risk? In entomology, mosquitoes are a branch of flying insects often mistaken for midges and crane flies. Our family tested methods in our yard and now our licensed technicians help Reston Mosquito Control and Northern Virginia Pest Control clients.
Mosquitoes have two antennae: male ones are bushy and feathery with fine hairs, but females have sparse sensory organs.
Both sexes have a mouthpart called a proboscis, but only a female’s needle-like proboscis can pierce the skin and suck blood.
Female mosquitoes are typically larger than males, with a thicker thorax, compound eyes mosquitoes use to track hosts, plus mosquitoes have six legs.
All adult mosquitoes feed on plant sugars, but only female mosquitoes need blood meals to produce eggs.
Male and female mosquitoes mate midair in brief swarms to attract a mate, finding a mate by sound.
Females beat their wings up to 500 times per second, creating the high-pitched buzzing males track by ear. Adult mosquitoes are often active at dusk.
Mosquito control starts by knowing the common species of mosquitoes and types of mosquitoes that thrive locally.
Females lay their eggs in stagnant water and can lay up to 300 eggs per batch to reproduce new generations, where eggs hatch into larvae and then a pupa.
The male vs female lifespan varies sharply: males live about ten days, while females can live six to eight weeks, showing how long mosquitoes live.
Female mosquitoes bite humans or animals by inserting their needle-like proboscis and injecting saliva into the area around the bite to ease blood flow.
Female mosquitoes transmit diseases like malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus, West Nile virus and yellow fever, making them key vectors.
Pathogens hide in the female’s saliva and then transmit diseases when she feeds, driving many mosquito-borne illnesses.
Depending on the species, male mosquitoes spend most of their time feeding on nectar and detect octenol from plants, acting as tiny pollinators and harmless pests.
A common misconception is that male mosquitoes bite, but they lack the stylets to feed on blood, so they are harmless.
Male mosquitoes buzz at a lower pitch than females, using their antennae to track female wing tones.
In our trials, our Schulz family program used Mosquito Control Process with IN2Care traps to spread a larvicide and fungus that kills larvae.
Our licensed technicians apply a topical spray to vegetation to create a barrier where female mosquitoes bite and rest.
An IPM approach uses larvicides in standing water, adulticides on foliage, and sanitation to cut mosquito populations. See our Mosquitoes resource.
Weekly removal of standing water stops larvae from hatching; drop a Bti dunk to kill larvae safely.
Keep grass short and clear shrub overgrowth to remove hiding spots, making your yard pest-free.
Apply EPA-approved repellent, seal screens and run a patio fan to disrupt how mosquitoes track carbon dioxide you exhale, human breath and body heat.
Understanding the difference between male and female biology helps you target the ones that bite. Use traps, sprays and source reduction to break their cycle. For expert help, call our licensed technicians.
Call us at 703-683-2000 or email [email protected] for questions or an estimate.
Only females have the mouthparts to feed on blood; males focus on nectar.
They are often the ones that bite at night, seeking blood under low light.
No—females lay their eggs in water, not on humans or animals.
No—males don’t bite so they can’t spread dengue.
Male or female, they live differently: females six to eight weeks, males about ten days.
With five years of hands-on experience in the pest control industry, George Schulz is a registered technician with the Virginia Pest Management Association and a proud third-generation professional in a family business that’s been protecting homes for over 57 years. He manages and trains a team of service pros while also leading internal research efforts—recently spearheading a deep-dive review of thousands of documents on pest control materials to hand-pick the most kid and pet friendly, most effective solutions tailored specifically for homes in the DC metro area. Read his bio.
