Lake Bugs and Protection
Summer has finally arrived and with it come your plans to relax in the summer sun next to a nice, cool body of water.
Boating, swimming, food and drink and sunshine are all in the forecast and you cannot wait to start preparing for your next adventure or relaxation session.
Unfortunately, you are not the only one who enjoys warmth, water and the sunshine. You're likely to face a whole host of flying insects: lake bugs. Many are harmless but all are annoying, and some can be potentially dangerous to your or your family's health. The experts at MosquitoNix® have developed this guide to help you learn which bugs you may want to be on the lookout for and how to protect your permanent or temporary outdoor spaces.
Mosquitoes
Most of us expect to encounter mosquitoes when lounging around a body of water, especially since water is a common breeding ground.
Female mosquitoes-the only ones that require a blood meal-lay their eggs in standing or slow moving water. Because of this, lakes are a favorite breeding ground which means that you are likely to encounter many on your lake getaway.
Mosquitoes are known to leave painful, swollen and relentlessly itchy bites but their risk goes beyond this. Mosquitoes can carry pathogens that may cause different diseases and according to the Center s for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) these diseases are on the rise.
To protect yourself and your family, be sure to apply repellant to exposed skin. It is also important to protect our furry friends too-mosquitoes also transmit organisms that cause heartworm disease and can infect your dogs.
Gnats
Though they can still be a nuisance, gnats do not bite humans. These tiny, flying insects also need moisture for their eggs so they are also commonly found around bodies of water, like the lake.
To deter gnats, be sure to minimize any outdoor lighting that may attract them and keep screens and doors closed to keep them out of your spaces.
Horse flies
These dreaded biting flies, like mosquitoes, are driven by the constant search of a blood meal. Common around lakes, ponds and streams, these large biting flies prey on other insects and take blood meals from livestock and other animals, like you.
To keep horse flies at bay, be sure to practice good sanitation. Piles of animal waste and garbage attract these flies.
Dragonflies
Dragonflies are brilliantly colored flying insects that are also top predators. Unlike mosquitoes, no-see-ums and horse flies, these insects are the kind you want to hang around.
Not only are they aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but dragonflies also help control mosquitoes by gobbling up their young. These aviators are a welcome sight by the lake.
Biting midges, No-See-Ums or Black Flies
Perhaps because they are so tiny, it is difficult to nail down one common name for these pests. They look similar to gnats with one nasty difference-they bite, hard.
These teeny, tiny pests are difficult to spot-often smaller than the point of a no.2 pencil-but they sure are noticeable when they bite.
Like mosquitoes, female no-see-ums require a blood meal in order to develop their eggs.
Trust MosquitoNix® to Protect Your Outdoor Lifestyle
Though some bugs at the lake are beneficial and helpful in controlling pest populations, others are less so. Mosquitoes carry nasty diseases, horse flies have a painful bite and biting midges leave behind itchy, painful bites that linger.
Protecting you and your family from these pests is a breeze when you call MosquitoNix.
MosquitoNix offers customized solutions to protect your outdoor home or commercial property. We are the national leader in mosquito control, and we offer permanent, temporary and portable pest control options. Serving both residential and commercial properties, we offer superior customer service, trained and licensed employees and state-of-the-art products and services.
Contact MosquitoNix today to find out how ongoing fogging treatment and a custom misting system can keep you comfortable and protect your property from costly damage.
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