With over 2,500 species, mosquitoes can be a major problem in many countries of the world, and some of them carrying dangerous infectious diseases such as malaria and West Nile virus. If you live in an area that has warm weather, then you will likely experience mosquitoes at some point.
Mosquitoes Ideal Living Conditions
Depending on the type of mosquito, they will have different conditions that they prefer. However, the main ingredient they need is water.
Floodwater Mosquitoes
As the name suggests, these mosquitoes love the floodwater as well as swamps and wetlands in the southern United States. They lay their eggs up to a year in advance where they dry out in the soil. When the rains come later in the year, the eggs hatch. It’s estimated that 1.3 million eggs can hatch per acre of soil.
Standing Water Mosquitoes
These types of mosquito need to have water to survive, even their eggs need to be laid on water. Unlike the floodwater variety, these cannot allow their eggs to dry out or they will not hatch. Within a day of being laid, the eggs hatch and live in the water. These types of mosquito are found near lakes, rivers, and streams.
Can Mosquitoes Live in Air Conditioners?
So can mosquitoes live in air conditioners? Although mosquitoes like warm and humid conditions, their main goal is to lay their eggs in a safe environment. Even though the room where your air conditioner operates will be cool, that won’t stop the mosquitoes from coming into the room.
Most air conditioning units will operate with an amount of standing water either outside or in the unit itself. The portable type tends to hold more standing water as they have a tank that needs to be emptied.
Because standing water is where mosquitoes love to lay their eggs, you can find that they will use the water in your air conditioner. This means that within 24 hours, you may have mosquito larvae hatching in the water.
How to Prevent Mosquitoes in Your Air Conditioner
One of the best ways is to ensure that your air conditioner doesn’t have any standing water inside that they can use to lay eggs. If you have a portable air conditioner, then empty the water collection tray as often as possible, which will lower the chances of them laying eggs.
If you have an outdoor air conditioner, check that there are no areas of standing water nearby. Condensation will often pool around the unit, so if you see any, try to clean it away and prevent it from collecting.
If you find that water isn’t draining from your air conditioner, then you should investigate to see if there are any blockages that could be the cause.
Keeping the Mosquitoes Away
Although you may have cleaned and drained your air conditioner, that doesn’t mean you won’t find any mosquitoes in your room — even if it’s cool. There are, however, a few things that you can do to keep them at bay.
Use Mosquito Repellant
There are many types of mosquito repellants out there that can help keep them away from you. Most of the repellents contain DEET, picaridin, or PMD. The ideal places to use it are on your wrists, ankles, lower legs, and feet. These are the places mosquitoes will target most.
Wear Light Colored Clothing
Light colors, especially outdoors are less attractive to mosquitoes than darker colors. Looser clothing will also work better than tight-fitting garments.
Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus
This oil comes from a particular eucalyptus tree from Australia and is a good way to repel mosquitoes. There is a synthetic version that is used in products, but it’s not suitable for children under 3 years old.
