Social media offer many suggestions for keeping mosquitoes away from your next outdoor event, but few ideas are actually effective. Knowing a few facts about mosquitoes will aid in debunking some of these myths.

Mosquitoes have four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The egg, larva and pupa all require a water source to complete this life cycle. Both female and male mosquitoes feed on pollen and nectar. However, only females bite as they need protein to lay eggs. Adult female mosquitoes lay eggs on the water surface or edge of containers with nutrient rich water. One female can lay as many as 300 eggs at a time. These eggs can dry out and, when rehydrated, can complete their life cycle in as little as four days. There are 29 known species of mosquitoes in Franklin County. However, only a few of these species actually bite humans and have the potential to carry mosquito-borne diseases to humans.

Mosquito eggs need warm temperatures to hatch into larva. These larva feed on debris in standing water. Areas to check for water are trash cans, recycling containers, corrugated drain pipe, gutters, tarps, kiddie pools, tires, bird baths, rain barrels and fountains. Dumping the water every four days will keep the larva from developing. Water that can’t be dumped can be treated with Mosquito Dunks that have the active ingredient BTi- Bacillus Thuringiensis. 

Female mosquitoes seeking a blood meal are searching for carbon dioxide, scent, and heat to find you. Aedes alpobictus are mainly daytime biters and will be out early in the day while most Culex mosquitoes are evening biters. Both have the potential to carry mosquito-borne diseases to humans. Wear insect repellent with the active ingredient of DEET, Picardin, Icardin or Oil of Eucalyptus. These are registered with the EPA and FDA. Treating clothing with Permethrin is another way to prevent mosquitoes from landing on you and biting.

Mosquitoes are not strong flyers at outdoor events, so place a fan to create a cross breeze where you are sitting. Citronella candles, mosquito lamps and butane devices also repel mosquitoes in small areas only where the vapor from these items reaches.

Myth 1: Plants repel mosquitos

Planting herbs will not repel mosquitoes. The list usually includes mints, rosemary, basil and lemon balm. Unfortunately, these plants do not provide any repellent. Essential oils could be distilled from these plants and made into an herbal repellent but that requires distilling the oils from large quantities of plant material on a commercial scale.

Myth 2: Bats

Evidence from stomach and feces samples show that bats feed on beetles, wasp, ants, flies, stoneflies, mayflies, moths and grasshoppers. Less than 1% of a bat’s diet is mosquitoes.

Myth 3: Purple martins

A study taken out of context postulated that a purple martin would need to eat its body weight in mosquitoes to survive. That totals about 14,000 insects every day. Like bats, purple martins prefer other insects, including dragon flies. Less than 3% of a purple martin’s diet is mosquitoes.

Myth 4: Bug zappers 

The American Entomological Society states: “Our survey of insects electrocuted during routine use of electric insect traps revealed only 31 mosquitoes of the 13,789 total insects counted…The heavy toll on non-target insects and the near absence of mosquitoes in catches suggests that electric insect traps are worthless for mosquito reduction and probably are counterproductive.”

Myth 5: Listerine concoctions 

Setting out containers of Listerine mixtures will not attract and kill mosquitoes. The confusion comes from the ingredient eucalyptol. In repellents, the percentage of eucalyptol is 75%. However, in mouth wash, only 1% eucalyptol is an ingredient.

Myth 6: Ultrasonic Devices 

The selling claim to these products is that they mimic the wing beat of a male mosquito or of dragonflies, causing the female mosquito to flee. Unfortunately, female mosquitoes did not respond to these devices in lab tests.

Myth 7: Dryer sheets 

There are no studies that prove that dryer sheets repel mosquitoes. A study conducted in 2010 and recently published on social media was actually carried out on fungal gnats. The researchers tested the repellency of the dryer sheets in a very controlled situation and were successful at reducing the number of fungus gnats in test chambers containing a dryer sheet. However, there is a very large difference between fungal gnats and mosquitoes.

For more information about mosquitoes and the diseases they carry, check the Center for Disease Control website,

Donna Scherer is a Penn State Extension Educator and Mosquito Borne Disease Control Coordinator, Franklin County.

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