The Witching Hour: Why Does Dusk Cause a Burst of Biting Mosquitoes?

Why Your Treated Yard May Still See a Burst of Mosquito Activity At Dusk

If you have kids or spend much time around babies, you may be familiar with the term “the witching hour.” It most commonly refers to an infant’s evening fussy period. The mosquito witching hour is much different and could impact you, even with the best mosquito control treatment by Mosquito Squad of Southeastern MA.

What Is The Mosquito Witching Hour?

Mosquitoes can bite anytime, day or night. However, some species of mosquitoes hide during the daytime and emerge at dusk in large volumes. Some even swarm at this time of night. This most commonly occurs for about an hour in the evening just as the sun sets and darkness falls. In an untreated yard, this marks the time mosquito activity begins and those suckers are biting for the rest of the night.

How Mosquito Barrier Treatment Works

Our mosquito treatment offers a double-whammy when it comes to controlling mosquitoes on your property.

First, the treatment reduces mosquitoes on contact during the application process. Essentially it knocks down mosquitoes currently out and about and inhabiting the vegetation we treat.

In addition to this immediate knockdown, the treatment then sticks to the vegetation leaving residual protection. This means when mosquitoes fly in from neighboring properties or emerge from the woods after the heat of the day subsides, they will land to feed and rest (all mosquitoes feed on plant juices) on your shrubs, perimeter brush, and tree leaves - they will come in contact with the treatment and begin to die off.

The mosquitoes need to land on the treated vegetation for the treatment to work. This means that after treatment, mosquitoes will continue to be reduced day after day. This explains why you will see better results over time and with repeated applications.

Why Do Mosquitoes Still Swarm at Sunset?

Depending on where you live, in a neighborhood, near untreated forests or bodies of water, there are mosquitoes that will enter your yard from outside areas. Additionally, the first few days after treatment, not enough have landed on the leaves to reach maximum reduction just yet.

At dusk, when female mosquitoes begin seeking blood to reproduce, if you are outdoors, they will choose YOU over the nearby plant matter. This is crucial to remember when you are enjoying your yard.

Suppose we’ve treated your property and you are outdoors at dusk. Should the mosquitoes seem plentiful, simply go indoors for about thirty minutes. When you go back out, they will have moved on to the plants nearby and will no longer be a bother.

Our licensed technicians are highly trained to make sure the treatment hits the underside of leaves and all the areas where mosquitoes like to hide and rest. Our proven application process produces results for weeks of mosquito reduction from each treatment. Up to 90% reduction rates! If you’re ready to reduce mosquitoes on your property, call our team today for a free estimate.