As this summer season continues to heat things up you may feel tempted to grab a cold beer out of the fridge or cooler. But, with the seasonal mosquito population hitting its peak, it might be best to put that urge on ice. Recent studies suggest that beer drinkers are in for some bad news, mosquitoes would like nothing more than for you or a friend to enjoy a cool pint on a hot summer day.

Research from several sources, including the Journal of American Mosquito Control Association, have determined that the likelihood of being bit by a mosquito can jump up from having just a single cold. Though researchers are not sure why exactly mosquitoes find alcohol so attractive, discoveries reveal that imbibing the alcoholic equivalent of three cans of beer can lead to 30 percent more bug bites—at least for those who participated in the controlled laboratory setting.

Though the exact reasons a mosquito might seek you out for enjoying your alcoholic beverage of choice are unclear, researchers currently posit that beer consumption induces changes in breath and odor markers that increase one’s attractiveness to mosquitoes. Additional information further postulates on the idea that mosquitoes preference for beer drinkers may be linked to alcohol’s effect on movement, carbon dioxide production, reduced host defensive behaviors, or even highly nutritious blood-meals. You’re less likely to effectively swat away or even notice mosquitoes after a few pints and mosquito bites could remained unnoticed until your buzz subsides.

Mosquitoes are no light weights themselves. Mosquitoes have a special enzyme that helps them break down alcohol before it hits their nervous system, helping them them get a drink out of you under the table. This enzyme is useful for mosquitoes in other ways as well. Mosquitoes are known to feed on fermenting fruits, which contain fairly high amounts of alcohol. Though it depends on your size and weight, the human body actually can’t take more than 0.3% alcohol. Drinking heavy quantities of alcohol can be fatal. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, have been recorded of withstanding vapor concentrations of 60 percent alcohol. Just to be sure, this information is not a challenge.

The team here at Mosquito Enemy wishes you a happy and safe summer, so remember to drink responsibly. If mosquitoes are bothering you and your loved ones contact Mosquito Enemy at to get a quote for a single application or join the full program today.

Lets talk about what you can do to help receive mosquito control in North Andover and North Shore areas in Massachusetts. It only takes one mosquito bite that could make your loved ones or yourself sick with West Nile Virus. Stay healthy this summer with a few easy steps to follow.

• Tip over and dump out the water in any and all things that hold water twice a week while outdoors.
• Check all tarp coverings that they are snug and not withholding water. If they are shake the water off.
• Make sure all gutters are cleared of debris and water flows freely.
• Fill in any pockets of water in your landscape with loam and seed.
• Remove leaf and brush piles from your property.
• Keep your lawn mowed and all tall grass along the edges removed.
• Call the certified and licensed professionals at Mosquito Enemy @ 978-363-2222 to keep your yard mosquito free this year.

There is a lot of thought and history put into a name. Everyday people encounter companies, products, and animals that all have names unique to themselves. Mosquito Enemy is a company dedicated to pest control, with a very clear focus on mosquitoes. Our name defines us just it defines our enemy. However, the name “mosquito” is just a common name. There are thousands of different species of mosquitoes. Across the world mosquitoes have tormented people, interfering with someone’s day under a different guise. The world has many languages and the species we know of today as “mosquitoes” has seen many other names.

The word “mosquito” itself has deep roots in Spanish and Portuguese. The Spanish often called the mosquitoes “musketas,” though the word “mosquito” itself translates to “little fly.” Native Hispanic Americans commonly called mosquitoes “zancudos,” which is a Spanish word that means “long-legged.”

The people of Europe have several different names for mosquitoes. In England they are commonly call them “gnats” while French writers have been noted to associate mosquitoes with the names “Les moucherons” or “Les cousins.” In Northern Europe the people of Germany have been documented as using the name “Stechmucken” or “Schnacke” when referring to mosquitoes at times. Mosquitoes are also called by a variety of names, including “myg” and “myyga,” in Scandinavian countries.

Interestingly, the use of the word “mosquito” to describe the winged bloodsuckers we know today is apparently of North American origin. The use of the word “mosquito” in North America has been recorded to date back to about 1583. The world is filled with so many different ways of referring to a single species of insect. For More…

With more than 3,000 species of mosquito to control worldwide, you have to wonder are they in Hamilton MA. One might assume that the highest concentrations of the world’s least favorite insect would be in a tropical jungle or a steaming swamp. Though that may seem to be true, considering how many mosquitoes can often be found in warm locations with standing water, that is not actually the case. Mosquitoes are a lot hardier than many people believe.

Surprisingly, the area with the highest density of mosquitoes is nowhere near the equator. Off in the far Northern Hemisphere, both within and past the arboreal forests, enormous mosquito populations swarm areas of the Arctic tundra. But wait, how can areas of the Arctic have the highest concentration of mosquitoes?

The answer can be found in the summer season and the geography of the Arctic. A lot of the arctic is flat and, more often than not, covered with either snow or ice. As a result of that, when things heat up during the summer months and that snow and ice melts due to the heat,  there is nowhere for liquid water to flow to. Furthermore, the water that melts during the summer has nowhere to sink into. A subsurface layer of frozen soil, or permafrost, exists under much of the land. So, all this water has no place to go and forms lots of wetlands. The many pools of shallow, still water in these wetlands are the prime breeding areas for mosquitoes.

When these wetlands are coupled with the near constant amounts of sunlight of the mid-summer season, they transform motionless pools of water into the perfect mosquito “incubators.” It turns out that these pools of still, warm water are also rich with organic material. Hungry larvae have to eat and nothing makes them happier than a growing environment with an ample food supply.

With all of these positive conditions for mosquitoes, the skies of the Arctic tundra become thick with bloodsuckers—to the point where they can turn the sky gray. Every year hordes of mosquitoes congregate across the region, relentlessly tormenting both the wildlife and humans alike.

If your plans have you heading into the Arctic this summer, bug nets might be a good thing to add to your travel check-list.

There is a common misconception about the insects that we call “mosquito hawks.” The picture above captures a long-legged fly that is all too often mistaken as a mosquito killer—the adult crane fly. As opposed what could be considered “true” mosquito hawks—like a dragonfly—the crane fly has been caught in a case of mistaken identity.

It is ironic that the crane fly (eponymously named after the long-legged and slow flying crane) has been misconceived as a mosquito hunter when the insect itself doesn’t eat much of anything. Crane flies are anatomically incapable of killing or eating mosquitoes. These large, spindly creatures bounce off walls and ceilings while just going about their way.

Crane flies, much like moths, are attracted to light. They oftentimes hover near porch lights and windows, unintentionally invading homes as they maneuver their way towards lights. Though they do appear as enormous mosquitoes, crane flies are not blood suckers either. Rather, they feed on the roots of grasses.

So, what is the big deal then? Why do crane flies matter in the grand scheme of things? Though they might not be getting rid of the buzzing nuisance that the Mosquito Enemy team is here to help you with, crane flies do play an important role in the environment. The larvae of the crane fly decompose organic waste lying around on the bottom of streams and forest floors—they thus help enrich soil and enhance the habitats of other creatures. Crane flies are also make a quick meal for animals like birds, reptiles, amphibians, other insects, and fish.

Though they might not be the mosquito eaters we’ve built them up to be, the crane fly plays an interesting part in the myths surrounding mosquitoes!