The Mosquito Life Cycle & How to Kill Them at Each Stage

To get rid of mosquitoes for good, it’s important to understand the entire life cycle of a mosquito so you’re aware of the different ways they can pose a threat.

So how do you get rid of them? Here’s what you need to know about the life cycle of a mosquito and how to eliminate them at every stage.

What Is the Life Cycle of a Mosquito?

All species of mosquitoes have the same four-stage life cycle: egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. In general, a mosquito’s entire life cycle from egg to adult takes around 8 to 10 days. Once they’re adult mosquitoes, their lifespan depends on whether they’re male or female: males only live about one to two weeks, while females can live for one to three months.

The Life Cycle of a Mosquito

Mosquito Eggs

The first stage of a mosquito’s life cycle is the egg. When a female mosquito lays eggs they usually lay 100 to 300 at a time. After an egg is laid it can take between two days and a few months to hatch. For a mosquito egg to hatch, it needs to be submerged in water. This is why additional rainfall and puddles can lead to a new swarm of mosquitoes. A mosquito’s life span isn’t very long but they can lay hundreds of eggs during it.

Length of Mosquito Egg Stage: Two days to a few months, depending on the location of the mosquito eggs.

How to Get Rid of Mosquito Eggs

Culex, Culiseta, and Anopheles mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, while many Aedes and Ochlerotatus mosquitoes lay their eggs on damp soil. This is why it’s important to eliminate all existing (or potential!) sources of stagnant water to get rid of mosquitoes in your yard. Make sure to keep any standing water moving or eliminate it. The most common culprits include puddles, birdbaths, toys collecting water, pet bowls, and piles of leaves or yard debris.

If there are already mosquito eggs, you can kill mosquito eggs in standing water in a few different ways, including adding apple cider vinegar to the water, pouring in coffee grounds, or using mosquito dunks.

Mosquito Larvae

After the mosquito eggs hatch, they turn into larvae. The mosquito larvae lives in water and they must emerge to the surface to breathe oxygen. A majority of eggs hatch into larvae within two days and can stay in the water for up to two weeks. In the larvae stage, mosquitos shed their skins four times and they grow larger after each molt.

How to Get Rid of Mosquito Larvae

It’s important to kill mosquito larvae early before they even think about biting you. Larvae need to be able to reach the water’s surface to breathe oxygen, otherwise, they won’t survive. You can suffocate mosquito larvae in water by adding anything from the following list to the water.

• • Cinnamon Oil
  • Eucalyptus Oil
  • Peppermint Oil
  • Soap

Mosquito Pupa

When the mosquito reaches the pupa stage they begin to rest and enter a nonfeeding stage of development. Mosquitoes spend around two to three days in the Pupa stage. Pupa lives in water for a total of one to four days depending on the type of species and temperature. This is the stage where a mosquito begins to turn into an adult.

Length of Mosquito Pupa Stage: One to four days

How to Get Rid of Mosquito Pupa

Getting rid of mosquitoes during the pupa stage is pretty much the same as the larvae and egg stages — you can use soap, apple cider vinegar, mosquito dunks, or essential oils to kill them off.

Adult Mosquito

A mosquito becomes an adult once it emerges from the pupae. Once a mosquito becomes an adult, it rises onto the water’s surface and flies away. Males are ready to start mating with female mosquitoes, and females prepare to start mating and laying eggs.

There is a big difference between adult male and female mosquitoes that you might not know about — while both gender mosquitoes eat nectar, only female mosquitoes bite humans and animals for blood. Females need the blood because it provides them with the protein required for their eggs.

Length of Adult Mosquito Stage: 10 to 56 days

How to Get Rid of Adult Mosquitoes

If you didn’t take care of mosquitoes during their earlier life stages, now you’re stuck trying to get rid of adult mosquitoes.

The best ways to get rid of adult mosquitoes are:

• • • Treat your property with an all-natural mosquito repellent 
    • Get rid of mosquitoes inside your house by fixing gaps in screens, windows, and doors, eliminating sources of standing water, and diffusing essential oils.
    • Grow mosquito-repelling plants both inside and outside. From basil to catnip to mint, mosquitoes can’t stand the smell of specific plants.

How Long Do Mosquitoes Live?

The lifespan of a mosquito depends on if it is a male or female. A female mosquito’s lifespan can last between one to three months. Male mosquitoes’ lifespan is between only one or two weeks. Female mosquitoes live much longer than male mosquitoes because they bite humans and animals for blood, while male mosquitoes only feed on nectar.

Each stage lasts a different amount of time:

• • • Eggs – two days to a few months
    • Larvae – up to two weeks
    • Pupa – one to four days
    • Adult – ten to fifty-six days

While there are general timelines for the lifecycle of a mosquito, it can also be affected by the weather. Mosquitoes can’t function in weather below 50℉, so you won’t have much of a problem in cooler weather. A lot of mosquitoes begin to die when the weather turns cold and winter begins. Male mosquitoes have a shorter lifespan than female mosquitoes so, before they die, they mate with a female partner and she begins to lay her eggs in the fall. When the temperature begins to heat up again, the eggs start to hatch, and then the cycle continues and a new generation is born.

If you understand the different stages of a mosquito’s life you will be in a better position to keep your family and pets enjoying the outdoors.

How To Prevent Mosquito Bites

It’s essential to understand the mosquito’s life cycle to keep them at a bay. To prevent mosquito bites and keep your family and pets safe you need to make sure there isn’t any standing water around your home, use natural mosquito repellent,  wear light-colored clothing when you are outside, and avoid going out during mosquito peak hours, which is from dusk until dawn.

Now that you understand the life cycle of a mosquito, it’s time to protect your family and pets from mosquitoes (yes, mosquitoes bite dogs too!). The end of mosquitoes begins here!

How Long Does a Mosquito Live After Biting Someone?

Whether or not a mosquito bites someone has nothing to do with how long they live for — mosquitoes don’t die after biting you. They might get a little too close and risk being swatted, but their life span is unaffected by biting people or animals. After a mosquito bites a person the female mosquito can live for 100 days and they can lay hundreds of eggs during their lifespan. If a female mosquito bites enough people and it manages not to be killed, it can live approximately one to three months.

How Many Times Can One Mosquito Bite?

There are no limitations on how many times a mosquito can bite. Female mosquitoes bite and suck blood from people and animals until they are full. Once they have enough blood, they’ll rest for a few days. Then, the mosquito lays her eggs and goes back to seek blood for her next round of egg laying.

Get Rid of Mosquitoes Throughout Their Life Cycle Today!

Mosquito Magician provides 100% natural active ingredient, mosquito killing and repellent products to help you get rid of mosquitoes at every stage in their life cycle. Ready to make your yard a bite-free zone?