Tiny, but powerful mosquitoes can wreak havoc, from spoiling a summertime event to making someone sick.

"Some people are more attractive to mosquitoes than others Everybody reacts differently to a mosquito bite," said Mark "Shep" Sheperdigian, vice president of technical services for Troy-based Rose Pest Solutions

"Different mosquitoes bite at different times. There's always one to bite you."

The biggest misconception about mosquitoes?

"That mosquitoes are merely an annoyance," said Sheperdigian, a board-certified entomologist.
"Mosquitoes have killed more people than people have killed people."

That's because mosquitoes can transmit diseases and viruses, including encephalitis, West Nile virus, malaria and Equine virus.

Mosquitoes detect humans by body heat and carbon dioxide. But you can do things to keep mosquitoes from taking over your yard.

The main thing is not to let your surroundings be appealing to mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes like pooled water that is still long enough for their larvae to finish developing. Species that bite people can begin to grow in any puddle of standing water that lasts for more than four days.

Mosquitoes feed on organisms that grow close to the surface of water (mosquitoes are light enough not to break the surface).

So don't let water accumulate around your house. Empty water from containers including rain barrels, outdoor tubs, unused swimming pools, flower pots, vases and roof gutters and old tires.

Change the water in your bird bath weekly, Sheperdigian said.

"Once a week is fine," he said.

Put an aerator in your pond or water garden to keep the water in motion, or apply an insect growth regulator product, such as Bti, Sheperdigian said.

Bti (Bacillus thuringienis israelensis) is a bacterial toxin that infects and kills mosquito larvae but is harmless to wildlife. Bti products come in granules and in donut-shaped forms called dunks.

If you are especially attractive to mosquitoes, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when you are outdoors.
Mosquito repellents containing DEET are safe and effective.

"It works very well and lasts a long time," Sheperdigian said.

Some items considered to repel mosquitoes really aren't effective.

For example, "anti-mosquito" plants would be successful only if mosquitoes would be fed with them. Bug zappers actually attract more mosquitoes than they kill, and kill such beneficial insects as moths.

"There has to be a dead calm, only a slight breeze," Sheperdigian said.
Citronella candles need perfect conditions in order to work, Sheperdigian said. The citronella blows away easily.

By Mary Klemic STAFF WRITER