What you should know about mosquito-borne viruses When a female mosquito selects you for her meal, she’s doing so in order to produce eggs. It’s a simple enough reason for a complicated process that can sometimes result in serious consequences for her human buffet. After landing on you, the mosquito’s labrum – or snout –…
The invasion has begun If there’s one thing all Floridians might have in common, it’s their disdain for mosquitos. While the cooler and drier winter weather gave locals a bit of a reprieve, Zika headlines are waiting for the heat and humidity to return. That’s why University of Florida researchers are concerned. In January, they…
Identifying the weeds in your lawn When it comes to lawns in America, one conservative estimate is that there are three times more acres of lawns in the United States than irrigated corn. For the American homeowner, that’s a lot of agonizing and spending to nurture the perfect lawn. In essence, most homeowners have two…
You may never go inside again There are days in South Florida when the weather is so perfect, going inside feels like a crime. But once 6 o’clock rolls around and your stomach starts grumbling, as much as you’d prefer not to, you know you’ll have to go in to get some grub. But what…
You may be scratching like mad, but you haven’t actually been bitten at all Few things are more annoying then when you’re sitting outside on a nice warm day and suddenly you get a bite from a pesky mosquito. The moment is instantly ruined, and now you have to go inside to avoid getting chomped…
Inside the lifecycle of this infamous insect When it comes to most insects, people usually either like them, hate them, or, at the very least, are fascinated by them. Except when it comes to the infamous mosquito. Around the globe, there are 3,500 species of mosquitos, and many are despised, especially Aedes aegypti, the species…
Find out why mosquitos are choosy biters See if this sounds familiar: You and your friends are hanging out in your backyard having a good time, perhaps eating some burgers, maybe enjoying a cocktail, when all of a sudden you feel that familiar sting. You slap your arm, but it’s too late; you’ve been bitten…
Using genetically modified mosquitos to fight the virus What happened to Zika? It seems that after November, Zika disappeared from the evening news – and for a very not-so-comforting reason. It was then the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus was no longer an international public health emergency. For researchers and advocates around the…
Tips for keeping your Florida garden in shape Any gardener knows that in order to have a healthy garden, he or she must first have a strong foundation – namely, really good soil. Any gardener in South Florida, though, knows the soil here isn’t great. In fact, it can barely be considered soil at all.…
The answer may surprise you From a fairly early age, we are taught that everything in nature has a purpose. Altering or eliminating even a small thing, we are told, could end up having a severe impact somewhere else. But is this always the case? If you’ve ever been bitten by a mosquito, in the…