The member of the animal kingdom that can cause the greatest amount of potentially fatal damage to humans is the mosquito. These buzzing, biting, swarming horrors, which have been terrorizing the planet since at least the late Cretaceous period, have 3,600 species found around the world except for Antarctica and a few islands that have polar or subpolar temperatures. And while most of us have experienced the misery of itching and burning that comes with their bites, many people don't realize just how deadly mosquitoes can be.

These annoying biters cause nearly 700 million illnesses in people annually, and one million of those die as a result. Two of the deadliest and well-known viruses they carry are Zika and the West Nile Virus. They can also spread eastern equine encephalomyelitis, which can affect horses and some birds. Our family pets, cats, and dogs aren't safe from these horrible sickness-spreaders as well, as the insects have been known to transmit heartworm from infected pet to pet. It has been claimed that about half of all people who have ever lived died of mosquito-contracted disease, although more conservative estimates place the death toll estimate closer to 5% of all humans.

Their life cycle begins as eggs, which are laid in as little as ¼ inch of stagnant water, and shortly after hatch into larvae. The larvae then grow until they change into pupae, which the  adult mosquito emerges from. They float on the water's surface until they are ready to fly away. The lifespan can range from as short as a week to as long as multiple months, depending on species, weather conditions, and the sex of the insect. Because of this difference in how long the life cycle can take, a few mosquitoes on your property can spiral out of control very quickly.

Here's a not-so-fun fact about these stinging pets: If one has bitten you, it was a female. Their saliva contains an anticoagulant, which helps make the hosts' blood flow into her belly more easily. Males can survive deriving nutrients from plants, but the females require a blood meal to lay eggs. When they bite, there are several different ways that they can transmit the pathogens they carry. With malaria, parasites reside in the females' gut and enter the host as she feeds. With other sicknesses, such as yellow fever and dengue, the insect picks up the virus when it feeds on an infected person. The virus then enters the victim via the saliva when it is stuck with the bugs nutrient-sucking proboscis.

Mosquitoes, while tiny, can be a big problem for those unlucky to be bitten by them. From the red, inflamed bumps to the burning, lasting itchiness, being feasted on by a swarm of mosquitoes and hearing their telltale buzzing can be enough to drive us crazy. If you live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, or the surrounding area, and have mosquitoes or other nuisance pests giving you headaches, contact Fortified Pest Control. We can get rid of those annoying pests once and for all.