Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

This looks like your typical backyard sandbox, right?  They provide hours of fun for many kids.  Unfortunately, my children often do not put the lid back on.  After the lid got left off, a storm came and days later this is what our sandbox looked like.  

My boys went out to play and came in to tell me there were little tadpoles in our sandbox.  Then our fifth grade neighbor sees it and tells us it's mosquitoes.  I decide to investigate the sandbox.  Sure enough, our once sandbox was now the home to mosquito larvae.  The fifth grader was right!

Female mosquitoes lay their eggs in water.  This can include large bodies of water, standing water (like swimming pools), or areas of collected standing water (like tree holes or gutters).  The eggs hatch into larvae or "wigglers" which grow to about 1-2 cm in length.  This stage lasts from days to several weeks.  Then the larvae change into pupae or "tumblers."  This stage only last 1-4 days.  The pupae then encases itself and transforms into adult mosquitoes.

Photos from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

To reduce the population of mosquitoes, eliminate any sources of standing water in your yard.  If you have a small pond, you can stock it with some fish that will eat the mosquito larvae.
Take a lesson from us, and don't let your once fun sandbox become a breeding pool for mosquitoes!