Birds are natural mosquito killers. They eat mosquitoes by the thousands. Many species of birds will eat mosquitoes as a major part of their diets. However, only when mosquitoes are around, because they do not live all year round. Mosquitoes tend to go away during winter time in most regions of the world.
Birds always get a special place in my garden year-round, just like bats do. The reason is simple: You give them what they want and nature will eventually return the favor to you. There are a lot of species that will actively hunt and eat mosquitoes when they are out during the summer afternoon and evenings.
What Type Of Birds Eat Mosquitoes?
Many types of wild birds will eat mosquitoes as part of their diet. Some of the major bird species that have a mosquito diet include barn swallows, waterfowls, geese, ducks, purple martins and other types of migratory songbirds. They will also eat other insects, such as flies and mosquito hawks.
Since mosquitoes will only come out during certain parts of the day and for a small portion of the year, it would make sense for these insects only making up a small part of their overall diet. However, there are birds that will almost exclusively feed on these insects, such as is the case with the purple martin birds, which can eat up to 2000 mosquitoes a day. They are the biggest birds in the swallow family and will have a beautiful purple glaze in their feathers.
Generally speaking, most of these birds will fly out during the day while it is still light out. This can continue until far into the evening, because that is the moment in which most mosquitoes will choose to fly around your garden. Most are snatched up in mid-flight, since the males will fly in huge schools. It’s easy for birds, but even more so for bats, to snatch up one after the other. But what about hummingbirds, do they catch them too? It’s a common question people tend to ask when it comes to birds and mosquitoes.
Do Hummingbirds Eat Mosquitoes?
Hummingbirds do seem equipped with the skills to grab and eat mosquitoes. These highly agile birds will usually focus on a nectar-based diet, but will also eat insects like mosquitoes. Hummingbirds are capable of grabbing and eating mosquitoes in mid-air.
It’s an amazing sight to see a hummingbird zooming around your garden at seemingly lightning speeds. Sometimes it may even seem like it’s teleporting from one place to another, snatching up insects left and right. In fact, let me show you how they do it, because there are plenty of examples of these critters in action, right in the middle of your average neighborhood. They are not even that much of a rare sight these days, but you do need to be somewhat lucky to catch one on camera. Here’s one of them in action grabbing its delicious mosquito snacks:
Isn’t that a wonderful thing to witness? It’s just grabbing them from the sky like it’s nothing! I for one would welcome hummingbirds to feed on the nectar of my flowers ánd kill a mosquito or two in my yard. It would bring me great joy to see them in action, knowing that they will benefit the local ecosystem ánd help me get rid of my mosquito problems. I can’t get over how cute they are too. Sorry, I’m getting a bit carried away here. Time to focus on taking action in welcoming beautiful animals like hummingbirds, but also other birds, to your backyard. Let’s see how you can easily attract bird-like mosquito predators to your garden with a few simple modifications to your garden layout.
How To Attract Mosquito Predators
Attracting insect-eating animals such as birds to your garden can both be educational and functional. In order to attract natural mosquito predators to your backyard, you can try the following:
- Add birdhouses: Most insect-eating bird species need a place to nest and lay their eggs. A simple birdhouse (such as this one) can not only beautify your garden, but also attract a wide range of mosquito munching birds;
- Fewer tiles, more trees: You got too many tiles in your garden and you need to remove them now! Your garden will not only be cooler in the summer, but rainstorms will now impact your outdoors area much less. And plant some bushes and trees for mosquito predators to sit on, helps a lot with attracting them;
- Birdfeeders: Many people don’t know this, but you can feed wild birds year-round with the right type of seeds. Get yourself a sturdy squirrel-proof birdfeeder (here’s an example) and some good quality wild birdseed. They will come flocking to your garden within hours;
- Birdbaths: This is a bit of a double-edged sword, because the water added in the little baths can also house mosquito eggs if you don’t change the water regularly. However, if you maintain your birdbath properly, many species will use it to their advantage. It is also a great ornament to beautify your garden. Another great way to attract different mosquito predators in the summertime;
- Add hiding places: Last but not least you can create all sorts of little hiding places for birds, bats and other mosquito predators to sleep during the day or at night. The birdhouse from before was one example, but you can get as creative with this as you would like. Roof tiles, piles of wood with holes, even an old drawer can function as a hiding place.
As you can see, there are many fun ways to attract mosquito predators to your backyard. These can not only make your garden experience more fun, but will sometimes also make your garden more lively and beautiful. I’m a huge proponent of more green in the yard, which is beneficial in so many more ways than just attracting wildlife. Get rid of those tiles people, a whole new green world will open for you.
But even if you choose to keep your stone-rich garden the way it is (boo, change is good!) there is a good alternative available that might even be much more effective than attracting natural predators. I am of course talking about one of the most effective mosquito killers of all time. No, it’s not a bird. It’s a machine. And yes, it’s a small investment, but if you want to be thorough, you need to invest in tools that will get the job done quickly and effectively. Let’s wrap up this story by checking out my best anti-mosquito solution of the season: The mosquito magnet trap.
Mosquito Trap: Let’s Kill Them Yourself!
Sometimes, the bellies of all the local birds will be filled, or the mosquito season is simply too good for all of them to get eaten by a bigger and better flying animal. That’s where alternatives have to be found. What to do with all the other mosquitoes in the yard that are still alive and ready to consume your blood?
Well, one of the best solutions I can personally think of, is to attract them using a mosquito trap (which I reviewed in this article). Personally, I’ve had the most success with the Flowtron BK15D trap, which you can find right here on Amazon. This is basically the perfect insect magnet: An absolute death trap for most mosquitoes that will find it irresistible. It’s a device that will work silently and eat up all the local mosquitoes in your neighborhood. All you really need to do is give it enough power to operate and place it a little further away from from your house, so some strays won’t accidentally get into your house.
It’s actually the perfect killer machine that will almost exclusively kill mosquitoes. I love it. And obviously, if you don’t want to get one of these big devices, there are plenty of anti-mosquito alternatives available to you. That page also has some good solutions for when you’ve already been bitten by one of these pesky creatures. All that’s left for me to say is happy hunting and stay safe out there!