Mosquito Control & Mosquito-borne Disease

[centipede]

Wow for the detailed threads!!! What doesn't make any sense is the notion that Coqui Frogs don't eat mosquitos because it defies nature and reason.

[Hazen]

Hi AKSteven,

Mosquitoes love me. Some people, get here and after a few monthes or years say, "They just stop biting you". Great for them, i've been here six, they still love me.

Everyone has a different biology, most of the species here seem to be attracted to our respiratory and skin secretions. Most mosquitoes, AK kind, are attracted to CO2, heat, and moisture. Guess what, not in Hawaii. Some of the highland mosquitoes still hunt using these methods, but anywhere below 2000' and CO2, moisture, and heat are EVERYWHERE. That's a jungle. We typically have a large number of what are called "asian tiger" mosquitoes. Black and white zebra stripes. They bite aggressively, and all day. They are fast and covered with small hairs/scales (?) like a moth's wings, when you close your hand on one they leave this dust on you and almost always manage to get away, i think the dust acts like teflon and slides them into the gaps in your fist. They often leave little mosquito dust outlines when you smack em'. It can be infuriating. Like little chalk outlines.

They are like ninjas.

They are also very skittery, so they tend to bite, get spooked, bite, get spooked, you get a whole range of bites before they fill up enough to make an egg case. They are smaller, and faster, higher pitched. You can best catch them with an underhanded closing fist, followed by grinding your fingers together. They are smaller so you don't feel their little shock absorbing springy legs as much. I felt a sick pleasure last time i was in Alaska, your mosquitoes are like dirgibles, killing them was like shooting buffalo from a train.

ONE good thing!

Their bites tend to only itch for about 20-40 minutes. No bites that itch for days and leave kids covered with scabs. Though sometimes, especially with bites on the joints/knuckes, other joints on the body can end up itching. It may be an allergic reaction, but sometimes a lot of bites on one hand can lead to both hands, all joints feeling itchy/restless. May be a nrevous system reaction to the anti-coagulant in their saliva. Misfiring neurons? I'm actualy surprised mosquitoes haven't adapted to a non-itchy bite and silent flight, they'd feed a lot more effectively.

They seem to be attracted to skin secretions, they will often hover around tools, shirts, and shoes that have sweat on them, days later. I have read studies about lactic acid/lactose (can't rememeber) related compounds that are the primary attractant to our vampirous friends. Some Univ. of Florida researchers pretty much broke the "code" with mosquitoes but have yet to release their info publicly. I think it's a money thing. Repellents are a consumable. Malaria medicines are big money. These guys have isolated what mosquitoes go nuts for a REALLY potent attractant. But they won't release it. Personally, i'd start an anti-malaria non-profit and find some VC's to support some sort of bait and kill product and be able to sleep at night, make it a life's work. These guys aparently either are under pressure or are motivated by greed. But, i digress...

So, of course, mosquitoes are attracted to the fore-mentioned compounds found in mammalian breath. Interestingly, I seem to have an equally attractive scent to human females. I often get, "You smell good comments", when i'm sweaty and some women have even commented that my breath smells sweet, like a child's. Double-edged sword. Please refrain from any blood-sucking female jokes.

High blood sugar and frequent alcohol consupmtion, seem to attract them. I suspect eh liver plays a role in eventual skin secretions. Maybe a biological workaround is possible, soap that innoculates your body in a bacteria that digests your sweat into unattractive compounds. Big wooly body hair helps. I let my face beard up if i work a job outside. They like dark colors, and are "ususally" light-phobic. I have watched them hover in shadows, waiting for me to get close. Or dive above and below a deck to hunt and then retreat when exposed to direct sun. I live on the ocean and the buggers will be lined up in formation behind me on a windy day flying full tilt into the tradewinds, waiting for a lull to sink their little feminine proboscii into my innocent flesh.

Obviously eliminatig breeding water helps. I have found that chlorinating my cachement and clearing grasses and brush 10-20' from my house to be the most affecting things. A very light chlorination using pool tabs also prevents many of our dreading exotic pathogens from reproducing in your water supply. No slug-borne, brain sucking disease for me thank-you. Charcoal/activated carbon/Britta filtration removes the chlorine. Food is important, pets are hapless victims. I've felt horrible at times seeing local black dogs lying in the shade to avoid the sun and getting swarmed around the face and groin. At least we get pants. Chickens can be a problem.

Male mosquitoes need grasses to roost in, if you cut back grasses the populations decrease rapidly. Plus, the Cleavers next door don't suspect your late night depravities and think you an upstanding citizen. I have dosed neighbor's "ponds" with the larvicidal bacteria tabs. They don't affect anything else, at least not anything with a backbone. Dragon/damselflies are an awesome addition to any home and do well, their voracious larvae will feed off the tiny Gambusia/Gambusia sp. of mosquitoefish you should have in most East Side water features. Our plentiful and beautiful bromeliads grow very well here producing great inflourescences, but are pretty notorious as breeding grounds. I just make sure if it doesn't rain frequently to wash them out with a hose, that seems to keep the larva/wrigglers down. Also don't place them where tehy get a lot of leaf litter from above.

Myself and a past roomate had luck using kukui nut oil as a repellent. It is similar to coconut oil, so it's good for your skin, doesn't smell bad. It is expensive though, but so is DEET, and i still don't trust that stuff. OK for clothes, gives me headaches if i'm working hard and apply it to my skin, and it sweats off (DEET). I think the kukui oil works with your biology, not as a vaporous repellent. It's available in the local markets and health food stores. It mayor may not work for your biology, but even if it doesn't your partner will likely enjoy it anyway. Its good for massage. I personally have had no success in modifying my diet to deal with these beasties. Garlic, don't do anything but get your breath up and make girls think you cook a lot of italian. Not drinking helps, but geez how else are you going to cope with all the mosquitoes? Skin-So-Soft has never helped me, and it leaves you smelling like grandma on a hot date. It has traditionally been used for no-see-ums. Long sleeves and pants (definately socks!) help if you're not sweating, but if you're working the increased sweating due to the extra clothing usually counteracts any protection by attracting every bug for miles around.

So basically:

Get hairy

Wear long white clothes

Smell bad?

Don't sweat or drink alcohol.

Annoint your body with herbal oils.

Ignore blood sucking females and their bites.

Hmmmmm. Now that i think about it i guess that explains a lot about Jesus. And maybe a lot of these New-Age wannabe guru's i see around, i thought they were just trying to build a following and scam on girls, they're actally practising a mosquito-mindfull lifestyle!

Hope you've already got a partner, not much going for you after these actions are taken.

Either way, you seem like a motivated and intelligent guy, you'll figure it out. I hope the mosquitoes are the worst of your problems here. Give the warm air a few monthes you'll slow down and stop doing all this rigorous intellectual research on the net. Let the skeeters suck a few pints outta' ya', get a bro to get a few pints in ya' and lay back and enjoy the tropical malaise (wiki the etymology of malaise ). You'll be fine in no time, we got no dengue (had it)and no malaria.

Gimme a ring when you get here, you seem interesting. Where you moving? I've spent some time in BRC/Nevada desert too.

Hazen

#965-eight-three-eight-one

[AlohaSteven]

Thanks for sharing this informative and often-hilarious mosquito lore born of your local experience, Hazen! It is both interesting and a fun read. I look forward to talking with you soon now that I am relocated from Alaska to here on the Big Island (...thus the name change from AlaskaSteven to AlohaSteven).

This morning an interesting science news note popped up on my screen which I think might eventually hold some potential for fighting mosquito-borne disease such as avian pox in wild native birds, domestic poultry flocks, and pet parrots below 2000 feet elevation, especially on an isolated tropical island.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/20...-into.html links to the Science Now article "Researchers Turn Mosquitoes Into Flying Vaccinators" by Martin Enserink, posted 18MAR2010.

A couple of the more intriguing points: studies show that in places where malaria is rampant, people get bitten more than 100 times a night and this approach may have potential in fighting animal disease.

Humans are animals, of course, but they mean "for animals excluding humans" -such as poultry- for the reasons indicated. I wonder, though, if poverty-stricken peoples mired in decades if not centuries of tropical malaise (partly in consequence of the disruptions from colonialism and multinational corporate agribusiness to the local ecology and traditional cultural practices) might not opt for this potential solution even given the variability of dose exposure? Time will tell.

Clearly there are many other, safer, and on the whole better methods yet to be used here in Hawaii contra mosquito-borne human disease. The intriguing notion of using wild (not natural, as mosquitoes in Hawaii are all invasives) mosquitoes to combat introduced avian pox in birds, however, seems worth investigating.


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All creative work is derivative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcvd5JZkUXY

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[AlohaSteven]

Just to mention for the possible good of the order, an interesting new product with potential contra mosquitoes in Puna is now on the market.

The link to photos and ordering info:
http://www.hammacher.com/Product/76657?s...%20Zappers
...but in case that description page goes inactive by the time this post is dredged up from the Punaweb archive and read at some future date, here is a cut-and-paste of the text blurb.


The Solar Insect Zappers

These four solar insect lights simply stake into the ground anywhere in your yard and harness the sun's energy to efficiently eliminate over 100 varieties of flying insects. The UV bulb turns on automatically at dusk and lures mosquitoes, flies, and other insects to eliminate them instantly with a 300-volt electric charge, providing chemical-free bug protection for up to eight hours on a full charge. An integrated solar panel requires only moderate sunlight and charges the internal batteries in eight hours. A grate surrounds the bulbs to discourage curious hands and protect wayward pets, and the housing is made from 100% stainless steel that resists damage from sun and rain. The units switch from bug zappers to accent lights at the touch of a button. Set of Four. Each: 20" H x 6 3/4" Diam. (14 oz.)




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MSP's wingsuit segment from "Seven Sunny Days"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0tU3Hy7et8&feature=related

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[PaulW]

Steven, I thought mosquitoes weren't attracted by UV lights. If they were, then ordinary bug zappers would work.

[AlohaSteven]

Steven, I thought mosquitoes weren't attracted by UV lights. If they were, then ordinary bug zappers would work.

Good point, Paul, inasmuch as everything I have seen suggests mosquitoes are mainly attracted by carbon dioxide, lactic acid, certain sounds (such as the harmonic whining of another mosquito wanting to mate), and particular colors of visible light. The widget-huckster's claim that the "UV bulb...lures mosquitoes, flies, and other insects" is probably based in mosquitoes being able to see UV better than that which to human eyes shows up as visible light. Just as most insects are attracted to a bright yellow flower over a bank of green leaves, in that sense the mosquitoes are probably drawn preferentially to the UV light over an otherwise dark patio walkway. If a source of carbon dioxide or something else more powerfully yummy were nearby at the moment, however, then I'd bet the UV would be ignored in favor of the stronger attractor.

The part about these little UV-baited bug zappers which I find interesting is that they are solar charged, so would come on at dusk and zap away every night without HELCO ending up owning one's paycheck.

If they attract and zap those monstrous little no-see-um ankle-biter critters which lurk in grass then it would be a plus, but the potential drawback to these units is they could zap "good" insects to excess in ratio to pests like mosquitoes and no-see-ums.



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MSP's wingsuit segment from "Seven Sunny Days"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0tU3Hy7et8&feature=related

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[PaulW]

A friend had a mosquito-killer with a UV light, a fan and some water (the insect is blown into the water) but on the first night it was already clogged up with harmless moths. Another friend says that a propane-burning mosquito catcher is the only one that really works.

[Greg]

Paul,
Those moths may not be so harmless. Here's a picture of a stinging nettle caterpiler in it's moth stage.

[JerryCarr]

Greg is right. We have one of those UV lights with a zapper, and it isn't very good at killing mosquitoes, but since we got it, we have had about an 80-90% reduction of stinging caterpillars. They were a real problem before, but now are a minor nuissance.

[AlohaSteven]

Fascinating to know about the reduction in stinging nettle caterpillar populations subsequent to mosquito-zapper use. Thanks for sharing this observation.

The online article Mosquito traps are tempting, but are they worth it? by Alex Nunez (dated 09AUG2010) presents not only a good overview on the topic but also a consumer-reports style rating of various makes and models currently available. Here is the link:
http://www.consumersearch.com/blog/mosqu...uito_traps


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Nirvana vs Rick Astley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1YABGdai5k

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