Make your blood poison to Mosquitoes!

[randomq]

It's Ivermectin, an anti-parisite drug. 3 days of doses will kill off mosquitoes for a whole month. Bonus, it can paralyze/kill the ratlung worm as well.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsod...mosquitoes

[ElysianWort]

Sounds like a last ditch effort maybe. I would never do it. You know how all these drugs are: quickly read over by the spokesperson in a syrupy sweet tone on a commercial about the possible effects typically including muscle aches, fever, rash, diarrhea, vomiting, liver failure and death.
The article mentions:

In this study, Smit says the high dosage of 600 milligrams for three days was well-tolerated. Participants reported few side effects, though he admits everyone in the study was already hospitalized and receiving treatment for malaria.

"The patients may have noticed less side effects because they were already feeling sick," Smit explains. "We have yet to see if the excellent tolerance we saw would be just as good in healthy individuals."

Smit adds that the high dose of ivermectin still needs to be tested in children to ensure that it is safe for all ages.

[alaskyn66]

I eat a lot of garlic and/or hot sauce.
I don't take it personal..but bugs don't like me.


Okay Google... Who are these people and why ain't they working?

[terracore]

I have been working with ivermectin on/in animals since 1998. It's almost miraculous how well ivermectin works, and for such an effective medicine it's CHEAP. If the human dose is priced at the livestock dose you are talking about pennies per treatment.

All that said, I'd rather them develop something that is applied externally.

[Carey]

The HUGE caveat mentioned was the need for care in preventing drug resistance in the mosquito
Well, that & the fact it takes 1 -2 WEEKS to kill the little blood suckers... they did not mention if the lil buggers are going for more blood meals in that time, if they are.. disease spread still has the potential of happening...

a doctor not involved int he studies, "Hotez warns that, though ivermectin is an exciting possibility, there is the potential for mosquitoes to build drug resistance."

[randomq]

Seems to me like it'd be great in combination with some of the other methods (spraying, stopping reproduction, frickin lasers). Maybe only use it once a year, or every two years, etc. I wonder if you could treat all the wild boar etc with this stuff and eradicate mosquitos all over the island.