#1 Killer

What’s the most dangerous creature on earth? Without question the answer is: the mosquito. Mosquitoes and the diseases they spread have been responsible for killing more people than all the wars in history.

Mosquitoes are carriers for some of humanity’s most deadly illnesses, and they are public enemy #1 in the fight against global infectious disease.  Mosquito-borne diseases cause millions of deaths worldwide every year with a disproportionate effect on children and the elderly in developing countries.

With Spring’s arrival, outdoor activities increase, and the inevitable swarm of blood-sucking mosquitoes storm our cottages and castles.  My husband is one of those individuals that are “sweet meat” to Summer’s invading hordes. 

Last summer I used a natural mixture that seemed to decrease the mosquito element in our environs.  I sprayed this concoction on my husband, around windows and doors, on our patio and front porch, and around the backyard fire pit area with the good result of few or no mosquito population. If the spray just kept mosquitoes at bay, it would be enough, but the repellent has the added benefit of being non-toxic to people, plants and animals.

DIY Mosquito Repellent

Recipe:

• 1 big bottle blue mouthwash
• 3 cups Epsom Salts
• 3 stale beers

Mix ingredients and put in a spray bottle to spray anywhere you sit outside.  Good for 80 days!

Preventing Mosquito Attacks

Avoid perfumes: Mosquitoes sense body chemicals, such as the lactic acid in perspiration.

Wear light clothing:  A mosquito looks for the movement of dark objects.

Stay inside during early morning and at dusk: During the heat of the day, most mosquitoes rest in a cool place and wait for the evenings, although they may still bite if disturbed.D

Use mosquito repellent spray:  Mosquitoes detect carbon dioxide exhaled by their hosts many feet away and zero-in on people and other animals they seek to bite.  Since we can’t quit breathing, spray the pests away!

Other practices to reduce infestation include:

• Empty standing water every week:  Mosquitoes hatch from eggs laid in places that are or will be filled with water. They cannot develop in running water and water that is present less than a week. 
• Prevent water from accumulating in containers including tree holes, ditches, sewage and septic system water, catch basins (storm drains), non-chlorinated swimming and wading pools, decorative ponds, bird baths, flower pots, buckets, clogged gutters, abandoned tires, and water-retaining junk and debris of all sorts.  
• Empty water out of them on a weekly basis.

Disease Transmission

Only female mosquitoes bite, because a blood meal is usually required for egg laying. All male mosquitoes, and the females of a few species, do not bite. They feed on nectar and other plant juices instead of blood.

Once a female mosquito finds you, it lands, inserts its proboscis and probes for blood vessels beneath the skin. When it finds one, it injects saliva into the wound. The saliva contains an anticoagulant that ensures a steady, smooth flow of blood. Unfortunately, the mosquito’s saliva also may contain pathogens such as malaria parasites or encephalitis virus. This is how mosquitoes transmit disease.M

Malaria

Mosquitoes transmitting malaria kill 2 million to 3 million people and infect another 200 million or more every year. Tens of millions more are killed and debilitated by a host of other mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria, filariasis, yellow fever, dengue and encephalitis.

Mosquito-Borne Encephalitis Diseases

Mosquitoes pick up the virus usually from an infected bird and transmit the disease to other animals, such as birds, horses or humans. Horses and humans are generally thought of as “dead-end” hosts because they do not produce enough virus to infect mosquitoes. Thus, dead-end hosts are not involved in the spread of disease.

West Nile Disease

In recent years, the West Nile virus has been the most common disease transmitted by insects and their relatives, including mosquitoes, other biting flies and ticks. West Nile virus arrived in the United States in 1999, inside an infected mosquito or bird.

West Nile virus is transmitted predominantly by Culex mosquitoes. Culex are medium-sized mosquitoes including the house mosquitoes that develop in urban areas, and the western encephalitis mosquito more commonly found in rural areas  Adult Culex mosquitoes do not fly far from where they develop as larvae. And unlike other mosquitoes that die with the coming of the first hard frost in autumn, the house mosquito can “over-winter” in protected places like sewers, crawlspaces and basements.

Like all encephalitis producing viruses, West Nile virus survives in birds and/or mammals, using them as reservoirs. Most birds and mammals survive infection, while the mosquitoes that bite them can ingest the virus and infect other animals they bite, including humans. 

May your outdoor adventures be mosquito-free!