A Minnesota Minnesota Mosquito Minute Minute Mosquitoes might be one of the worst things about summer — not only do they bite, causing terrible itches and irritations, but also these pests carry all kinds of diseases. While a lot of us see mosquitoes as a ubiquitous sign of summer, these buzzing bugs do more than just riddle us with swollen itchy bites; they carry a deadly potential to millions around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 3,500 different species of mosquitoes, but only around three of those species are responsible for spreading diseases among humans. The tiny pests kill more than 725,000 people every year according to the World Health Organization. That’s almost twice as much as our next deadliest foe, ourselves, earning them the title of the deadliest animal in the world, according to a ranking from Gates Notes. “Far and away the worst of those is malaria. Malaria kills an estimated 625,000 people a year.” It is one of the top three killers of kids worldwide.” What are the worst places in the world for mosquito infested picnics? Mosquitoes are widespread and prefer to live in warm, humid tropical regions. They have spread across the world mainly by humans where they inhabit objects or water-filled containers like tyres or cut flowers which are transported by sea, vehicles, trains or aircraft. Mosquitoes have no respect for international borders and a mosquito borne disease can be spread quickly from human to human, causing major outbreaks. Dengue Fever affects the whole of the Americas, Asia and Africa and is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne tropical disease. Between 50100 million people contract the virus every year and the numbers are growing. The virus is not usually fatal, but it is the leading cause of death for children in Latin America and Asia. Contrary to Minnesota's claim that the mosquito should be the state bird it could be a lot worse. Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are believed to have the highest numbers of mosquito species with Australia, Indonesia, Philippines and Brazil recorded as having the highest number of endemic species. However, it is the whole of Africa, South America and Asia where most of the mosquito-borne diseases occur. In Africa, in rural villages with poor drainage or highly polluted zones, mosquitoes are widespread and difficult to control. . Today, 90% of all malaria deaths in the world occur in Africa, south of the Sahara. So we might wonder, what if we eradicated mosquitoes... how many are there? It's always possible to estimate something like this so, of course, the question becomes how accurately can you estimate it. One approach that works well in this type of situation is to use "Fermi Estimation," where you take some values that are more easily estimated and you come up with something that shouldn't be off by more than an order of magnitude or two. Let's assume that mosquitoes inhabit all land between 70 degrees North and 70 degrees South. The total land area of the earth is about 57 million square miles, so we'll bump that down to 50 million square miles of land habitable to mosquitoes (probably an overestimate, but a good ballpark). Next, one would have to estimate how many mosquitoes inhabit each square mile on average. Some areas of the world the mosquito density is upwards of 1 mosquito per 2-3 square feet, but I think that's a gross overestimate of the world as an average. Deserts, for example, likely have a relatively low mosquito population density. We'll make a rough guess of 1 mosquito per 50 square feet on average; naturally, this number will vary greatly by area and time of year, but we're looking for a rough estimate here. Someone with more relevant knowledge of mosquito population density could likely
give a much better estimate but at least we have a methodology. At this point it's just a matter of multiplying the two numbers and fixing the units. 50 mosquitoes/ft2 * 50,000,000 mi2 = 7 * 1016 , or 70,000,000,000,000,000, which is 70 quadrillion. Here's the number next to the human population for size comparison: 70,000,000,000,000,000 mosquitoes 7,000,000,000 humans This rough estimate would have mosquitoes out numbering humans 10 million to one, or about 25 kg of mosquitoes per person. This may be considerably high but, even so, with this estimate I suppose we're winning at least on the mass side. If you can find a better value for typical mosquito population density, then you may come up with a much better global population. Either way though, this estimate is probably not off by more than 3 or 4 orders of magnitude. Admittedly, that is a lot, but you can be confident that the actual value is somewhere in the trillions to quintillions range. We may have the weapons to eradicate mosquitoes, but, if we waged a full-out war against them, we might suffer serious consequences. “If we try to eradicate utilizing pesticides for instance, the damage to the environment would be far too great.” Using “Habitat modification, you'd have to clear forests and you'd essentially have created a desert. If you introduced a lot of predators, say the fish, dragon flies – yes, they'll probably take care of your problem, then they're probably going to start taking care of each other and other things you don't want them to take care of.” What are we left with? Genetic modification may be the safest route in ridding ourselves of mosquitoes. Oxitec has been working for more than a decade in eradicating dengue fever mosquitoes through genetic modification. “We insert a gene that makes them sterile. So, effectively what we do is, we put out into the environment males of the species, because males don't bite you or spread disease,” said Parry. “They go out and mate with the fertile females and the offspring then die. We can reduce the mosquito population of that one species in a town by over 90 percent.” Ultimately, for the foreseeable future, they are here to stay and some contend that while the mosquito, fleas and other insects help to spread disease, they also are keeping the human population in check. Kind of the guns, germs, and steel plaque thing. So who gets bit more, or less? Joseph Conlon, Ph.D., a medical entomologist who serves as the technical adviser to the American Mosquito Patrol Association, told weather.com. "All kinds of lore exist on what makes some people more "tasty" to mosquitoes, and what keeps these tiny terrors away. But there might be more myths than facts buzzing around." Potassium and saturated fat have anecdotally been linked to mosquito bites. Mosquitoes love people who produce a lot of certain acids, such as uric acid. High uric acid foods include meat and saturated fat. But, Conlon said, there have been no randomized controlled trials — the gold standard of scientific research — to show that any one food attracts mosquitoes to humans better than another. "The short answer is, there's nothing we know of that you can eat that can make you more attractive [to mosquitoes]," he said. "There's been some preliminary data out of Japan and The Philippines that drinking beer might make you more attractive to mosquitoes," Researchers suspect it's because drinking beer increases the ethanol in your sweat, and ups your body temperature, though these factors have not been found to increase mosquito bites independently. Other types of alcohol may cause mosquitoes to bite as well. Some people really are more attractive to these pests — but, unfortunately for them, it's mostly in their genes. For example, some bodies naturally emit more uric acid and other substances mosquitoes like. Other people naturally have a particular type of skin bacteria that makes them more attractive to insects.
"This also might be why mosquitoes are especially prone to biting our ankles and feet—they naturally have more robust bacteria colonies." One study found that mosquitoes prefer people with a Type O blood type, but Conlon emphasized that this has not been shown through any randomized trials. "There's a lot of poor science out there," he cautioned. Some have suggested that people with diabetes are more attractive to mosquitoes because of the sugar levels in their blood. But, because mosquitoes bite humans for protein, not sugar, Conlon doesn't think this theory holds up and says "Sugar emanations in your breath may theoretically attract mosquitoes, but that has not been demonstrated." One of the ways mosquitoes locate their human targets is through carbon dioxide. So individuals who exhale more gas overtime may be more likely to receive a bite, could be one reason why adults are bitten more than children. Myth: Both male and female mosquitoes bite. Fact: Only the female mosquito bites. She uses the protein from the blood she takes to develop her eggs. The male mosquito feeds on nectar from flowers. Myth: All mosquitoes carry diseases. Fact: Only fresh water species of mosquitoes pose a potential health risk to humans in Collier County. Myth: The mosquito dies after she takes a blood meal. Fact: Mosquitoes are capable of biting more than once. After the female mosquito takes a blood meal she completes the development of her eggs and may deposit up to 200 eggs. She may then seek another blood meal. Myth: Mosquitoes are capable of transmitting AIDS. Fact: No. There is no scientific evidence to support the theory that mosquitoes can transmit AIDS. Myth: Only the female mosquito makes a buzzing sound. Fact: The buzzing sound that you hear is made by the beating of the mosquitoes wings. The wings of both males and females make a buzzing sound. Females make a higher pitched sound than males. Most people never hear the male mosquito because it doesn’t bite. Myth: Bats and Purple Martins are very effective at controlling mosquito populations. Fact: Bats and Purple Martins are indiscriminate feeders and will eat any sort of insect that flies by. They don’t concentrate on mosquitoes and very rarely have any substantial effect on mosquito populations. Myth: Bug zappers effectively control mosquitoes. Fact: Bug zappers kill many kinds of insects, including moths and beetles. Mosquitoes make up a very small percentage of the insects that are killed by bug zappers. Bug zappers do more harm than good. Here are some Home Made repellants. "No guarantee, make and use them at your own risk" Lavender Vanilla Mosquito Repellent Ingredients: 15 drops of lavender essential oil, 3-4 Tbsp of vanilla extract, 1/4 cup lemon juice, Distilled water. Directions: Pour first 3 ingredients into a spray bottle, finish filling bottle with distilled water, shake to combine ingredients, spray on skin or clothing. Mosquito and Tick Repellent Ingredients: 6 oz witch hazel, 2 oz castor oil, 5 drops cinnamon oil, 15 drops eucalyptus oil, 15 drops citronella oil. Directions: Combine all ingredients in spray bottle, Be sure to shake well before each application. Organic Insect Repellent Ingredients: 5 ml Neem Oil, 2 ml liquid soap (organic), 1L Distilled Water. Directions: Pour water into spray bottle, add Neem Oil and liquid soap, shake and apply directly to exposed skin. You could also just rub lavender flowers on your skin and clothes, or apply vanilla extract to your pulse points. Both methods, along with the recipes above, are great ways to beat the bite of bugs this summer! As far as spray bottles goes, an amber colored glass 16 oz spray bottle will provide UV protection to keep the ingredients from becoming denatured and losing their potency. May your aim and slap be true, have a great Summer!
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