They annoy us and they carry a lot of scary diseases, but how much do we really know about mosquitoes? The following mosquito facts may help you to avoid these pesky creatures.
The first thing that you should know is that mosquitoes are not all the same. Since mosquitoes have been around for nearly 100 million years, they have had plenty of time to create nearly 3,000 different species. Mosquitoes have been able to adapt to various climates, and they can now live through all kinds of conditions. If the history of mosquitoes has taught us anything, it is that these little annoyances can easily change from one year to the next.
Additionally, mosquitoes are notorious for carrying many different types of diseases. Within the United States, mosquitoes tend to only carry encephalitis, but they also infect household pets with heart worms, so keep your pets away from any outside area where mosquitoes are abundant. You may also be interested to know that mosquitoes like to eat all kinds of different foods, juices, garbage, still waters, and even inside of trees. Therefore, beware of any mosquitoes that may be attracted to pails of water, picnics, or overflowing garbage heaps.
The one advantage that we may have over the ever-irritating mosquito is that these little creatures cannot see very well. In fact, mosquitoes find their prey using a sort of heat sensor, and eye sight has nothing to do with any target. Once a mosquito is approximately thirty feet away from you, you will suddenly come into sight, but not before that moment. You can think of the mosquitoes as a sort of air borne blood hound, and they will find you simply by sensing that you have exhaled. When you exhale, you release C02 into the atmosphere, which means that mosquitoes will automatically be able to smell you. But don’t make the mistake of assuming that you will knock a mosquito off course with a bug zapper.
Interestingly, bug zappers do little, if nothing, to help a person ward off mosquitoes. In fact, bug zappers only kill the kinds of insects that eat mosquitoes, and these loud machines only provide heat and still water – in short, bug zappers create a sort of feeding ground for mosquitoes. So, avoid using a bug zapper at all costs, and invest in a decent mosquito repellent instead.
Now that you know a bit more about mosquitoes, you are probably less likely to hang around fruit, garbage, or still water areas during the summertime. However, it is important that you wear some sort of mosquito product as well. Mosquitoes are more than a nuisance, they are a threat to every human on the face of the earth, but at least you will be able to fight back with the knowledge that you have gained from reading this article.
John Grimes is with AllTerrainco.com - makers of
natural insect repellent for traveling and the outdoors.
