More politicians should campaign on eradicating mosquitoes in their local communities using gene editing. In the last decade Los Angeles has been infested with Aedes mosquitoes. A much more dangerous type than the culex we’re used to.
They need much less water to grow eggs, Attack the lower body of humans quickly in short bursts so they’re harder to swat, and can transfer all the dangerous diseases mosquitoes are known for.
Very scary and very solvable before it gets out of hand.
We have the same little bastards in NYC. My yard is quite lush and shady so I believe it gives them shade and cover to breed. I can't enjoy my yard because of them. I thought the natural shade and privacy would be nice but it's not worth it if you get eaten alive. Today I had enough and chopped down some smaller trees that were shading along with pruning back another shade tree. I also removed a large bed of a crawling plant that looked nice in place of grass but was more cover.
Is it indeed possible to eradicate mosquitoes? Outside my house at certain parts of the day, there's tons and it only takes a few seconds to get swarmed. :(
What is the latest-and-greatest mosquito extermination tech?
Mosquitoes are valuable pollinators, and the majority do not carry diseases. If you have a simple solution to a big problem, then most likely, you're going to have more problems.
I don't know if it's too off-topic but I'd be happy to hijack these comments for a quick discussion of the best way to get rid of mosquitos from around your home. I live in the mountains in California and the little buggers are everywhere.
I bought a UV bug zapper without realising that mosquitos are apparently not attracted to UV. I later learned that they are attracted to CO2, but discussion of CO2 traps on the web imply that they also work very poorly.
I am using a biogents active trap with the CO2 attachment, and two passive traps.
This was the result of hours/days of research.
I have seriously considered building a lanai or screen porch because in recent years the mosquitoes render my yard unusable for the duration of the season I want to use it.
This year the torture is very minimal. The trap seems to be incredibly effective, when the co2 tank runs out, I starting getting lots of bites.
It’s not cheap but I think it is far and away the most evidence based option for a homeowner.
I've heard a lot of good things about mosquito dunks as a "potentially" safe-ish alternative. They're used as honey pots by putting them in sitting water.
My personal preference this year was to walk around like an idiot swatting at mosquitoes with an electric flyswatter in shady grass areas. Though this is painstaking & I keep thinking I need a bigger flyswatter.
https://permies.com/t/115296/critters/trapped-mosquitos
https://www.bg-sentinel.com/ (see design of device)
-yeast (do not stir), brown sugar, filtered water
-common trap design uses 2L bottle cut near top with top inverted and placed into lower section. mosquitoes fly into funnel-like area and lay eggs. important: opaque cover to block light, black supposedly attracts mosquitoes.
-things to experiment with:
-5 gal bucket design: inverted funnel, insect screen lid, fan to disperse attractant
-other attractants: used clothing / shoes (soles) / octinol lures
-soap to reduce surface tension to drown mosquitoes
-some say bread works instead of yeast
-other types of sugar
-baking soda / citric acid or vinegar CO2 source (quick reaction, need to slow down)
-mason jar (hydroponic) net pot - line with screen and make hole in bottom
-fungus / mushroom CO2 sources
-bt dunks in areas with standing water
-3d print container/components
-build bat house (benefit: guano for compost)
Spend more time with them. I grew up in the tropical Fijian bush and never noticed mosquitoes. I left for a few years and when I went back, every mosquito bite left an itchy red bump that sometimes got infected (turned into a boil).
After a couple of weeks of this, I redeveloped my resistance to them and no longer even notice them anymore.
Of course this doesn't apply if there's an ongoing mosquito-borne epidemic in your area, but that doesn't happen often. When they're not carrying a disease (which is most of the time), they're pretty harmless.
Certain species of plants are naturally mosquito repelling. I don't provide recommendations because they depend on your zone but it should be easy enough to find. They are not as effective as chemicals, but you just need to make your outdoor living spaces slightly less desirable for them for it to work.
I'm not sure about the co2 traps - you may just be attracting mosquitos from nearby, where only some of them go into the trap and the others find different targets.
The co2 system might work well if you can have it on your property but 50'+ away from where humans hang out.
I am thinking of planting more trees and bushes around the yard especially closer to the windows and doors to attract spiders and other predators to set up shop (and also because plants aromatic and pretty and good for the environment).
Has anyone else done this and noticed any difference in mozzie numbers? I live in Brisbane Australia.
> The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
The mosquito is a parasite, not a predator.
When the author of the book mislabels the ecological niche occupied by the mosquito in the title of his book it gives little confidence in his rigour or level of insight.
There are only a few mosquito species that can carry the malaria parasite. If we exterminate them, they will/can be replaced by other, hard to distinguish mosquito species.
We now have the technology to do that, but aren't (yet) doing it, even though it kills over a million people a year.
We of course should not eradicate all mosquitoes. We need to only eradicate the blood-sucking types.
Many mosquitoes do not suck blood; they eat plant products and / or suck plant juices. They could take over the ecological niche of the blood-sucking varieties, and can even be cultivated a little bit to support the local mosquito-eating populations of birds, bats, dragonflies, etc.
The fact that we know almost nothing about complex environmental chains and interactions, and we have made huge messes almost any time we attempted to mess with such a system (either on purpose or not).
Of course, Earth in the end will be fine (it will reach some other equilibrium), but tons of us might be wiped out in the process.
Biting mosquitoes is one of the few species I have no qualms about eradicating. Other related species do all the kinds of work in the ecosystem that they do, but without nearly the risk to humans. Eradicate them.
Pretty interesting knowing mosquitoes were weaponized in the past. The irony in the fact this took place in the modern era, and not in medieval times, where they were known for catapulting diseased carcasses.
There's a lot of research into anti-Plasmodium drugs in general (because they can be used in treating infected humans), but none have come close to being usable for general environmental dispersal that would try to eliminate the wild reservoir. Mixture of cost, resistance developing too quickly, and effects on other wildlife, so doing something like dropping quinine into forests from planes has never been a real option. This is in general very unlikely to work for diseases that have a significant non-human reservoir. Smallpox was able to be eliminated because it exclusively infects humans, so you only need to eradicate it from human hosts, not also from another extremely populous host like wild mosquitoes.
Another approach is to try to genetically engineer mosquitoes resistant to infection and have them replace the unmodified carrier versions, but that's essentially just a variant of the idea to eradicate the carrier-type mosquitoes: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/enginee...
I had a sci-fi-plot idea while swatting my nth mosquito on a camping trip last month.
What if we figured out how to repurpose mosquitos to deliver useful viruses instead of harmful ones? Just think about it: no more scheduling appointments for vaccines or flu shots, simply wait outside for 20 minutes in the summer, and before you know it you’re immunized against malaria, measles, etc.
Not being a biologist, I have no idea if this is a plausible scenario, but I hope that somebody investigates it! It might be a very cost-effective and democratic method of delivering care.
At the very least it’d make for a good black mirror episode :)
TL;DR: By spraying DDT everywhere, and coercing troops to take Atabrine (that often had nasty side effects), they reduced malaria incidence by about 70%. The Japanese, by contrast had little protection - nearly all Japanese soldiers had malaria at some time.
One caution: pesticides like DDT are more effective at first, before the local population is selected for resistance. The big anti-malaria campaigns in the 1950s tended to report resistance being a significant impediment with a decade: http://gladwell.com/the-mosquito-killer/
I can easily protect myself against mosquitoes. It is much - much! - harder to get rid of bed bugs. The last time I had only one or two and it was a nightmare. I spare you the details, there are plenty of anecdotes out there. The net did not help at all. I was lucky to notice that one night when I accidentally had the blanket reversed - the part wehre the feet were, usually, was where my head was for that one night - I got bitten on the upper part of my body instead of the lower one. I immediately put the entire blanket including sheets into a plastic bag and threw it away. I had actually examined the sheet as well as the blanket very carefully and had found nothing. No idea where exactly those tiny critters were hiding, but afterwards I had no more bites. Seriously, with bed bugs you have to take extreme measures. In comparison, all you need against mosquitoes is a net! I learned to like mosquitoes now, given that nightmarish alternative experience with bed bugs. Mosquito bites are much more "friendly" and easier to live with too!
Basically, Disney World does what it can with beneficial insects and reducing/larviciding water-traps, but will spray/fog insecticides when needed to control mosquito populations.
Even though it's built on a swamp, pouring concrete all over it helps a lot.
Some cities in Canada do the same. As do some Caribbean resorts.
What's with all the tvtropes links? Seems pretty spammy.
They got rid of the mosquitoes using pretty standard methods - insecticides, CO2 traps, population monitoring... Chickens as disease-canaries (if they get a disease, focus on eliminating mosquitoes in that area)
A few years ago I decided to stop killing mosquitos. I still swat them, but my aim now is inflict PTSD on them so that they avoid environmental triggers that remind them of me, and all their offspring do the same. How can they learn if we kill them?
Has it worked? Prob not, but I feel like I’m doing something new at least.
[+] [-] nickgrosvenor|6 years ago|reply
They need much less water to grow eggs, Attack the lower body of humans quickly in short bursts so they’re harder to swat, and can transfer all the dangerous diseases mosquitoes are known for.
Very scary and very solvable before it gets out of hand.
https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-aedes-m...
[+] [-] ip26|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hanniabu|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MisterTea|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Luke-Jr|6 years ago|reply
What is the latest-and-greatest mosquito extermination tech?
[+] [-] cjohnson318|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cnorthwood|6 years ago|reply
The Centre for Effective Altruism looks at ranking charities on effectiveness, and the Against Malaria Foundation always ranks very highly.
[+] [-] tylorr|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mycall|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] LeoPanthera|6 years ago|reply
I bought a UV bug zapper without realising that mosquitos are apparently not attracted to UV. I later learned that they are attracted to CO2, but discussion of CO2 traps on the web imply that they also work very poorly.
Is there anything that can be usefully done?
[+] [-] whiddershins|6 years ago|reply
This was the result of hours/days of research.
I have seriously considered building a lanai or screen porch because in recent years the mosquitoes render my yard unusable for the duration of the season I want to use it.
This year the torture is very minimal. The trap seems to be incredibly effective, when the co2 tank runs out, I starting getting lots of bites.
It’s not cheap but I think it is far and away the most evidence based option for a homeowner.
[+] [-] mattferderer|6 years ago|reply
My personal preference this year was to walk around like an idiot swatting at mosquitoes with an electric flyswatter in shady grass areas. Though this is painstaking & I keep thinking I need a bigger flyswatter.
[+] [-] feedbeef|6 years ago|reply
I wear a bug shirt as an effective alternative to bug spray.
https://www.bugshirt.com/
Some DIY trap/attractant research and ideas:
[+] [-] nightfly|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Scoundreller|6 years ago|reply
https://www.domyown.com/deltagard-insecticide-p-16550.html
[+] [-] markdown|6 years ago|reply
After a couple of weeks of this, I redeveloped my resistance to them and no longer even notice them anymore.
Of course this doesn't apply if there's an ongoing mosquito-borne epidemic in your area, but that doesn't happen often. When they're not carrying a disease (which is most of the time), they're pretty harmless.
[+] [-] WalterBright|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] oh_sigh|6 years ago|reply
I'm not sure about the co2 traps - you may just be attracting mosquitos from nearby, where only some of them go into the trap and the others find different targets.
The co2 system might work well if you can have it on your property but 50'+ away from where humans hang out.
[+] [-] i_feel_great|6 years ago|reply
Has anyone else done this and noticed any difference in mozzie numbers? I live in Brisbane Australia.
[+] [-] mariushn|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fucking_tragedy|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] oska|6 years ago|reply
The mosquito is a parasite, not a predator.
When the author of the book mislabels the ecological niche occupied by the mosquito in the title of his book it gives little confidence in his rigour or level of insight.
[+] [-] tomrod|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] BurningFrog|6 years ago|reply
There are only a few mosquito species that can carry the malaria parasite. If we exterminate them, they will/can be replaced by other, hard to distinguish mosquito species.
We now have the technology to do that, but aren't (yet) doing it, even though it kills over a million people a year.
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/mosquitos-crispr
[+] [-] Scoundreller|6 years ago|reply
They eat nectar, so something else would have to take their place in pollinisation (probably no problem).
Increased population of mosquito prey - livestock, humans.
Overall, sounds like a risk worth taking.
[+] [-] Tiktaalik|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nine_k|6 years ago|reply
Many mosquitoes do not suck blood; they eat plant products and / or suck plant juices. They could take over the ecological niche of the blood-sucking varieties, and can even be cultivated a little bit to support the local mosquito-eating populations of birds, bats, dragonflies, etc.
[+] [-] coldtea|6 years ago|reply
Of course, Earth in the end will be fine (it will reach some other equilibrium), but tons of us might be wiped out in the process.
[+] [-] SubiculumCode|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Rothnargoth|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aussieguy1234|6 years ago|reply
The costs are so low that even a developing country could afford to do it, at a cost way lower than mosquito control by other methods.
Sure there are unknown consequences, but that probably won't stop them if their fellow countrymen are dying.
[+] [-] akkartik|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] _delirium|6 years ago|reply
Another approach is to try to genetically engineer mosquitoes resistant to infection and have them replace the unmodified carrier versions, but that's essentially just a variant of the idea to eradicate the carrier-type mosquitoes: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/enginee...
[+] [-] gen220|6 years ago|reply
What if we figured out how to repurpose mosquitos to deliver useful viruses instead of harmful ones? Just think about it: no more scheduling appointments for vaccines or flu shots, simply wait outside for 20 minutes in the summer, and before you know it you’re immunized against malaria, measles, etc.
Not being a biologist, I have no idea if this is a plausible scenario, but I hope that somebody investigates it! It might be a very cost-effective and democratic method of delivering care.
At the very least it’d make for a good black mirror episode :)
[+] [-] coldtea|6 years ago|reply
Yeah, what could go wrong with this? It's not like those "useful viruses" could ever evolve out in the wild to something more threatening!
[+] [-] chovy|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DoctorBit|6 years ago|reply
https://armyhistory.org/the-other-foe-the-u-s-armys-fight-ag...
TL;DR: By spraying DDT everywhere, and coercing troops to take Atabrine (that often had nasty side effects), they reduced malaria incidence by about 70%. The Japanese, by contrast had little protection - nearly all Japanese soldiers had malaria at some time.
[+] [-] acdha|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] codysan|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nosianu|6 years ago|reply
I can easily protect myself against mosquitoes. It is much - much! - harder to get rid of bed bugs. The last time I had only one or two and it was a nightmare. I spare you the details, there are plenty of anecdotes out there. The net did not help at all. I was lucky to notice that one night when I accidentally had the blanket reversed - the part wehre the feet were, usually, was where my head was for that one night - I got bitten on the upper part of my body instead of the lower one. I immediately put the entire blanket including sheets into a plastic bag and threw it away. I had actually examined the sheet as well as the blanket very carefully and had found nothing. No idea where exactly those tiny critters were hiding, but afterwards I had no more bites. Seriously, with bed bugs you have to take extreme measures. In comparison, all you need against mosquitoes is a net! I learned to like mosquitoes now, given that nightmarish alternative experience with bed bugs. Mosquito bites are much more "friendly" and easier to live with too!
[+] [-] adrianN|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zabzonk|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cagenut|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jjtheblunt|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mitchtbaum|6 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] Scoundreller|6 years ago|reply
Even though it's built on a swamp, pouring concrete all over it helps a lot.
Some cities in Canada do the same. As do some Caribbean resorts.
[+] [-] LeoPanthera|6 years ago|reply
I have no idea what all the tvtropes links are doing in this comment. Some weird kind of spam maybe?
[+] [-] SECProto|6 years ago|reply
They got rid of the mosquitoes using pretty standard methods - insecticides, CO2 traps, population monitoring... Chickens as disease-canaries (if they get a disease, focus on eliminating mosquitoes in that area)
[+] [-] kingkawn|6 years ago|reply
Has it worked? Prob not, but I feel like I’m doing something new at least.
[+] [-] errantmind|6 years ago|reply