Why Do Mosquitos Like Non Thai's So Much?

[elkangorito]

In 1982 when I was living in Papua New Guinea, I used to take ample quantities of vitamin B Forte daily. I didn't get 1 single mozzy bite for the whole time I was there.

B-12/Brewer's Yeast can ward off some insects, especially fleas/ticks, although I'm not sure about mosquitos?

I've heard about taking vitamin B to repel mosquitos too. It's something to do with altering the smell of the body.

You're exactly right. Not only did many people comment upon my slightly strange smell but they also noticed a very slight change in my skin colour...yellowish.

Anyway, it worked very very well.

[Momo8]

...so if you take vast quantities of vitamin B,don't shower or use deodorant and eat lots of garlic,chillies and get pissed on a regular basis you won't get bitten? No thanks.I'll stick with my Tropical Strength Aerogard thanks.Great stuff anybody with business nous should import the stuff from Oz.

[mrbojangles]

I don't suffer too much from Mossie bites but when i do get them, it is usually about sunset and if my legs are underneath a table or something and not in the light

I also heard a couple of months ago, that if you live over 15 floors up in a condo or hotel, they don't go that high. So you can leave doors/windows open and they never come in. Anyone confirm that? And why?

[NovaBlue05]

Farang....The other white meat...........

[tijnebijn]

most of us,are a little overweight,so I can think about,well we stink too much or we have more blood to feast on.....

[TBWG]

[quote

I also heard a couple of months ago, that if you live over 15 floors up in a condo or hotel, they don't go that high. So you can leave doors/windows open and they never come in. Anyone confirm that? And why?

Altitude sickness

TBWG

[Thaddeus]

I don't suffer too much from Mossie bites but when i do get them, it is usually about sunset and if my legs are underneath a table or something and not in the light

I also heard a couple of months ago, that if you live over 15 floors up in a condo or hotel, they don't go that high. So you can leave doors/windows open and they never come in. Anyone confirm that? And why?

That is very likely, and a welcome addition to dispelling the 'old wives tales' on this thread.

Some things about mossies are certain.

1. They don't fly high

2. Seldom seen more than 200 meters from a source of still water (if ever)

3. They like blood, and really couldn't give a toss about your diet, skin colour or religious beliefs.

4. They hate Deet.

5. They carry malaria.... but not all of them.

6. They carry Dengue Fever.... but not all of them.

My Father-in-Law has malaria, malaria is incurable but controllable and he keeps a big bag of mossie repellant near the front door (he doesn't want to add Dengue to his current condition)

Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that just because your skin doesn't bubble up on a daily basis, that you are free from this airborne problem.... you are not.

P.S. ..... there is no vaccination for Dengue Fever yet.

[Dakhar]

Folks,

Just an observation here.

When my wife was in America (miss those days) the musquitos would be attracted to her, not so much me. But here in Thailand, the seem to like me more.

My sis-in-law is Japanese, and my brother says it is the same way for him and her..... so I am not sure if it is just because we "stand out" more because our scent seems different????

But I will also add I have been told that the natives eat so much garlic the musquitos don't like them as much....

what is the truth... don't know.

[Firefan]

20th floor here. No breading water on my floor. Still fight moskitos. Must have smarter mossies here having figured out the elevator system. Presume they work in packs to press the button....

[ColPyat]

My Father-in-Law has malaria, malaria is incurable but controllable and he keeps a big bag of mossie repellant near the front door (he doesn't want to add Dengue to his current condition)

That's another urban myth. Malaria is curable, of course.

http://www.traveldoctor.co.uk/malaria.htm

Malaria can be cured with prescription drugs. The type of drugs and length of treatment depend on which kind of malaria is diagnosed, where the patient was infected, the age of the patient, and how severely ill the patient was at start of treatment.

Dengue is transmitted by mozzies that bite during the day, and there is very little protection against that, unless you prefer to live in a hermetically sealed room and never go out.

Dengue only gets dangerous when it turns hemorrhagic. Normal dengue is not very comfortable and takes a long time to cure, but it's not that bad.

[tutsiwarrior]

mosquitos and falang victimization thereof is indicative an' analagous to falang persecution in general...'I shall fight for my right to live in freedom...'

screens on de windows helps as well...

[Jet Gorgon]

Normal dengue is not very comfortable and takes a long time to cure, but it's not that bad.

I had it twice. Only passing a bladder stone and getting bitten by a centipede surpassed that pain, and neither lasted as long as the dreaded dengue.

[elkangorito]

I don't suffer too much from Mossie bites but when i do get them, it is usually about sunset and if my legs are underneath a table or something and not in the light

I also heard a couple of months ago, that if you live over 15 floors up in a condo or hotel, they don't go that high. So you can leave doors/windows open and they never come in. Anyone confirm that? And why?

I live 12 floors up & they still come in at night.

[ColPyat]

Normal dengue is not very comfortable and takes a long time to cure, but it's not that bad.

I had it twice. Only passing a bladder stone and getting bitten by a centipede surpassed that pain, and neither lasted as long as the dreaded dengue.

I had it once.

Passing a bladder stone is far more painful, thank you but not again, please, had that once as well, that was about the worst pain i had apart from one very nasty fracture. I had a very bad bacterial dysentry once that was far more uncomfortable than dengue, and took about as long to recuperate from.

I was once bitten by a small centipede, that wasn't so bad (and no, not keen on getting bitten by a big one).

[davidjtayler]

Normal dengue is not very comfortable and takes a long time to cure, but it's not that bad.

I had it twice. Only passing a bladder stone and getting bitten by a centipede surpassed that pain, and neither lasted as long as the dreaded dengue.

I had it once.

Passing a bladder stone is far more painful, thank you but not again, please, had that once as well, that was about the worst pain i had apart from one very nasty fracture. I had a very bad bacterial dysentry once that was far more uncomfortable than dengue, and took about as long to recuperate from.

I was once bitten by a small centipede, that wasn't so bad (and no, not keen on getting bitten by a big one).

I havent experienced any of the above conditions but had a cracking headache (I mean real cracking) after drinking dark german ales all night with Terry a little while ago ... ingrowing toenail removal was up there on the pain factor but Doc gave me a pack of demerols so what did I care anyway ...

[Firefan]

Strong vit. Bs do not work for me at all...... good for health though... Cheers!

[elkangorito]

Strong vit. Bs do not work for me at all...... good for health though... Cheers!

I was not told to take 'vitamin B'. It was suggested that I take 'vitamin B FORTE'. Initially, I had to take about 250mg per day for a 2 weeks, prior to going to New Guinea. After 2 weeks, I could reduce the dose to about 250mg per week just to keep 'topped up'.

[thedude]

mozzzies are attracted to dark clothing, i was told.

[Taggart]

A little old (2002), but you might be interested in this study from The New England Journal of Medicine, Comparative Efficacy of Insect Repellents against Mosquito Bites

[qwertz]

mozzzies are attracted to dark clothing, i was told.

The German ones like blue and they're vicious mothers too. I say German, but I hear they stow away on ships from all over the world and drop in on us from Hamburg in summer and then go home in the winter. Thai mozzies don't like me but Ozzie mozzies wait in line at Tulla Airport when they hear I'm visiting. Tried all the patents but Gold Cup or Vick puts them off dinner. You lose some friends of course, but only the ones who come out after dark.

Edited March 21, 2007 by qwertz

[duratanium]

Female mosquitos bite and I think they simply like us farangs because we are soooo sexy and hansum

[enyaw]

mozzzies are attracted to dark clothing, i was told.

They're crafty bastrds mozzies, they know if that if your wearing light coloured clothing

they are more likely to be detected.

[pazza]

Any why know why this is the case? Farrangs get eaten alive and Thai's hardly touched?

They think we are just ATM

My girlfriend tells me it party time for the mozzies when I get to the village (I have sweet blood apparently)

After all this time, now I know what ATM stands for, Attractive To Mosquito’s

Steve

[A_Traveller]

A report on the BBC website re How mosquitoes find their targets

The mechanism mosquitoes use to zero in on their targets has been discovered by scientists in New York. It is already known that the insects are very sensitive to carbon dioxide in exhaled breath... Lead researcher Professor Leslie Vosshall said: "Insects are especially sensitive to carbon dioxide, using it to track food sources and assess their surrounding environment... Though we don't know what other proteins might be involved in the signaling pathway, the identification of the carbon dioxide receptor provides a potential target for the design of inhibitors that would act as an insect repellent.

Regards

Link

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6486057.stm

[Norrad]

When I first arrived, they loved me. Now they generally leave me alone and go for my girlfriend. She had almost 40 bites on our last night in Cha-am while I got none.

But the mosquitoes in the office at school love me and leave the Thais alone

[paulfr]

We are on floor 22.

I rarely if ever see any mossies, but our 9 month old daughter gets bitten so much we had to buy a net for her to sleep under.

Height probably reduces population, but does not eliminate them.