what to do against mosquitos

[kwilco]

the key is not to look like a buffalo - mosquitoes sense CO2, see silhouettes and then home in on your heat.

The dengue Aedes mosquito loves humans especially.

If you wear light long legged and sleeved clothing, you will be seen less and bitten less.

 

You can use repellents.

DEET and Picaridin are the most effective repellents.

 

"Natural repellents range from not as good as DEET to downright useless - some are effective but only for a short time.

Electronic devices are basically a con. Ultrasonic or otherwise there is no scientific basis for claims of efficacy.

 

Outside coils work in a small area - e.g. under a table or on a balcony.

You can spray your room before you go out in the evening and it should b mozzie-free when you get back.

Coils in rooms while you sleep are a health risk and while you are out are a fire hazard.

 

to breed mosquitoes need a tiny amount of standing water - old tire, flower pots etc...if the level of the water increaes just a little the eggs hatch and develop.

So even high up a bowl on your balcony could hatch larvae.

 

Although Dengue mosquitoes can fly in the daylight, they are most active at dawn and dusk.

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by kwilco

[kwilco]

On 1/5/2023 at 9:59 PM, scubascuba3 said:

Best way is live in a condo with few if any mosquitoes. If out nothing you can do except apply repellent, but most people don't bother, only an issue in a Dengue area

Pattaya is a dengue area

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, kwilco said:

Pattaya is a dengue area

they have outbreaks in certain areas like Arunothai. Not Walking street, Buakhao. Watch out for outbreak news

[Sawasdee Bee Mai]

The mozzie machines that you plug into the wall with a reservoir of anti-mozzie liquid always work very well for me?

[Sawasdee Bee Mai]

2 hours ago, kwilco said:

DEET and Picaridin are the most effective repellents.

DEET is banned in Europe you may as well use Agent Orange on your skin to ward off mozzies?

[Sawasdee Bee Mai]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:15 AM, Elkski said:

Thanks guys.   I  will use some lotion.  I never see what bites me.  Could it also be fleas?

Or your girlfriend?

[jacko45k]

22 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

they have outbreaks in certain areas like Arunothai. Not Walking street, Buakhao. Watch out for outbreak news

I talked to someone who insisted he caught it from a bite while walking on Soi Pothole....I suspect anywhere is possible ....

[spidermike007]

I don't like the highly toxic repellent, so I create my own. I mix 50% eucalyptus oil, 25% citronella, and 25% lemon grass. All flying insects hate it. It works really well and the smell is alot more pleasant than either of the latter two, alone. 

 

Also, I find after taking a shower, they rarely bother me for the next few hours, unless sweating alot. 

[JensenZ]

On 1/6/2023 at 7:11 AM, Boomer6969 said:

Aircon works fine for me. Even in winter after the first sighting we close the doors and turn on the units. Don't think we have more than a handful of bites a year between the four of us.

Winter? There are plenty of mosquitos in Thailand all year round. They reduce during dry periods, but it's not related to summer or winter, which we don't have in Thailand.

 

It would be impossible to have so few bites. 5 bites between 4 people in a year? They can bite me all night long and I won't feel them or have any evidence of bites. Some people react more to bites than others, but I'll put money down you're getting hundreds of bites per year, if not per month or week.  

[Boomer6969]

24 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

Winter? There are plenty of mosquitos in Thailand all year round. They reduce during dry periods, but it's not related to summer or winter, which we don't have in Thailand.

 

It would be impossible to have so few bites. 5 bites between 4 people in a year? They can bite me all night long and I won't feel them or have any evidence of bites. Some people react more to bites than others, but I'll put money down you're getting hundreds of bites per year, if not per month or week.  

Total nonsense. Here [Buriram] mosquitos come out about 45 minutes before Sunset. This is the time where you close doors and windows, turn on outside lights and aircon. We have no mosquitos in the bedrooms. Also we have fly screens on all windows, so they can't come in during the day either. We haven't bought any mosquito coils or spray for years, just tune up our routine.

[Mickeymaus]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I talked to someone who insisted he caught it from a bite while walking on Soi Pothole....I suspect anywhere is possible ....

Yes. I got it in Central Pattaya. There just need to be people with Dengue bitten by the Dengue mosquito. They can be entertainers from the provinces, construction workers from wherever. They distribute Dengue. I remember when they reported a bigger outbreak in Nirun Condo.

[Will B Good]

We simply avoid going outside 30 mins before sunset and 30 mins after......rare to get bitten outside of those timings.

[blackshadow]

On 1/6/2023 at 6:51 PM, nigelforbes said:

The manager had a little ladder installed, next to the buttons.

WHY i thort mozzies could fly ???

[ozimoron]

1 minute ago, blackshadow said:

WHY i thort mozzies could fly ???

They can press buttons.

[jak2002003]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:21 AM, blackshadow said:

TAKE many YEAST TABLETS......body will give off an odour that mozzies do not like....!!!!

And op will smell like a loaf of bread. ????

[nigelforbes]

33 minutes ago, blackshadow said:

WHY i thort mozzies could fly ???

Not higher than 25 feet, beyond that they get altitude sickness, which is why you never find mossies in the Alps. The could get some medicine to prevent that but it would mean going to a special pharmozzie.

Edited January 8, 2023 by nigelforbes

[bunnydrops]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:17 AM, brianthainess said:

I have been told they can't fly more than 6 floors.

The last hotel I stayed in had them on the 10th floor. Maybe they can't fly that high but they know how to use the lift.

[scubascuba3]

5 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I talked to someone who insisted he caught it from a bite while walking on Soi Pothole....I suspect anywhere is possible ....

as we know mosquitoes love condos and apartments so anywhere, but if there's an outbreak in a specific area take extra precautions

[kwilco]

10 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

they have outbreaks in certain areas like Arunothai. Not Walking street, Buakhao. Watch out for outbreak news

Dengue is not restricted to particular streets in Pattaya. Dengue is endemic to Thailand and in particular likes urban settings. It is carried by the Aedes mosquito. which relies on small puddles of standing water to breed. 

Dengue fever appears in "hotspots" and "clusters" which can pop up anywhere given a suitable breeding environment - it isn't transmitted human to human, it has to be transmitted by a mosquito.

 

[Mickeymaus]

16 minutes ago, kwilco said:

 it isn't transmitted human to human, it has to be transmitted by a mosquito.

Indirectly yes. The mosquito can get it from an infected human and give it to other humans. 

[kwilco]

8 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

Total nonsense. Here [Buriram] mosquitos come out about 45 minutes before Sunset. This is the time where you close doors and windows, turn on outside lights and aircon. We have no mosquitos in the bedrooms. Also we have fly screens on all windows, so they can't come in during the day either. We haven't bought any mosquito coils or spray for years, just tune up our routine.

  

The Aedes (dengue) mosquito is known to fly all day. However they avoid full direct sunlight.

During the day they hide in foliage or inside buildings - they like laundry too. They will given the opportunity bite during the day.

However, they are most active at dawn and dusk.

It would be pretty impossible to tell which bite actually gave you dengue. Whilst some people may have a "histamine" reaction to bites, other people have no reaction at all and don't even notice they have been bitten.

Dengue symptoms usually start within a few days of being bitten but can take up to 2 weeks to develop.

In order to transmit dengue, a (female) mosquito has to bite an infected blood supply (a human) it then has to feed again on another human. They normally feed every 2 to 3 days. A single females is unlikely to visit more than two or three houses in a lifetime.

Mosquitos range in a lifetime is only up to 400 meters. They look for water-filled containers to lay their eggs this is usually close to a human habitation

So, the mosquito becomes infected when it takes the blood of a person infected with the virus, after about a week, the mosquito can then transmit the virus to another person..

The female will also bite several victims in her short life time which means they are a very good Dengue vector.

To transmit over a long distance, a person infected with dengue fever can  travel and then infect other mosquitoes at their destination. In fact humans are known to carry Dengue from one country to another or from one region to another so long as they have stage the in their blood.

However, in Thailand where Dengue is now endemic, there is no need to have “outsiders” to bring in the disease as it is already here. All it needs is a small shower to raise the standing water levels a centimetre or so and the cycle starts again…..

 

 

[kwilco]

As for "height" - If you transport mosquitoes up to your apartment, e.g. in the elevator, and you have a suitable environment, they could stay and breed. For instance, if you have a flower pot or a fish bowl or anything with a bit of water in it, that is sufficient for the female to lay eggs above that will hatch in a rise in water level.

 

rather than height, it is temperature that kills off mosquitoes - they don't like anything below 10 celsius - but then neither do I.

[kwilco]

11 hours ago, Sawasdee Bee Mai said:

DEET is banned in Europe you may as well use Agent Orange on your skin to ward off mozzies?

No, DEET is regulated in EU. It was taken off the market for review - so was citronella. this was part of the EU review of all "biocidal" products

 

DEET has been in use since WW2 and there are no significant dangers recorded.

 

DEET is very effective against mosquitoes but it has been shown that concentrations over 33% have no extra benefit.

The EU now regulates the use and strength of products . Products over 50% DEET are not permitted.

 

citronella is still "banned" as an insect repellent.

 

[kwilco]

7 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

And op will smell like a loaf of bread. ????

Apparently yeast won't repel mosquitoes, but it does make you less sensitive to their bites.

[scubascuba3]

47 minutes ago, kwilco said:

  

The Aedes (dengue) mosquito is known to fly all day. However they avoid full direct sunlight.

During the day they hide in foliage or inside buildings - they like laundry too. They will given the opportunity bite during the day.

However, they are most active at dawn and dusk.

It would be pretty impossible to tell which bite actually gave you dengue. Whilst some people may have a "histamine" reaction to bites, other people have no reaction at all and don't even notice they have been bitten.

Dengue symptoms usually start within a few days of being bitten but can take up to 2 weeks to develop.

In order to transmit dengue, a (female) mosquito has to bite an infected blood supply (a human) it then has to feed again on another human. They normally feed every 2 to 3 days. A single females is unlikely to visit more than two or three houses in a lifetime.

Mosquitos range in a lifetime is only up to 400 meters. They look for water-filled containers to lay their eggs this is usually close to a human habitation

So, the mosquito becomes infected when it takes the blood of a person infected with the virus, after about a week, the mosquito can then transmit the virus to another person..

The female will also bite several victims in her short life time which means they are a very good Dengue vector.

To transmit over a long distance, a person infected with dengue fever can  travel and then infect other mosquitoes at their destination. In fact humans are known to carry Dengue from one country to another or from one region to another so long as they have stage the in their blood.

However, in Thailand where Dengue is now endemic, there is no need to have “outsiders” to bring in the disease as it is already here. All it needs is a small shower to raise the standing water levels a centimetre or so and the cycle starts again…..

 

 

you missed out that the female only bites when ovulating 

[kwilco]

46 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

you missed out that the female only bites when ovulating 

The female needs blood protein to produce eggs - she retains sperm inside until she is "triggered" to do this - so ovulation occurs when the mosquito has had enough protein to produce eggs - then laying and fertilisation of the eggs occurs.

Female mozzie stores sperm and nourishes and maintains them in permanent storage organs for her entire life

however has most people would have difficulty even identifying the type of mosquito that is biting them it would be pretty much impossible to say if it is ovulating or not. 

When she is ready, the female coordinates the release of sperm with ovulation, and the descending egg is fertilized

They have a life span of about 2 weeks and in that time they lay eggs about 3 times so really worrying about an approaching mozzie is ovulating or not seems a bit tangential to protecting oneself.

has most people would have difficulty even identifying the type of mosquito that is biting them it would be pretty much impossible to say if it is ovulating or not. 

 

They have a life span of about 2 weeks and in that time they lay eggs about 3 times so really worrying about an approaching mozzie is ovulating or not seems a bit tangential to protecting oneself.

[jak2002003]

1 hour ago, kwilco said:

Apparently yeast won't repel mosquitoes, but it does make you less sensitive to their bites.

And if you sunbath you get a nice crispy crust.  

[fuehrio]

On 1/7/2023 at 7:56 AM, jacko45k said:

Seems to defeat the argument that they don't get up to higher floors. 

My door is directly opposite the elevators. They come through the gaps or when I open it

[mrwebb8825]

Eat more fresh garlic - they don't like it but you may start attracting Italians. ????

[parafareno]

On 1/9/2023 at 12:33 PM, fuehrio said:

My door is directly opposite the elevators. They come through the gaps or when I open it

i doubt it....my door is closed all the time, no gaps i think...there is light in corridor always....so why would they come to my room?

i think they fly directly through 7th floor and inside because i have open windows all the time