New Scourge For Flooded Thailand: Mosquitoes

[BKKdreaming]

My daughter, a global expert on mosquito control, uses a tethered buffalo as a mosquito attractant when sampling in Asia. Apparently buffalo breath is very high in octenol

Can you ask your daughter if any vitamins etc will keep the mozzies away , or if there are any foods that work....

This seems to be turning into an essay rather than a comment, I had better stop

that was more interesting than the other posts , mozzies love me , not many in my part of California but I think they have a map to my house !

[KKK]

Anyone know the product I have seen on TV to put in water to stop this?

Bleach would do it!

Wouldn't do your plants much good if you put it in the pot saucer. Same goes for the fellow who said salt. Best stuff would depend on where the water is...

Large water jars (sometimes used for drinking or bathing)...a good lid is the best

Pots containing water lilies and other plants that live in water.....a few small fish works well as they eat the larvae

Pot saucers...the best is not to use them

Plant pots and garden borders....keep the soil surface covered in stones or coconut coir...

Fish Ponds.....duh...fish of course....don't let pond water stagnate

Storm water drains.....fumigation

any others anybody?

[anterian]

My daughter, a global expert on mosquito control, uses a tethered buffalo as a mosquito attractant when sampling in Asia. Apparently buffalo breath is very high in octenol

Can you ask your daughter if any vitamins etc will keep the mozzies away , or if there are any foods that work....

This seems to be turning into an essay rather than a comment, I had better stop

that was more interesting than the other posts , mozzies love me , not many in my part of California but I think they have a map to my house !

My daughter is currently in Tajikistan advising their government, I think her next stop is Australia or South Africa, I lose track

So this is from me.

ON the final approach octenol, a component of sweat is the main attractant, so try not to sweat or overheat. Alcohol increases capillary blood flow and so raises skin temperature, so avoid it. If your friends can tolerate it eat garlic, you will sweat it through your skin and camouflage the octenol.

Vitamins have no affect either way, however there is some indications that different blood types have different susceptibilities, large people are attacked in preference to small people.

Sitting in front of a fan hampers their landing, they are not strong fliers. DEET is 100% effective, citronella oil and eucalyptus oil are fairly effective but need to be reapplied every hour.

Strange but true, Mosquitoes are irresistibly attracted to Limburger Cheese Which is why they go for your ankles, the nearest they can get to "cheesy" feet The smell is mostly that of lactic acid, an anaerobic breakdown product of muscles. Fit people produce less lactic acid.

Hope this helps.

[Familyonthemove]

Anterian - thanks for the informative posts! The fan suggestion is ideal for sleeping. A fan blowing over your bed will disrupt their flight path on the final 'bombing run' approach and give you a bite free night.

[chris1101]

Chrysamed is a very effective fluid/spray and less toxic than "Bti" e.g.

Google "chrysamed thailand"

This sounds an interesting product. Does anyone know where it can be bought in Thailand - close to Pattaya would be helpful?

Thanks to anyone who can assist.

[puck2]

Chrysamed is a very effective fluid/spray and less toxic than "Bti" e.g.

Google "chrysamed thailand"

This sounds an interesting product. Does anyone know where it can be bought in Thailand - close to Pattaya would be helpful?

Thanks to anyone who can assist.

Only by the company (in BKK ?)

When you google, open the website and read about the procedure. There is a flag for the English language. They send it to your home, pay in advance.

[chris1101]

Chrysamed is a very effective fluid/spray and less toxic than "Bti" e.g.

Google "chrysamed thailand"

This sounds an interesting product. Does anyone know where it can be bought in Thailand - close to Pattaya would be helpful?

Thanks to anyone who can assist.

Only by the company (in BKK ?)

When you google, open the website and read about the procedure. There is a flag for the English language. They send it to your home, pay in advance.

Thank you puck2.

[chris1101]

Am I now classed as an 'Advanced Member' because I was 65 yesterday?

All belated birthday greetings will be greatfully accepted!!

Just as an aside - I live to the east of Pattaya (on the dark side) and I am perfectly happy/content to be here, so I do wish people would not knock the place as it is whatever you want it to be. I am sure there are far worse places in the world to reside. I hope all farangs residing in Thailand are happy and keep safe.

Sorry about this post being off topic and hope it will get through the TVF censorship procedure.

[Oberkommando]

I blame Thaksin for the mosquitos.

[chris1101]

I blame Thaksin for the mosquitos.

+1

[KKK]

Am I now classed as an 'Advanced Member' because I was 65 yesterday?

All belated birthday greetings will be greatfully accepted!!

Just as an aside - I live to the east of Pattaya (on the dark side) and I am perfectly happy/content to be here, so I do wish people would not knock the place as it is whatever you want it to be. I am sure there are far worse places in the world to reside. I hope all farangs residing in Thailand are happy and keep safe.

Sorry about this post being off topic and hope it will get through the TVF censorship procedure.

happy birthday Chris..glad you said east of Pattaya rather than East Pattaya a relatively new phrase coined by the real estate people to sell houses. Nowhere east of Sukhumvit is Pattaya..never has been; doubt it ever will....

agree with you about the Pattaya knockers....I think it is more jealousness than anything...I mean do we knock issan or whatever....NO ... each to his own.

[autan]

There are great post on this thread. I will print it off and definitly try some of the advice on here. Of course like most people you expect to be bit going to a country like Thailand. Last March I was sat in the lobby of the Amai Hotel in Patayya enjoying a drink and using my laptop to skype to friends back home, 20 minutes later I went to my room. The next morning I had so many bites on mylegs I couldnt count them.

Any advice is welcome and thank you for the post so far.

I was bitten silly last time I was in Thailand, dozens of bites, especially to my legs, they even bit through thick denim jeans, they bite your back through your shirts, its a plague and the Thais dont get bit at all.

So if the Thais are getting bit, I think I will stay away from Thailand for a little while until well into the middle of 2012, I dont fancy being eaten alive.

I have tried (Autan), (Jungle Formula), (Citroenella) everything, still get bit, apparantly mosquitos prefer blood type (A+) to other blood types and can smell and detect your blood type before they bite. I belive there is an injection you can get from your Doctors in the UK, which camoflages your blood types as to appear less attractive and so you get but less.

Some years back ,I read an article in a travel mag. Where a Doctor said she always uses "Avon-skin So Soft spray" to repel mosquitoes.

I was some what sceptical. However we tried it out for day time use only, as we had previously had a case of Dengue Fever in the house.

I have to report that it did work, and we have been using the product ever since.

We still use Deet based products in the evening, but at least you are not absorbing them 24 hours a day.

Declaration. I am not an "Avon Lady".....

[Tiffer]

Of course, anyone with a brain could see this coming. I was up the west side of Ban Mi, at a temple, the mosquitos were so thick it looked like a plague. The minute you stopped walking, they swarmed you. Worse than Vietnam ever was and it was bad there back then. Of course we took care of that problem with agent orange. :-)

Agent Orange is nothing to be proud of....

[BKKdreaming]

last trip I wore long pants all the time outside ..... no bits....

except in my room where the maid left the window open !

and long pants are not really hot , they are thin cotton work pants....

BK

[BKKdreaming]

Are there any bar soaps that attact Mosquitos or repel them ?

does the smell of the soap matter if its apple. berry . citrus etc or just plain Ivory soap ?

Bk

[sysardman]

While reading these posts I've noticed a few errors even from the guy who has a mozzie expert daughter - when the mozzie bites you it does inject saliva but not as an anaesthetic but as a form of anti-coagulant to stop your blood clotting while it drinks (note it's only females that bite because they need blood to feed their eggs). Mosquitos are stealth hunters and are attracted to dark clothing where they will not be seen - so wear bright colours. Also as stated they hunt by smell so washing and using scents and deodorants will help (avoid smelling like a buffalo). They also detect body heat but unless you want to wrap yourself in tinfoil there is not much you can do but stay as cool as you can - sit by a fan, it also (as mentioned by other posters) makes it difficult for them to fly.

The most proven repellents are the ones that contain DEET, most products will have between 12%-25% (check labels on bottles) whilst jungle formulas can contain 36%. The only problem is that long exposure to high concentrations of DEET can affect the nervous system so not recommended to use all the time. I found that the best thing is to use mosquito coils or similar devices to keep them from swarming around the house. When going out at dusk or dawn (time when most active) wear long pants and long sleeve shirts with a repellent on exposed parts (after showering). Clean away any pools of standing water nearby.

If you do get bitten (and yes Thais do get bitten but have built up a tolerance to the injected saliva so don't react as much) I have found Tiger Balm effective for small bites but one method I love for really bad bites is to use hot water dabbed onto the bite (as hot as you can stand without burning your skin). This I was told breaks down the proteins in the saliva and stops the itching (really does work). Or buy anti-histamine based creams from the pharmacy.

In finishing I just want to say that for some people (myself included) that you will at some point get bitten, mozzies are the sneakiest creatures I know and no matter how much you try to prevent getting bitten, they will find you when your guard is down. The main idea is keeping the risk to a minimum, the closer you are to big cities means less chance of malaria with the risk increasing as you move to the countryside - but you never know!!!!!!!

Edited December 1, 2011 by sysardman

[culicine]

It should also be noted that the flight range depends on the species and as I stated Aedes aegypti does not fly too far - it will stay around your house, so it's best to empty all unnecessary pots, or keep fish in your fish ponds (which might have disappeared, like mine, due to the floods. In their place were mosquito larvae. I just popped in a few grains of Bti (a form of biological control) that I had lying around and it worked. Try not to use commercial chemicals like Temephos - they should only be handled by pest controllers who can administer it at the correct rate. Treatment of adult mosquitoes should only be done as a last resort. The mosquito I studied in Australia has no problem travelling 10 - 20 kms and has been recorded up to 80 kms from the nearest possible breeding site.

If you live in a village try to alert all your neighbours to the importance of emptying unused water jars or other receptacles. Many Thais really are not aware of this, nor mosquito biology. My Thai family wondered why their indoor water storage in the bathroom had mosquito larvae - I just told them to let the water drip slowly into the tank to agitate the surface - that eliminated the breeding.

For personal protection, as mentioned, just use a DEET containing product, or the coils for around your feet when sitting. Avoid those products with high concentrations of DEET, due to possible long term use side effects.

[BuddhistDruid]

All I know is that if any researcher says mosquitos don't have a preference for certain people vs. others then they aren't being very careful in their observations. I have twins...a daughter and a son. They are both half Thai., half farang They are young enough we dress them the same. They stay right next to each other, eat the same thing, use the same soaps, the same hygiene, and are cared for identically.

My daughter is constantly covered in mosquito bites. They circle around her. My son barely gets touched. It isn't just a reaction to the bite. We watch them attack her and leave him alone.

Certain people attract mosquitos and others do not. Mosquitos love me. They hate my Thai wife. My own experiences with my twins leave very few uncontrolled variables, and the conclusions are inescapable. It is about the person as much as it is what you wear. If mosquitos are attracted to you, there is little you can do to keep them off. DEET doesn't even do much for me.

[anterian]

While reading these posts I've noticed a few errors even from the guy who has a mozzie expert daughter - when the mozzie bites you it does inject saliva but not as an anaesthetic but as a form of anti-coagulant to stop your blood clotting while it drinks (note it's only females that bite because they need blood to feed their eggs). Mosquitos are stealth hunters and are attracted to dark clothing where they will not be seen - so wear bright colours. Also as stated they hunt by smell so washing and using scents and deodorants will help (avoid smelling like a buffalo). They also detect body heat but unless you want to wrap yourself in tinfoil there is not much you can do but stay as cool as you can - sit by a fan, it also (as mentioned by other posters) makes it difficult for them to fly.

The most proven repellents are the ones that contain DEET, most products will have between 12%-25% (check labels on bottles) whilst jungle formulas can contain 36%. The only problem is that long exposure to high concentrations of DEET can affect the nervous system so not recommended to use all the time. I found that the best thing is to use mosquito coils or similar devices to keep them from swarming around the house. When going out at dusk or dawn (time when most active) wear long pants and long sleeve shirts with a repellent on exposed parts (after showering). Clean away any pools of standing water nearby.

If you do get bitten (and yes Thais do get bitten but have built up a tolerance to the injected saliva so don't react as much) I have found Tiger Balm effective for small bites but one method I love for really bad bites is to use hot water dabbed onto the bite (as hot as you can stand without burning your skin). This I was told breaks down the proteins in the saliva and stops the itching (really does work). Or buy anti-histamine based creams from the pharmacy.

In finishing I just want to say that for some people (myself included) that you will at some point get bitten, mozzies are the sneakiest creatures I know and no matter how much you try to prevent getting bitten, they will find you when your guard is down. The main idea is keeping the risk to a minimum, the closer you are to big cities means less chance of malaria with the risk increasing as you move to the countryside - but you never know!!!!!!!

Nice of you to note a few errors, perhaps I should have written as essay after all. Interesting that you describe them as stealth hunters, a very anthropomorphic attitude, in reality they are predominantly opportunistic lurkers.

Yes the bite contains an anticoagulant, primarily a vasodilator and platelet suppressor, it also damages the immune response, T-cells and interferon production, this damage can persist for up to a week, dangerous if the bite is virus laden.

The Asian tiger mosquito, very much on the increase in Thailand, feeds in the daytime as well as at night.

Yes, heat if applied after a bite will break down most of the 20 known complex proteins injected during feeding.

Most big cities are mosquito free due to air pollution, a classic example is Nairobi, a mosquito free island in a country infamous for mosquitoes.

I agree mosquito coils are effective as are the more "technically advanced" electrical disseminators such as made by "Raid" and ARS (Mat 12).

Incidentally, mosquitoes are attracted visually to contrasts, what in computer graphics is called "edge detection", bright clothing is no protection against a dark background. Which is one reason why at night farangs get attacked more than most Thais. In fact at night a full covering of dark clothes is better. Perhaps you are confused by the fact that in daylight most mossies seek dark secluded areas, which could well be inside a dark trouser leg

As you say care should be exercised with too frequent a use of DEET, hence most people in the field use a pyrethrin based compound sprayed on the clothing. You can even buy permanently impregnated clothes.

[anterian]

All I know is that if any researcher says mosquitos don't have a preference for certain people vs. others then they aren't being very careful in their observations. I have twins...a daughter and a son. They are both half Thai., half farang They are young enough we dress them the same. They stay right next to each other, eat the same thing, use the same soaps, the same hygiene, and are cared for identically.

My daughter is constantly covered in mosquito bites. They circle around her. My son barely gets touched. It isn't just a reaction to the bite. We watch them attack her and leave him alone.

Certain people attract mosquitos and others do not. Mosquitos love me. They hate my Thai wife. My own experiences with my twins leave very few uncontrolled variables, and the conclusions are inescapable. It is about the person as much as it is what you wear. If mosquitos are attracted to you, there is little you can do to keep them off. DEET doesn't even do much for me.

"All I know is that if any researcher says mosquitos don't have a preference for certain people vs. others "

I do not know of any researcher active in the field who says this, indeed much current research is directed at finding out what these preferential differences are in order to develop a more effective repellent.

[FOODLOVER]

All I know is that if any researcher says mosquitos don't have a preference for certain people vs. others then they aren't being very careful in their observations. I have twins...a daughter and a son. They are both half Thai., half farang They are young enough we dress them the same. They stay right next to each other, eat the same thing, use the same soaps, the same hygiene, and are cared for identically.

My daughter is constantly covered in mosquito bites. They circle around her. My son barely gets touched. It isn't just a reaction to the bite. We watch them attack her and leave him alone.

Certain people attract mosquitos and others do not. Mosquitos love me. They hate my Thai wife. My own experiences with my twins leave very few uncontrolled variables, and the conclusions are inescapable. It is about the person as much as it is what you wear. If mosquitos are attracted to you, there is little you can do to keep them off. DEET doesn't even do much for me.

"My daughter is constantly covered in mosquito bites. They circle around her. My son barely gets touched. It isn't just a reaction to the bite. We watch them attack her and leave him alone".

Does the boys head spin around?

[PaulBax]

in my soi we have had a few people have Dengue in the last 2 weeks including myself! We did not flood!

It has turned my missus into a mosquito attacking zombie lol.:ph34r:

[ludditeman]

I was bitten silly last time I was in Thailand, dozens of bites, especially to my legs, they even bit through thick denim jeans, they bite your back through your shirts, its a plague and the Thais dont get bit at all.

So if the Thais are getting bit, I think I will stay away from Thailand for a little while until well into the middle of 2012, I dont fancy being eaten alive.

I have tried (Autan), (Jungle Formula), (Citroenella) everything, still get bit, apparantly mosquitos prefer blood type (A+) to other blood types and can smell and detect your blood type before they bite. I belive there is an injection you can get from your Doctors in the UK, which camoflages your blood types as to appear less attractive and so you get but less.

When I came here I was bitten a lot and the bites itched like crazy. I used repellent.

A while later I hardly get bitten at all, and those bites (1 every 2 or 3 days) only itch for an hour. I don't use repellent.

Edited December 1, 2011 by ludditeman

[pastitche]

Mosquitoes don't discriminate about who they feed from; if you have warm blood they will feed from you. First stage when they dip their tube into you is they spit into you. This spit is a mild anaesthetic which works on most mammals meaning their bite is not felt. The people who do feel it basically have an allergic reaction to this ranging from mild to severe.

Not sure about this, but I think that continued exposure to the biting spit means you get a tolerance to it over time so Thai's, who get bitten continually all their life by their type of mossie don't get irritated. Reason I say this is when I first moved to Hong Kong, I have legs like a polkadot table cloth for the first year but after that, nothing. Moving here, for the first 6 months or so, also the same but now, nothing.

I think that you may have a point there but I had a different experience in a way. No matter where I went I was never bitten by a mosquito and believed I was unpalatable to them until the first time I visited Western Australia....different kind of mossie, I thought, new Stealth model, probably genetically manipulated by the CIA. Crossed over the continent to the east coast with a few stops and stayed that side for a while - not a nibble.

Next year I went on a 4-wheel drive trip from Darwin to Broome and didn't have a problem till I got to the NT/WA border...as soon as I crossed, the little shits were on me like a mongol horde and kept it up till I went to the east coast again.

Not being a very wise old man I went to WA the following year to see a friend working in Coral Bay; drove up from Perth in a campervan and was beset every night by the tiny vampires.

From then on, no matter where I went - Europe, Africa, South America, Pacific Islands, Asia - if mossies were there they bit me.

Now my immunity has disappeared and wherever I go I get bitten but at least here in Thailand the itch only lasts for an hour or so and there is no problem in the morning so maybe I have built up the tolerance you were talking about

[sysardman]

[quote}

Incidentally, mosquitoes are attracted visually to contrasts, what in computer graphics is called "edge detection", bright clothing is no protection against a dark background.

Which is one reason why at night farangs get attacked more than most Thais. In fact at night a full covering of dark clothes is better. Perhaps you are confused by the fact that in daylight most mossies seek dark secluded areas, which could well be inside a dark trouser leg

As you say care should be exercised with too frequent a use of DEET, hence most people in the field use a pyrethrin based compound sprayed on the clothing. You can even buy permanently impregnated clothes.

Well actually I wasn't suggesting bright coloured clothes as any form of protection but merely to make the mosquitoes visible so that they can be swatted or driven away. As you say, the only way for clothes to be protective is either wear thick items or apply repellents etc to them.