hmmmm...the thais seem to be clueless about a number of things. Is it coincidence?

#1. Stay in a hotel with good AC and there is no need for screens or open windows.

#2. Mosquitoes don't seem to bother Thais as much as they do Farangs.

Guys in my village get a kick out of drinking Lao Kao while swatting the one who bite them. the line them up in frnt of each guy who has swatted them so they can keep a good count of who is ahead!

I offer them repellent and they laugh like I am a sissy!

#3. I believe you develop an immunity to the mosquitoes you have grown up being bitten by.

In California, where I grew up, I had many jobs requiring me to be out in the forest all night getting bitten all night long

.

After years of this, I would feel the initial bite, but would no longer react to the bite.

No itching, no swelling or bumps.

Since relocating to Thailand, I feel the bite, I itch and develop a bump!

I think Thais have this immunity to the local mosquitoes.

#4,I believe Thai mosquitoes prefer blood that is new to them.

When with a group of Thais, I notice I get many more bites than they do.

My joke in Thai: Yun alloy Farang...

Farang mai chop yun!

It always gets a laugh.

My advice: Use deet and spring for the cost of a good hotel with good AC

. Keep the windows closed!

#1. Stay in a hotel with good AC and there is no need for screens or open windows.

#2. Mosquitoes don't seem to bother Thais as much as they do Farangs.

Guys in my village get a kick out of drinking Lao Kao while swatting the one who bite them. the line them up in frnt of each guy who has swatted them so they can keep a good count of who is ahead!

I offer them repellent and they laugh like I am a sissy!

#3. I believe you develop an immunity to the mosquitoes you have grown up being bitten by.

In California, where I grew up, I had many jobs requiring me to be out in the forest all night getting bitten all night long

.

After years of this, I would feel the initial bite, but would no longer react to the bite.

No itching, no swelling or bumps.

Since relocating to Thailand, I feel the bite, I itch and develop a bump!

I think Thais have this immunity to the local mosquitoes.

#4,I believe Thai mosquitoes prefer blood that is new to them.

When with a group of Thais, I notice I get many more bites than they do.

My joke in Thai: Yun alloy Farang...

Farang mai chop yun!

It always gets a laugh.

My advice: Use deet and spring for the cost of a good hotel with good AC

. Keep the windows closed!

I think you have just explained why my ex-girlfriend NEVER got bitten by mosquitoes in her flat, yet I was eaten alive all the time.

My mother may also have hit the nail on the head when she said the mosquitoes always go for bad meat!

I doubt they are clueless....after ages and ages of time, living in Thailand. They just have bad habits......stagnant water/wet, open bathrooms.

I would like Public Health to publish stats & maps of recent dengue and malaria infections - so nearby residents can take extra precautions -

or do they?

And everyone else is clueless about eating rare steaks, living life as a western style consumer and breeding.

Many Thais are very concerned and as vigilant as they can be about the "problem".

Much more so than myself, I don't consider it a problem at all other than the itch and annoyance.

Sure an occasional bout with bone-break is a pain, but all the solutions are IMO much worse that the very small risk.

Live and let live.

Thais are clueless about many dangers, never mind mosquitoes, and much of it is down to governments' disinterest in educating them about health and safety. Of course, for that to work, it would need the Thais to listen, and to ask questions, neither of which could be assured.

I doubt they are clueless....after ages and ages of time, living in Thailand. They just have bad habits......stagnant water/wet, open bathrooms.

Slippery, look close at the water. See those little black things with fins? They are mosquito eating fish and they have been doing it for hundreds of years.

the spray being sprayed is watered down /oiled down ddt not much better then the mossies anf probably not too effective but might also kill off the natural mossie predators too.

use cintronella

use a mosquito net

they are very concerned with mosquitoes but money is needed for screens and in many houses the doors and windows are always open anyhow so why bother.

use a fan to blow in your direction it gets rid of flying insects tahts what thais do that ive seen

how do u know the hotel u are staying in has been built with any building regs at all?

water in teh bathrooms gets changed often.

adn getting bitten by mosquitoes doesn not build up your immunity it just exposes u to getting malaria or dengue.

thalesemia (sickle cell anemia) in thais is thought to have been a genetic twist in preventing them from getting malaria so easily.

thais are more likely to die from the third time round bout of dengue (hemorroahing) , cant remember why...

as i sit here watching giant striped mossquitoes come in from our open window in the middle of february in jerusalem (and some nile fever or rocky mountain spotted fever or something or other supposedly is carried by thsi mosquito in our area recently introduced from egypt )

lol.. if you think only hotels, then you should attend a few hospitals as well.

I would like Public Health to publish stats & maps of recent dengue and malaria infections - so nearby residents can take extra precautions -

or do they?

Lots of information about Dengue !

For example

http://www.nathnac.org/pro/factsheets/dengue.htm

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs117/en/index.html

As will be noted this is not an exclusive "Thai" problem but one which exists world wide between latitudes 35ºN and 35ºS .

Edit ----added link

Edited February 12, 201412 yr by olddoc

HUAHIN62, on 11 Feb 2014 - 17:07, said:

If you look at the deaths caused by mozzies as a percentage of the total you will understand why we dont worry too much about mozzies. Thais arent clueless about mozzies we have learned to live with them and to understand their threat in a balanced way.

So, give us the percentage. Who really cares, if it was you, a member of your family or friends, then I'm sure you would be concerned, like most of the world. As for Thais not being clueless, what a load of rubbish, did someone pay you to make such a ridiculous comment. Basically the whole nation is clueless and not only about mossies, this is the way the powerful elite control the masses. Go and ask Thais about the dangers of anything, including mossies, and in most cases you will get that blank stare most of us are fully aware of. As for you being Thai, I actually don't believe you.

smotherb, on 11 Feb 2014 - 18:22, said:smotherb, on 11 Feb 2014 - 18:22, said:

As I type, the mosquito spray truck is making its rounds in my neighborhood. They have been doing it for at least six years here now--so there must be some Thais who have a clue

It's a smoke screen so it "looks" like they are doing something, but look at what they do, they spray everywhere, but hardly spray areas where the mossies are breeding, especially rice paddies, they sprayed my area last week, guest what, that night we still had mossies.

Edited February 12, 201412 yr by Rorri

Malaria? Isn't that the plot of land between the two developed nations of Thailand and Singapore?

HUAHIN62, on 11 Feb 2014 - 17:07, said:

If you look at the deaths caused by mozzies as a percentage of the total you will understand why we dont worry too much about mozzies. Thais arent clueless about mozzies we have learned to live with them and to understand their threat in a balanced way.

So, give us the percentage. Who really cares, if it was you, a member of your family or friends, then I'm sure you would be concerned, like most of the world. As for Thais not being clueless, what a load of rubbish, did someone pay you to make such a ridiculous comment. Basically the whole nation is clueless and not only about mossies, this is the way the powerful elite control the masses. Go and ask Thais about the dangers of anything, including mossies, and in most cases you will get that blank stare most of us are fully aware of. As for you being Thai, I actually don't believe you.

Here Facts !

http://www.irinnews.org/fr/report/98212/record-dengue-season-predicted-in-thailand

The Case Fatality Rate is VERY low !

smotherb, on 11 Feb 2014 - 18:22, said:smotherb, on 11 Feb 2014 - 18:22, said:

As I type, the mosquito spray truck is making its rounds in my neighborhood. They have been doing it for at least six years here now--so there must be some Thais who have a clue

It's a smoke screen so it "looks" like they are doing something, but look at what they do, they spray everywhere, but hardly spray areas where the mossies are breeding, especially rice paddies, they sprayed my area last week, guest what, that night we still had mossies.

I would never have guest. The OP said Thais have no clue, doing something; however ineffective, leads me to believe they have a clue. Whether or not they have the solution is another question.

Edited February 12, 201412 yr by smotherb

smotherb, on 11 Feb 2014 - 18:22, said:smotherb, on 11 Feb 2014 - 18:22, said:

As I type, the mosquito spray truck is making its rounds in my neighborhood. They have been doing it for at least six years here now--so there must be some Thais who have a clue

It's a smoke screen so it "looks" like they are doing something, but look at what they do, they spray everywhere, but hardly spray areas where the mossies are breeding, especially rice paddies, they sprayed my area last week, guest what, that night we still had mossies.

I would never have guest. The OP said Thais have no clue, doing something; however ineffective, leads me to believe they have a clue. Whether or not they have the solution is another question.

Sure they have a clue. Don't kill lizards in the house because they eat mosquitoes and the mosquito eating fish called, Pla Jet Sii and Pla Hang Nok Yung and in my moo ban an older lady rides around (once a week in season) with a powder for free to put in any standing water. Ask any Thai kid to sing the chingchook song.

Edited February 12, 201412 yr by thailiketoo

seems like you are freakishly scared of mosquitos while thais learned to live with it. How many Thais died of dengue fever last year btw?

seems like you are freakishly scared of mosquitos while thais learned to live with it. How many Thais died of dengue fever last year btw?

126 people died from Dengue in Thailand last year. That was the most in 20 years. And that number was from October (http://www.richardbarrow.com/2013/10/216-people-in-thailand-have-died-from-dengue-fever-this-year/), so likely higher.

I think the OP has a good point, but Thais in general do not have good understanding of disease and huygiene.

seems like you are freakishly scared of mosquitos while thais learned to live with it. How many Thais died of dengue fever last year btw?

126 people died from Dengue in Thailand last year. That was the most in 20 years. And that number was from October (http://www.richardbarrow.com/2013/10/216-people-in-thailand-have-died-from-dengue-fever-this-year/), so likely higher.

I think the OP has a good point, but Thais in general do not have good understanding of disease and huygiene.

Ya they don't really go to hospitals instead they do witch dances in the moonlight.

Compared to road deaths, tobacco and guns not a big deal.

Probably more from pesticide overdose.

Try a hotel which costs more than 300 Baht!

Well said Snapper,my thoughts exactly.Even cheapies usually have a net.Most villages have a spraying program.Personal responsibility is required here.

Thais are clueless about just about everything, it's what makes them so charming on some days and so unbearable on others.

The colonial master speaks,we know best my children.Contrasending at best,racist at worst.

#1. Stay in a hotel with good AC and there is no need for screens or open windows.

#2. Mosquitoes don't seem to bother Thais as much as they do Farangs.

Guys in my village get a kick out of drinking Lao Kao while swatting the one who bite them. the line them up in frnt of each guy who has swatted them so they can keep a good count of who is ahead!

I offer them repellent and they laugh like I am a sissy!

#3. I believe you develop an immunity to the mosquitoes you have grown up being bitten by.

In California, where I grew up, I had many jobs requiring me to be out in the forest all night getting bitten all night long

.

After years of this, I would feel the initial bite, but would no longer react to the bite.

No itching, no swelling or bumps.

Since relocating to Thailand, I feel the bite, I itch and develop a bump!

I think Thais have this immunity to the local mosquitoes.

#4,I believe Thai mosquitoes prefer blood that is new to them.

When with a group of Thais, I notice I get many more bites than they do.

My joke in Thai: Yun alloy Farang...

Farang mai chop yun!

It always gets a laugh.

My advice: Use deet and spring for the cost of a good hotel with good AC

. Keep the windows closed!

Mozzies like the smell of your feet.I don't rekon they would know about your new blood.Are farangs different blood types than Thais?Must remember when getting a life saving blood transfusion,no Thai blood.

The small fast ones are the worst.

Someone on TV suggested they were not around a few years back and may be due to human genetic manipulation.

They are small and very fast, hard to catch and take off like nothing i have seen here before.

oh and their bite is worse too

Thais are clueless about just about everything, it's what makes them so charming on some days and so unbearable on others.

The colonial master speaks,we know best my children.Contrasending at best,racist at worst.

Or just the plain, unbiased truth after years of expatriation in all parts of Thailand.

Racism, prejudice and condescending attitudes are 9 times out of 10 expressed by Thais. Westerners nowadays are typically raised in melting pot environments and don't look down on other ethnicities, nor have any form of prejudice.

Had malaria, had dengue, have screens, have fans, have repellent, have coils, have village spraying programs, have standing water but with cover.

A second bout of mal mightn't be as bad but sure don't want that 2nd dengue. In overall terms the dengue was easier at the time but much longer after effects. The malaria detection program didn't detect mine, they came around at the same time as my symptoms emerged. Western Cambodia and adjacent Thailand is a malaria hot spot.

Forget about the dangers of mozzies I'm more worried about my TGF who goes ballistic when i start with the bug spray

I've got screens on all windows, I keep the patio doors and the windows closed, I have no standing water in my place, I run the A/C whenever I'm home and I still get mozzies- in clumps.

I'll go for months with none, then kill a dozen in an evening with the electric swatter and wake up with several bites anyway. I can't for the life of me figure out how they're getting in.