Dayton News - Sports
Mosquitoes, mosquitoes and more mosquitoes
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By LARRY WILBURN
In the aftermath of hurricane Ike, the mosquitoes are absolutely horrible. It does not matter where you go, from your front yard to the deer woods, mosquitoes will swarm you.
It is not unusual for mosquitoes to be bad this time of the year, but bad is an understatement. For most of the summer we had dry weather and the mosquitoes we almost nonexistent. All they were waiting on was a little rain to hatch the eggs.
Mosquitoes are about as bad as I have seen them in a long time I was in the woods looking around this past week and if you stopped walking for any amount of time, you were covered. Do not expect them to get any better any time soon. In fact they will probably get worse before they get better, especially if we have any rain at all.
Not only are the mosquitoes annoying and pesky, but can be dangerous and even deadly. There are 13 different species of mosquitoes here in Texas: Aedes with its 3 subspecies, Anopheles with its 12 subspecies, Coquillettidia has only one subspecie, Culex has 18 subspecies, Culisetta with three , Deinocerites with two, Haemagogus with just one, Mansonia with two, Ochlerotatus has 25 subspecies, Orthopodomyi has three, Psorophora with 12, Toxorhynchit has one and Uranotaenia has three subspecies.
The mosquitoes are fairly harmless creatures as far as the insect goes. Its microscopic passengers are what pose the threat. Mosquitoes are known carriers of encephalitis, dengue, filariasis, yellow fever, and malaria. All of which can be deadly to humans. The disease-causing organisms are transferred to human host when the mosquitoes bite. Actually it is not a bite. The insect penetrates the skin and injects an enzyme that keeps the blood from clotting. It’s the bodies’ allergic reaction to that enzyme that causes the itch.
Mosquitos’ life cycle is a distinct four stage process. The eggs are laid in rafts or can be laid singly, usually in water. Some specie will lay their eggs out of water in areas that are subject to flooding or rising water. The eggs hatch in two to three days. The larvae require water to develop which takes four to ten days. The larvae then enter a pupa stage before hatching into more hungry adult mosquitoes.
Most everyone has been out cleaning up their yards and working on their houses after the storm so you know what I am talking about. Now that the archery deer season has opened, hunters are starting to get out in the woods hunting. Well if you are planning on getting out, be prepared.
There are several insect repellents on the market that will keep the mosquitoes at bay. However they do have their draw-backs. Most of the insect repellents have a strong odor that can be offensive. There are some odorless formulas that you can buy, but still are not completely odorless. Deer of course can easily smell even the unscented formulas. Mosquito proof clothing is an option but can be very inconvenient and does not offer 100 percent protection. I have switched to a device called a Thermacell. It works by using a small cylinder of propane that is slightly larger than a propane cigarette lighter. When lit, an insect repellent laced pad is heated and releases the repellent. The thermacell is small so it can be easily carried or transported. You can use it in the boat or on your back yard patio. It creates no noise and has very little smell. It does take about 10 to 15 minutes to work, but mosquitoes will completely vacate the area where the thermacell is in use. It’s great for hunters and can be used in your tree stand, box blind or even a ground blind. As I said it does have a smell as the pad heats up and the repellent is released but deer will not spook from the smell.
It is recommended by the manufacturer that the device be used in a ventilated are. They cost about $25.00 and you will need to buy replacement propane cartridges and repellent pads. The pads last about four hours and the propane will burn for about 12 hours. Thermacell is the best of the mosquito repelling devices I have seen come along in a long time. This time of the year I will not go to the woods without my thermacell.
It is not unusual for mosquitoes to be bad this time of the year, but bad is an understatement. For most of the summer we had dry weather and the mosquitoes we almost nonexistent. All they were waiting on was a little rain to hatch the eggs.
Mosquitoes are about as bad as I have seen them in a long time I was in the woods looking around this past week and if you stopped walking for any amount of time, you were covered. Do not expect them to get any better any time soon. In fact they will probably get worse before they get better, especially if we have any rain at all.
Not only are the mosquitoes annoying and pesky, but can be dangerous and even deadly. There are 13 different species of mosquitoes here in Texas: Aedes with its 3 subspecies, Anopheles with its 12 subspecies, Coquillettidia has only one subspecie, Culex has 18 subspecies, Culisetta with three , Deinocerites with two, Haemagogus with just one, Mansonia with two, Ochlerotatus has 25 subspecies, Orthopodomyi has three, Psorophora with 12, Toxorhynchit has one and Uranotaenia has three subspecies.
The mosquitoes are fairly harmless creatures as far as the insect goes. Its microscopic passengers are what pose the threat. Mosquitoes are known carriers of encephalitis, dengue, filariasis, yellow fever, and malaria. All of which can be deadly to humans. The disease-causing organisms are transferred to human host when the mosquitoes bite. Actually it is not a bite. The insect penetrates the skin and injects an enzyme that keeps the blood from clotting. It’s the bodies’ allergic reaction to that enzyme that causes the itch.
Mosquitos’ life cycle is a distinct four stage process. The eggs are laid in rafts or can be laid singly, usually in water. Some specie will lay their eggs out of water in areas that are subject to flooding or rising water. The eggs hatch in two to three days. The larvae require water to develop which takes four to ten days. The larvae then enter a pupa stage before hatching into more hungry adult mosquitoes.
Most everyone has been out cleaning up their yards and working on their houses after the storm so you know what I am talking about. Now that the archery deer season has opened, hunters are starting to get out in the woods hunting. Well if you are planning on getting out, be prepared.
There are several insect repellents on the market that will keep the mosquitoes at bay. However they do have their draw-backs. Most of the insect repellents have a strong odor that can be offensive. There are some odorless formulas that you can buy, but still are not completely odorless. Deer of course can easily smell even the unscented formulas. Mosquito proof clothing is an option but can be very inconvenient and does not offer 100 percent protection. I have switched to a device called a Thermacell. It works by using a small cylinder of propane that is slightly larger than a propane cigarette lighter. When lit, an insect repellent laced pad is heated and releases the repellent. The thermacell is small so it can be easily carried or transported. You can use it in the boat or on your back yard patio. It creates no noise and has very little smell. It does take about 10 to 15 minutes to work, but mosquitoes will completely vacate the area where the thermacell is in use. It’s great for hunters and can be used in your tree stand, box blind or even a ground blind. As I said it does have a smell as the pad heats up and the repellent is released but deer will not spook from the smell.
It is recommended by the manufacturer that the device be used in a ventilated are. They cost about $25.00 and you will need to buy replacement propane cartridges and repellent pads. The pads last about four hours and the propane will burn for about 12 hours. Thermacell is the best of the mosquito repelling devices I have seen come along in a long time. This time of the year I will not go to the woods without my thermacell.
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