No doubt about it: Mosquitoes are probably the most annoying and most-hated species on the planet.
Their buzzing sound and the horrible bites that swell and itch are like a real plague for humans.
But why do their bites actually itch?
Why do they bite some people more frequently than others?
What is the best way to treat a mosquito bite?
And what would happen if we just killed all the mosquitoes in the world?
Why do mosquito bites itch?
Female mosquitoes suck blood because they're in need of a certain protein from the blood that produces eggs.
When they land on your skin, they first apply some saliva to the spot which temporarily numbs the skin so that you won't notice and interrupt the biting process.
The mosquito then drills certain parts of its proboscis (its mouth) into your skin - where it then looks for blood vessels.
When it has found one, it sucks out blood - and at the same time, injects some of his saliva into your body.
A mosquitoe's saliva is an anti-coagulant, which means that it stops the blood from clotting, so that the mosquito can keep drinking.
Our body reacts allergic to this.
Our immune system is being triggered, and Histamine is being sent to the area of the bite.
Histamine is what causes the inflammation, the swelling and the itchyness.
The purpose of histamine is to widen the capillaries so that more white blood cells can pass through and fight the invader, in this case the saliva.
With their saliva, mosquitos sadly often inject chemicals that cause diseases as well. The mosquito is actually the deadliest animal in the world, it's related to diseases like Malaria, the Zica Virus, Yellow Fever, West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever and many more.
Mosquitoes are the cause of over 100 Million deaths every year. (Only human deaths! Of course, animals get bitten and killed too!)
Why do they prefer certain people?
There are many different aspects to why mosquitoes favor biting certain people.
They all have to do with the smells we emit - if someone is an O-blood type, has a high body temperature, has high cholesterol levels, has been drinking beer or foods with certain fatty acids, they smel more delicious to a mosquito. Genetics can also be a factor.
But the most important reason that mosquitoes are attracted to us is that we exhale CO2.
And some people just naturally produce more CO2 than others - for many different reasons like obesity, genetics, etc.
How to treat a mosquito bite?
Well, the most important thing is that you DO NOT SCRATCH.
I know how hard it is, I know how tempting it is, but please do your best and avoid scratching as much as possible, because it will only make things worse. A lot worse.
Your body just wants to destroy the mosquito's saliva, but if you scratch the skin the area gets even more irritated, and your body reacts by sending even more histamine to the spot - which makes it swell and itch even more.
It's a vicious cycle.
So right after you notice the bite, you should wash the skin with antibacterial soap, which will reduce the chances of an infection.
After that, place an ice pack or a few ice cubes wrapped inside a cloth directly on the bite.
The cooling will relieve the itchiness, reduce the redness and the swelling as well.
After that, you can put on some cream or lotion that has been specifically designed for this purpose, or make your own by mixing 3/4 baking soda with 1/4 water and letting the paste dry on your skin.
If nothing else helps, you can also try some anti-histamine medication.
Why don't we just kill ALL the mosquitoes ?!
After all these negative effects, it seems like a pretty easy solution to get rid of mosquitoes all together.
But first of all, there are over 3,000 different kinds of mosquitoes - and only a few hundred of them even bite humans.
Also, mosquitos have been around for over 100 million years so much longer than humans - they hav survived some very hard times and wouldn't be that easy to killl. Additionally, effective pesticides like DDT have engative effects on plants, the planet, and everything falls back on us.
But what would happen in a scenario where we did kill them all?
This is where the opinions of many scientists differ.
Some say that it would actually be alright, because another species would simply take their palce in the ecosystem. (We just don't know if that other species would be better or worse for us than mosquitoes).
Others say that every animal plays an important role in the ecosystem, so removing them entirely could have a lot of negative effects.
Mosquitoes are a source of food for a lot of birds, fish, and even plants, so many animals would actually suffer from their extinction.
So currently, scientists are working on ways to kill only the species that carry deadly diseases like Malaria - or genetically modify them, so that they either can't carry the disease anymore, or die before they can infect humans with it.
In Conclusion, mosquitoes are not only annoying but also deadly. But unfortunately, they are also an important part of the ecosystem and we'll probably have to live with them and their painful bites for while longer!
© Sirwinchester
Is sad 😭
Because in Mexico even nice cities government can not control this and many people get sick... they need to prevent not to come when people are dying 😆
Good information to the read, the most interesting part was the question - what would happen if we finish all the mosquitoes'. No matter how small or insignificant something is but nature has place and need for everybody in this planet
Mosquito season is so bad right now I don't even dare venture outside in the evening, they just swarm me. I'm hoping they slow down soon with August approaching. This was a very informative article, thanks for sharing! Sometimes when the itch is so bad, putting a piece of tape over it seems to help. I'm not sure why
@sirwinchester what makes their bizzing sound?
... and I always thought that would be so called Homo sapiens. :)
Most organisms on earth have some utility. Even if they don't have an apparent utility, eliminating an animal from existence would wreak widespread disaster across many ecosystems. A reverse example is the introduction of just 6 wolves to Yellowstone Park in America which completely revitalized the entire ecosystem by putting predator prey systems in the proper balance.
Basically, if you remove one organism from an ecosystem, all the predator-prey systems are thrown off kilter and disaster can strike. Imagine a simple example: bunnies and wolves in an ecosystem. If there are no wolves, then the bunnies overpopulate the area which leads to too much grass being eaten, which leads to starvation for the bunnies. If there are too many wolves, they kill off all the bunnies, then starve. You need a proper balance between all organisms in the food chain.
I've sufficiently buried the lede, but my point is mosquitos have NO utility. They are a death scourge that only spreads disease. The most dangerous organism on the planet might be one of the only ones that we could safely eliminate without unintended consequences.
Nice Post on mosquitoes... Very helpful
Always seem like we have a few to many here in acapulco lol, Maybe we could afford to lose a few
Fuck mosquitos! They are mini vampires. Kill them all!
Mosquitoes flying over your ears at night is really very disturbing dear! I prefer they bite me and suck my blood rather than making that noise!
My only correction is to your title.
Humans are the deadliest animal.
Mosquitoes are just a disease carrying insect. (Currently, I have 15 bites - It's been very rainy here this year )
I agree, wholeheartedly. Humans take the number one spot, in that department. I ,also, wanted to argue that spiders are probably more hated lol
This is a very educative article.
Ick! I hate mosquitoes every time they bite me i swell up really bad and have to put lotion around the area. Good post, i learned a lot!
Hi @sirwinchester good article. I live in Thailand near the Burmese border and we have a lot of mosquitoes around here it is jungle and very humid. Few years ago i get the dengue fever for 15 days i cannot do nothing , walking 2 meters was like a day walk, very tired. The mosquito responsible for all those sickness is the Tiger Mosquito, he usually like to go out early morning 7 to 10 am and end of afternoon but don't go out at night. Every years we have a wave of epidemic during the first few month of the rainy season. There is 5 kind of dengue fever two can be deadly. It carry also malaria or yellow fever but the worst is the Japanese encephalitic very dangerous. When you get the dengue you are immunize for the kind you get but not the other. Love to all of you
Why government is not taking any action to kill mosquitoes?
They do it every years spraying some kind of smoke and put some chemical in the water but all those mosquitoes become more and more resistant to it. Also Tiger balm is a very good repelent
And! that's why i always run when i see one, but...someones will never understand smh
I hate the little buggers, but they are part of the life-cycle.
A god tip I could add here is use oatmeal directly on the bite. You can use your plain breakfast oatmeal. Oatmeal is renowned for its excellent anti-itching properties, so make a small paste using ground oatmeal and a little water. Apply to the bite area. Allow the paste to dry, then wash it off. Easy, cheap and very effective! Hope this helps ...
I hate mosquitos, their buzzing sound is irritating indeed.
A nice read... and when mosquitoes are around, I always make the dog go lay down away from me!! One dog breathes as much as 2 people!!!
Nice post. I just Followed you. Please follow me.
Copy and Pasting comments is generally frowned on.. Comments are considered posts, and Spamming is strongly discouraged.. A comment showing that you actually read the article/post will pay off better in the long run... Steemit is transparent; so anyone can go to your page and see that you've copy pasted that response, over, and over, and over again; you can probably see why people would find that disingenuous... For more information, see #steemcleaners ....
I'm guessing something bit you and you got inspired.
Very interesting information. Thank you for putting it all together
These little chicks drive me wild and not in a good way. We have a bunch in our back yard due to swaps and its hell during the summer time. They come out and spray to try and kill them but I swear they just keep coming back. Good tips though for trying to repel them but the biggest draw from what i hear is your C02 every time I see them around I hold my breath i'm not sure if that helps because I still end up getting bit!
I don't like insect :O
Whoa, I didn't know that!
I read sometimes that It might seem impossible that something so miniscule can kill so many people, but it's true. According to the World Health Organization, mosquito bites result in the deaths of more than 1 million people every year. The majority of these deaths are due to malaria. And are much more common to tropical areas.
I'm glad I live in Las Vegas, those are hard to find 😂
they are scum of the earth bastards and i hate mossies too
Mosquitoes are tiny little FUD creators, spreading FUD all around, killing the Crypto world!
I hate them so Much, they are savages
meep
Timely article as I sit here scratching mosquito bites! Thank you so much for including information about the ecosystem in which these nasty bugs play a part. Humans too often think of instant gratification at the expense of the delicate systems in which all plants and animals rely. Great article. Upoting!
"Mosquitoes are probably the most annoying and most-hated species on the planet"
If you take into perspective ALL other species on the planet, Humans are much more likely to be the "most hated and most annoying species on the planet". Just trying to be perfectly honest. Thanks for the scientific info - just wanted to point out the fact that from the perspective of all other animal classes, humans have done more damage than mosquitoes ever could.
Good post. I despise mosquitos and they love me too much!
wow cool and interesting info, I was thinking how Im lucky and less attractive to mosquitoes, makes sense now!
This is a very good and brilliant article. As someone from one of the west african countries, mosquitoes are the worst nightmare. And guess what, antimalarial drugs are expensive in my country, the odor of the drug makes me want to throw up. Someday, i believe mosquitoes will be our past history in my country.
Talk about an unavoidable Pest! Whats crazy is that we as people don't sort out the natural alternative. Instead creating the super bug from chemical exposure will be the end of it all. Great read Keep steemin!
They're awfully rampant in tropical countries like mine. :(
People should be very wary of them... Thanks for this valuable and informative post. :)
I should make a sign at my gym that says "If you stink you become more edible to mosquitos so Don't Stink!" Great post though very informative.
I used to work as a stevedore supervisor at Puerto Castilla, which is on the Caribbean coast of Honduras, there were literally millions of mosquitoes and sand flies there, you could feel the swarms of them as you walked. And I noticed that even though I was not completely free of them I was not as harrased as most other people, now I had malaria several times when I was in high school so I don't know if that made me a little immune to them, or maybe it is just the points you make above.
Sigh (scratch scratch scratch) - but it's just SO GOSH DARN tempting to think about getting RID OF ALL MOSQUITOES!!
OK OK - (sigh) - I guess that they serve as a good food source, although (grumble) - I seem to be the food source at the moment.... and I suppose they are pollinators...although (grumble)...I still prefer bees (and they're disappearing anyways!!) ...
Watch...that mosquito saliva will probably be the next best anti stroke medication that science finds...
I'm still itchy...
(scratch scratch scratch)...
I found this story very informational. I knew mosquitos were dangerous. Ididn't know about the saliva ,pretty nasty stuff!This is some info you never forget ,from here on. Through out the rest of my life I will remember that it's the saliva that our bodys react to ?Very interesting.
I've always been super curious why mosquito bites itch so much, I learned about histamine and allergic responses in anatomy so it makes a ton of sense now that I think about it.
Ohh.. I wanted to write something about mosquitoes. But you did first and i am late :(
Btw, it's informative.
Is there are any way to bite mosquitoes? :p So they could get the feeling and they may never bite us again.
I can't even golf because these nasty creatures
really good information...
Very useful and most interesting stuff especially given the summer season. Keep it up!
Very educative. I have often looked at mosquito as one of those very annoying insects closely followed by sunflies, really not knowing why they do bite much sometimes and other times in a room where everyone is complaining about been bitten, I feel no bite. Thanks alot @sirwinchester, your have expanded my intellectual horizon. Going through your post, I got an idea of a topic "the little things we don't know that really do matters"..i hope u get to read it.!.