The Mosquito Handbook

by Brett Ortler

Overview

Keep Mosquitoes Away!

Everyone’s had a summer evening ruined by mosquitoes. Learn what really works to prevent that irritation. Fun and easy to read, this book by Brett Ortler contains everything you need to understand— and avoid—mosquitoes.

• A review of CDC-recommended repellents and products
• A rundown of junk products, superstitions and other “repellents” that don’t work
• A simple introduction to the science of mosquitoes
• A review of mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria and West Nile virus

Amazing mosquito-related facts: Did you know that the U.S. military issued mosquito-related propaganda during World War II? One of the artists they hired was none other than Dr. Seuss.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591934882
Publisher:	Adventure Publications, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/09/2014
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Brett Ortler is an editor at Adventure Publications. While at Adventure, he has edited dozens of books, including many field guides and nature-themed books. In addition to this book, he’s authored “The Firefly Book.” His own work appears widely, including in “Salon,” “Good Men Project,” “The Nervous Breakdown,” “Living Ready” and in a number of other venues in print and online. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and their young children.

Read an Excerpt

Get Rid of That Standing Water!

If you hate mosquitoes, make sure your yard isn’t inadvertently giving them a place to reproduce! While all mosquitoes require water to reproduce, they don’t need much, and they reproduce just as easily in the old tires in your backyard as in a seaside marsh. So the first step to fighting mosquitoes is to look around for places that can collect water—everything from the stagnant water in the birdbath to clogged-up gutters and the tarp covering the boat in the backyard. Dumping the water out will kill any larvae present, and removing the container will force female mosquitoes to look elsewhere to lay their eggs.

While you’re dumping out the water, fix your window screens. Even a small puncture is enough for mosquitoes to make their way into your home—and several disease-carrying species have no qualms about doing so. Repair kits are cheap and easy to apply, and can make a world of difference if you are in an area with a lot of mosquito activity.

If you have a birdbath, consider buying a “water wiggler.” These devices are cheap and agitate the water enough to prevent mosquitoes from laying their eggs there.

*****

Location, Location, Location—and Time

Like the DMV, political ads, and other less pleasant facts of life, mosquitoes are here to stay. Nonetheless, if you know something about their habitat and behavior, you can avoid the worst the swarms have to offer.

Mosquitoes can be found almost anywhere, but some areas are generally much worse than others. Ideal mosquito habitats include heavily wooded areas or areas with lots of vegetation, especially if they are near stagnant water. Examples include floodwater areas, tidal marshes and swamps. Mosquito species are also often active at specific times of day. While some species—including the Asian tiger mosquito—bite all day long, most mosquitoes rest in cool, shaded areas during the heat of the day and venture out in the afternoon, evening, and early morning.

These two tips are basically cumulative—if you avoid ideal mosquito habitat and are active when they usually aren’t, you’re far less likely to encounter them. On the other hand, if you decide to take a summertime after-dinner hike near a river, you might be running back to your car.

*****

Time for Payback

If you hate mosquitoes, you should book a ticket to Finland so you can visit tiny Pelkosenniemi, where the World Mosquito Killing Championship is held each year. The rules are simple: Whoever can kill the most mosquitoes in five minutes by hand wins. The current record holder is Henri Pellonpää, who killed 21 mosquitoes, eclipsing the previous record of 7.

Finland has a number of other strange world championships, including the wife-carrying championship, the mobile phone-throwing championship and an air guitar championship.

Table of Contents

Frequently Asked Questions 8

Introduction 10

The Basics 12

What Are Mosquitoes? 14

Mosquito Anatomy 16

Total Number of Mosquito Species Worldwide 17

Number of Species in the Continental United States 18

The Mosquitoes to Worry About: The "Flying Syringes" 20

What's in a Name? 22

Even Mosquito Researchers Get Annoyed at Mosquitoes 23

Four Phases of Life 24

Where Do Mosquitoes Lay Eggs? Pretty Much Everywhere 26

Floodwater Mosquitoes 26

Freshwater and Stagnant Water Mosquitoes 27

Eggs: Laid Alone or Together? 29

Waiting It Out: Dormancy 30

The Eggs Hatch and Larvae Emerge 31

Let's Go Snorkeling! 32

Pupation: Real-Life Transformers 3

Surprise, Adult Mosquitoes Are Vegetarians! 34

Mosquito Mating: Music (and Dancing) in the Swarm 3

Hibernation/Overwintering 37

Honing In 39

Heat, Humidity, Movement and Dark Clothing 40

On the Clock 41

It's Not Paranoia If Bloodsucking Insects Are Really After You 42

A Mix of Microbes 43

The Problem of Beer 44

Mosquito Immunity and Natural Repellents 45

"Stress" May Be Best 46

The Perfect Swarm 47

Warp Speed, Mr. Sulu! 48

Target Acquired: Pregnant Women 49

The Bite: What Happens When a Mosquito Finds You 51

How They Bite 53

Mosquitoes Have a Big Polity Lip, Really! 54

The Bite Itself is Actually Painless 55

Mosquitoes, Star Trek and Microneedles 56

Pumping Blood 57

Eating Overload 58

Population Density: How Many Mosquitoes Are There on an Average Night? 59

The Worst Party Ever: An (Involuntary) Blood Drive 60

Exsanguination: The Worst-Case Scenario 61

Pity the Caribou 62

Watch Out for Grandma Skeeter! 63

Once Bitten 64

Why Some Years Are Worse Than Others 65

The Genetics of Vulnerability to Mosquitoes 66

Mosquitoes as Disease Vectors: Flying Syringes 69

Malaria: A Deadly Package Delivered by a Mosquito 70

Attack of the Clones 72

A Terrible Toll 73

Humanity and Malaria: Familiar Foes 74

Evolution in Action: The Malaria Hypothesis 75

Quinine and Sweet Wormwood Save the Day 76

Efforts to Eradicate Malaria 77

Yellow Fever and Dengue Fever 78

West Nile Virus: New Kid on the Block 79

Mosquitoes and Encephalitis 80

Heartworm 81

Avoiding Mosquitoes Made Easy 83

Get Rid of That Standing Water! 84

Location, Location, Location-and Time 86

What's a Mosquito's Favorite Color? 87

DEET: The Gold Standard 88

General Tips for Using DEET 89

Pyrethrum, Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids: Chrysanthemums to the Rescue 90

Permethrin is for Use on Clothing, Not Skin 92

General Tips for Using Permethrin on Clothing 93

Using Other Types of Permethrin Insecticides 95

Picarldin: Another Product Inspired by a Natural Repellent 96

General Tips for Using Picaridin 97

Eucalyptus Isn't Just for Koalas: Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, a Natural Mosquito Repellent 98

General Tips for Using PMD and Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus 99

IR3535: A Clunky Name, but a Popular

Choice Across the Pond 100

General Tips for Using IR3535 101

What Doesn't Work: Superstitions, Mosquito Traps and Other Bogus "Cures" 102

Mosquito Control on the Home Front: Mosquito Dunks and Citronella 108

A Mosquito Miscellany: The Weird, the True, and the Funny of Mosquito Lore 110

Mosquitoes in War 112

Bugs in Battle: Entomological Warfare! 113

Time for Payback: The World Mosquito Killing Championship 114

Annoyance, Meet Terror: The Botfly 115

An Ongoing Science 116

New Approaches and Treatments 117

Invasive Species and Mosquitoes in a Warming World 118

Getting Involved 119

Identifying Aedes, Anopheles and Culex Mosquitoes 120

How to Identify Potential Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes 122

Identifying Eggs 122

Identifying Larvae 123

Identifying Adults 124

Table of Repellents/Insecticides 126

Recommended Resources/Reading 128

Bibliography 129

About the Author 142