Mosquito Bites

A Guide To Mosquito Repellents, From DEET To ... Gin And Tonic?

People do the darnedest things in hopes of avoiding mosquito bites. They burn cow dung, coconut shells or coffee. They drink gin and tonic. They eat bananas. They spray themselves with mouthwash or slather themselves in clove/alcohol solution. And they rub themselves with Bounce.

How Mosquitoes Changed Everything

They slaughtered our ancestors and derailed our history. And they’re not finished with us yet.

How to keep mosquitoes away

Mosquitoes are small, but dangerous, and climate change is making the threat of mosquito-borne diseases far worse. Pretty much everyone wants to keep skeeters away, and with a bit of work, you can evict them from your lawn, your town, and almost anywhere else.

Mosquito: Know What The The Skeeter Syndrome Is All About

You can count on one hand the number of creatures that can evoke as much disdain as mosquitoes do. There are around 3,000 species of mosquitoes all throughout the world, and each one can spread more diseases than any other creature on the planet. Outdoors, they ruin picnics and barbeques just by their presence alone. Planning to hike in the woods? Carry with you everything you need to repel these mosquitoes or suffer ruin.

Mosquitoes might be humanity’s greatest foe. Should we get rid of them?

The deadliest killer in human history might not be guns or bombs, cancer or car accidents. It’s a pesky insect that most of us don’t think twice about: the mosquito.

Why mosquitoes bite some people more than others

Surprisingly few of the more than 3,000 mosquito species actually specialise in biting humans. Instead, most are opportunistic feeders – feeding when they are able and from lots of different sources. But Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae are well known for their preference for human blood and their role as vectors which transmit disease in humans. Ae. aegypti has been linked to zika and dengue, while An. gambiae carries the parasite which causes malaria. Not only do certain mosquito species show very strong preferences for obtaining their blood meals from humans, they also appear to discriminate between people when choosing their next meal.

EWG's Guide to Bug Repellents

Among the three repellent chemicals that are EWG’s top picks is DEET, which is widely used but much maligned. DEET's safety profile is better than many people assume. Its effectiveness at preventing bites is approached by only a few other repellent ingredients. DEET isn't a perfect choice nor the only choice. But weighed against the consequences of Zika disease and West Nile virus, we believe it is a reasonable one.

Here's how you can identify dangerous, virus-spreading mosquitoes

We couldn't possibly catalogue the thousands of species of mosquitoes. But here are six you need to know about - including one, Aedes vexans , that is extremely common, but (exhale!) mostly harmless and another ( Anopheles ) that is actually a genus (including hundreds of species)...

These 9 tips will help you avoid mosquito bites. They'll also ruin your day.

Sure, people might call you a weirdo — but if you want to get as few mosquito bites as humanly possible this summer, here's what you need to do.

All-Natural Homemade Bug Spray Recipes That Work!

There are now also some good natural insect repellent options available to purchase if you don’t have all of the ingredients on hand or want a simpler solution. Some of the ones that I have personally tried and liked are: •Yellow Bird Insect Repellent (natural and made in the US) •Babyganics natural insect repellent (listed as safe for use on children) •Herbal Armor (allergy tested)

Fighting the ‘Cockroach of Mosquitoes’

The Zika-carrying Aedes aegypti species bites by day and hides indoors by night, making it hard to eliminate.

Finding Smells That Repel

If you're one of those people whom mosquitoes tend to favor, maybe it's because you aren't sufficiently stressed-out. Insects have very keen powers of smell that direct them to their targets. But for researchers trying to figure out what attracts or repels the pests, sorting through the 300 to 400 distinct chemical odors that the human body produces has proved daunting.

How a Tiny Bacterium Called Wolbachia Could Defeat Dengue

Scientists are immunizing mosquitoes against disease with the help of a common microbe.

How to Fight Mosquitoes This Summer

Zika virus fears spread as companies fast-track repellents; families stock up on bug sprays.

How To Tell A Spider Bite Apart From A Mosquito Bite

When mosquitoes bite, they make one hole. Some saliva is injected, and then they drink up blood straight from the capillary. The bite can swell and itch, or not be noticed. Some mosquitoes spread rather dangerous diseases, like malaria or dengue fever. Spiders inject venom from one or two “fangs,” or chelicerae, though the two bitemarks (like a tiny vampire bite) will vanish.

Introducing the Debug Project

Mosquitoes kill more people than every other animal combined. The diseases they spread sicken hundreds of millions of people each year. Towards the end of 2014, some of us at Google started exploring what we could do to help solve the mosquito problem. Serendipitously, around that same time, Verily was founded (initially as Google Life Sciences) with the objective of solving hard problems in science and biology with the ultimate goal of preventing disease on a global scale. It was a perfect match.

Keeping Mosquitoes at Bay in the Age of Zika

The chemicals in most bug sprays—including DEET—are considered safe for pregnant women, as long as they're used as directed, in moderate concentrations.

Mosquito Myths

Several myths are debunked.

New Weapon to Fight Zika: The Mosquito

The biotech bugs could become one of the newest weapons in the perennial battle between humans and mosquitoes, which kill hundreds of thousands of people a year by transmitting malaria, dengue fever and other devastating diseases and have been called the deadliest animal in the world.

Prevent Mosquito Bites

Mosquito bites can be more than just annoying and itchy. They can make you really sick. Protect yourself and your family when traveling overseas. Using insect repellent is the best way to prevent diseases like Zika, dengue, and chikungunya that are spread by mosquitoes.

Take a Bite Out of Mosquito Stings

While mosquitoes can carry blood-borne diseases like malaria, West Nile encephalitis and dengue fever, it is the aggravating bite that gives them their notoriety.

Unseen Suburban Danger: Children Dying of Mosquito-Borne Diseases

I think of mosquito-borne infections in the United States – that is, primarily West Nile virus, and the much less well-known La Crosse virus and Eastern equine encephalitis virus – as a problem of adults. I had no clue they were so dangerous to children. (And if I didn't, most of you probably didn't either.)

Ways to Stop Mosquito Bites From Itching

Next time you become a mosquito’s target, look no further than your home for a natural remedy. Here are some surefire ways to stop the itching from mosquito bites...

What's The Best Way To Keep Mosquitoes From Biting?

Which repellents work best to stop mosquitoes from biting? "Picaridin is a little more effective than DEET and seems to keep mosquitoes at a greater distance,"...When people use DEET, mosquitoes may land on them but not bite. When they use a product containing picaridin, mosquitoes are less likely to even land.

Why Are Mosquitoes So Bloody Hard to Swat?

Mosquitoes fly at about two kilometers per hour (1.2 mph), which sounds slow, but at their size, it’s like you flying over 100 times that! They are going blindingly fast for something that small.

Why Don't We Just Kill All the Mosquitoes?

Answers to every possible mosquito question.

Why One Man Let Mosquitoes Bite Him 200 Times

Would you turn your skin into a parasite buffet for science?

These 7 things make mosquitoes bite you more

Does it seem like mosquitoes search you out specifically, maniacally biting you just to make you miserable? Blame your genes. And your smelly feet.

World Mosquito Program

The World Mosquito Program uses safe and natural bacteria called Wolbachia to prevent the transmission of mosquito-borne viral diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.

Debug

Bad mosquitoes spread disease. Good mosquitoes can stop them. Debug is a group of scientists and engineers developing technology to raise and release sterile mosquitoes to eliminate the ones that carry disease.

Mosquito Joe

The importance of mosquito control is often underestimated, but you should remember that these tiny insects are the deadliest animals in the world, carrying diseases that cause severe illness and death.

Mosquito Repellent Reviews

It should be noted that mosquito repellents do not protect every individual equally. The effectiveness of a repellent depends on many factors such mosquito species, gender, level of activity and attractiveness of the human using the repellent.

Mosquito World

Welcome to Mosquito world, a comprehensive mosquito control guide all about mosquitoes; what they are, how they feed, why they bite and most importantly, how to get rid of them.

Chikungunya

The multisyllabic chikungunya is the new kid on the arbovirus block, a promising member of a squad of up-and-coming arthropod-transmitted viruses that are gaining ever more attention thanks to climate change and globalization - Rebecca Kreston

Dengue Fever

There’s no risk of getting dengue from these lab-reared mosquitoes, but the bites itch just the same - Bill Gates

Malaria

Malaria kills and its main victims are children and women. We can stop this scourge so people can live with dignity and go to work and school - Youssou N'Dour

West Nile Virus

West Nile Virus is here to stay. It's not something to be afraid of, but something to be concerned with - Aaron Devencenzi

Yellow Fever

Nature had found the perfect place to hide the yellow fever virus. It seeded itself and grew in the blood, blooming yellow and running red - Molly Caldwell Crosby

Zika

Until very recently, almost no one had heard of the Zika virus. The few familiar with the mosquito-borne illness didn't think they had any reason to be concerned by it.

MayoClinic

If you tend to have large or severe reactions to mosquito bites (skeeter syndrome), consider taking a nondrowsy, nonprescription antihistamine when you know you'll be exposed to mosquitoes.