Good news! Scientists are moving forward in the fight against mosquitoes and are coming up with new methods to combat them.
How to get rid of mosquitoes?
It doesn’t take long to convince anyone that mosquitoes are annoying. It is also certain that not all of us smell the same to mosquitoes, so some of us are “chosen” and bitten too. People have always faced mosquitoes, apart from choosing clothes with long sleeves and trousers, they most often rely on repellent herbs.
On the YouTube channel TOP things in 2 minutes, the author will tell you 5 tricks to get rid of mosquitoes.
Source: Youtube
Dangerous mosquitoes and pitfalls of repellents with DEET
Although mosquitoes are intrusive and bloodthirsty in our conditions, it is nothing against the sufferings of residents in exotic regions, where mosquitoes are not only carriers of malaria. You can get dengue fever from mosquitoes on a trip to Africa, Asia and South America, which is very debilitating and painful.
Mosquitoes can also infect you with the Zika virus, West Nile virus, chikungunya virus or yellow fever. In other parts of the world, there are mosquitoes carrying Japanese encephalitis, lymphatic filariasis and other viruses that you may never know firsthand.
Herbal preparations, which were also mentioned in the post, help to a certain extent in the fight against mosquitoes, but their duration is not eternal. Therefore, the application of sprays and tinctures must be repeated often to ensure sufficient protection against mosquitoes.
If you want to reach for effective industrial products, look for those that contain the substance DEET. DEET, or N, N-diethyltoluamide, is a repellent substance that has great repellent effects, but also certain disadvantages and risks. However, it must be added that DEET is not DDT, which is an insecticide and is now a banned substance in many countries around the world.
Regarding the disadvantages of DEET, excessive contact with the skin can be problematic. It is better to apply products with DEET to clothing. Redness and irritation of the skin is not rare, and in addition, with excessive use on large areas of the skin, especially in children, DEET can enter the bloodstream and have a toxic effect.
DEET applied in a spray is effective, but it makes breathing uncomfortable and leads to coughing. It is also problematic that it is not yet completely clear what effect DEET has on the body during long-term use.
Scientists have deployed bacteria against mosquitoes
There is no end to the search for ways to control mosquitoes or prevent them from transmitting diseases. However, scientists are looking at the problem from the forest and have now shed light not directly on mosquitoes but on the bacteria that live on our skin. These are specifically Staphylococcus epidermidis and Corynebacterium amycolatum, which produce a substance that attracts mosquitoes.
What would happen if scientists turned off this ability of theirs? Genetically engineered bacteria that no longer produce these substances appear to work as protection for about 11 days after application to the skin. This makes this product an incredibly long-acting repellant, even though it is not actually a repellant in the sense of the word. Mosquitoes simply stop smelling the owner of the skin on which the agent with genetically modified bacteria has been applied. So far, this method of mosquito defense has been shown to work about 60 percent when applied to mice.
If you were looking for a biologically safe way to eliminate mosquitoes in water tanks, for example in your garden, you can also use bacteria against mosquitoes in this case. It is specifically a species of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI), which produce toxins that are poisonous only to mosquito larvae and do not affect any other aquatic or terrestrial organisms.
Sources: stoplusjednicka.cz, medicalnewstoday.com
