# Mosquitoes **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 24, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290 "2012-07-24T22:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/21 "2012-07-25T20:27:18Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > _It’s only a matter of time before the Man-Apes wipe them out,_ they ponder, as their turgid, blood-swollen bodies drink deep the crimson life of their mammalian host. > > _Then, we will… swarm._ Hell, I got my .410 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/22 "2012-07-25T20:34:34Z")
Me? I’d go for the napalm. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/23 "2012-07-25T20:37:01Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Me? I’d go for the napalm. There is a Burn Ban on. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/24 "2012-07-26T01:10:58Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > The niche of feeding on the blood of other species to breed? :dubious: > > I’m thinking that would take quite a long time to evolve. But there are at least 2 other species of flying bloodsucking insects. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/25 "2012-07-26T04:42:16Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > I wonder, if we manage to make mosquitoes extinct, won’t a new species fill the ecological niche? So there’s no point eliminating them? I’m allergic to mosquitoes but maybe not to the newcomers so I say torch 'em all. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/26 "2012-07-26T06:03:08Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > But there are at least 2 other species of flying bloodsucking insects. The Horse Fly, and the Attorney at Law? ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/27 "2012-07-26T12:45:23Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > The Horse Fly, and the Attorney at Law? Damn you! I wanted to make the lawyer joke! We have these little fuckers, and the three of us got chewed alive last night. _[Aedes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes)_ spp. I have no idea what specific species they were, but it doesn’t matter. They’re bloodsucking little fuckers who must be killed on sight. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/28 "2012-07-26T12:49:32Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > The Horse Fly, and the Attorney at Law? Politicians. From the Latin _poly,_ meaning many, and _tick_, blood sucking. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/29 "2012-07-26T14:04:25Z")
My girlfriend has a horrible problem with the mosquitoes in our area. We’ll go outside to do some gardening, she’ll douse herself with repellant, but still wind up with dozens of bites which cause a terrible reaction. Meanwhile, I’ll have none. After a couple of weeks of this, it occurred to me that I couldn’t recall getting a mosquito bite in several years. So I ran a test – I had a couple of neighbors over and we all stood around in the backyard. Everyone there was getting swarmed, but the mosquitoes wanted nothing to do with me. Thinking it might just be that everyone else was simply more delicious than I am, we had everyone go inside while I stood out there alone. In 10 minutes, I got one bite. I didn’t swat him away, letting him drink his fill, but never got a reaction from the bite. So, either mosquitoes have no interest in me, the bites I get don’t bother me, or both. Fine by me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/30 "2012-07-26T14:28:38Z")
I become bitten, but the itch and welt goes away in about 15 minutes. I’ve been exposed to them in a rural area for twenty years. Did you experience a high exposure to them in the past? Did you have welts as a child? ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/31 "2012-07-26T15:01:02Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > My girlfriend has a horrible problem with the mosquitoes in our area. We’ll go outside to do some gardening, she’ll douse herself with repellant, but still wind up with dozens of bites which cause a terrible reaction. Meanwhile, I’ll have none. > > After a couple of weeks of this, it occurred to me that I couldn’t recall getting a mosquito bite in several years. So I ran a test – I had a couple of neighbors over and we all stood around in the backyard. Everyone there was getting swarmed, but the mosquitoes wanted nothing to do with me. > > Thinking it might just be that everyone else was simply more delicious than I am, we had everyone go inside while I stood out there alone. In 10 minutes, I got one bite. I didn’t swat him away, letting him drink his fill, but never got a reaction from the bite. > > So, either mosquitoes have no interest in me, the bites I get don’t bother me, or both. Fine by me. Be careful. Not being attractive to mosquitos is one of the signs of testicular cancer. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/32 "2012-07-26T15:12:51Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > You are right to pit mosquitos. They are not just annoying – they are deadly. There was an article in the _[The New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/07/09/120709fa_fact_specter)_ a couple of weeks ago about the latest mosquito abatement techniques. (You need to subscribe to read the whole article, I think.) One sentence stood out for me: > > “Researchers estimate that mosquitos are responsible for half the deaths in human history.” Looks like I was onto something, calling them God’s Mistake. Why do they even exist? They should be extinguished from the face of the earth. Bats, birds, frogs, whatever the hell else eats them can just go eat gnats. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/33 "2012-07-26T15:21:08Z")
If it makes you guys feel better, I feed their larvae to my aquarium fish. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/34 "2012-07-26T18:38:48Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > My girlfriend has a horrible problem with the mosquitoes in our area. We’ll go outside to do some gardening, she’ll douse herself with repellant, but still wind up with dozens of bites which cause a terrible reaction. Meanwhile, I’ll have none. > > After a couple of weeks of this, it occurred to me that I couldn’t recall getting a mosquito bite in several years. So I ran a test – I had a couple of neighbors over and we all stood around in the backyard. Everyone there was getting swarmed, but the mosquitoes wanted nothing to do with me. > > Thinking it might just be that everyone else was simply more delicious than I am, we had everyone go inside while I stood out there alone. In 10 minutes, I got one bite. I didn’t swat him away, letting him drink his fill, but never got a reaction from the bite. > > So, either mosquitoes have no interest in me, the bites I get don’t bother me, or both. Fine by me. I hate you and your ilk! Seriously, if there are ANY mosquitoes around, I get eaten alive. Right now, I can count twenty bites on me. Huge welts. No one believes me that they are mosquito bites. Since I caught a couple in the act, I know they are. No one else in my family has any. Just me. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/35 "2012-07-26T20:00:25Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Politicians. > > From the Latin _poly,_ meaning many, and _tick_, blood sucking. Joke or not, I believe this is an accurate breakdown of the Latin derivatives. Even if it’s not, I don’t care; what could be more accurate? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/36 "2012-07-26T20:06:06Z")
> [@perfectparanoia](#): > > I hate you and your ilk! Seriously, if there are ANY mosquitoes around, I get eaten alive. > > Right now, I can count twenty bites on me. Huge welts. No one believes me that they are mosquito bites. Since I caught a couple in the act, I know they are. > > No one else in my family has any. Just me. For some reason, I find myself in **Hal’s** camp. Granted, I’ve never gone scientific with it, but it seems whenever we’re in a situation like camping, or a backyard BBQ, I have none to a couple bites, while my wife looks like a victim of smallpox. I must taste horrible. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/37 "2012-07-26T20:15:03Z")
Do do guys eat garlic? Cilantro? Chew betel? Smoke? Discharge firearms at regular intervals? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/38 "2012-07-26T21:01:24Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Do do guys eat garlic? Cilantro? Chew betel? Smoke? Discharge firearms at regular intervals? > 🙂 1. More like inhale it. 2. Fuck no, tastes like soap. 3. Tryin’ to quit. 4. Tryin’ to start. 5. Only my .410 and .30-06. Sometimes napalm when I’m feeling randy. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/39 "2012-07-26T21:10:39Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > 1. More like inhale it. > > 2. Fuck no, tastes like soap. > > 3. Tryin’ to quit. > > 4. Tryin’ to start. > > 5. Only my .410 and .30-06. Sometimes napalm when I’m feeling randy. There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Eat garlic and carry a .410 to blow the skeeters away. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290/40 "2012-07-26T21:19:17Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Sometimes napalm when I’m feeling randy. How does Randy feel about you playing with napalm and his privates at the same time? :dubious: I expect he’s too frightened to say anything [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosquitoes/629290.md?page=3)