# Should you slap a mosquito when it's feeding on you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 11, 2001, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053 "2001-07-11T06:59:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Major\_Feelgud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Major\_Feelgud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Feelgud)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/1 "2001-07-11T06:59:56Z")
If you’re that quick and you kill the mosquito while it’s probiscus is still in you, would it cause a problem? Anyone had an infection from it? As an aside, what do vegans think about this? I know vegans won’t eat a mosquito but would they kill one? ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/2 "2001-07-11T07:08:26Z")
yes, slap the little mother. I’ve killed them numerous times while they were feeding on me, and never had a problem. Their proboscis is very thin; like a hair. Even if it broke off inside you, you a) wouldn’t know the difference and b) your body would get rid of it pretty fast. I know a guy who had a big wood splinter stuck in his back where he couldn’t get at it. After a couple weeks the body started pushing it out, and he was able to get a hold of it and simply pull it out. Besides, you wouldn’t want that mosquito to go lay eggs with your blood would you?, or maybe go bite someone else too? I don’t know about vegans, but I beleive proper Buddists won’t kill biting insects, just brush them away. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/3 "2001-07-11T07:13:32Z")
Fuck whatever the vegans think–if I find a bug drinking my blood without my permission (and possible transmitting disease), I’m going to smack it. If I see it biting me and it has a disease it might transfer, I say stop the potential transfer in it’s tracks. What good would it do letting it finish it’s business? Anticoagulants and all? ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/4 "2001-07-11T07:26:34Z")
I don’t care…I’m smackin’ the hell out o’ that little sumbitch…and leavin’ its crumpled, twisted body on my arm as a warning to all them _other_ blood-suckin’ critters out there, too. ---
**Author:** ![Stellablue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@Stellablue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stellablue)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/5 "2001-07-11T07:30:07Z")
Mikee, I have even heard a Buddhist monk say that the little bug needs to live as well. He suggests a bit of prevention rather than killing. So maybe we can spray our arms and legs and let the little buggers live. ---
**Author:** ![Major\_Feelgud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Major\_Feelgud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Feelgud)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/6 "2001-07-11T09:35:06Z")
OK, so far we have 3 dopers walking around with broken off probosci in their arms vs. 0 waving them off. We live in a violent society. ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/7 "2001-07-11T09:45:26Z")
Of course, you could also try and make them [explode](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_206.html). ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/8 "2001-07-11T17:23:02Z")
**Cabbage** said: > [@](#): > > Of course, you could also try and make them explode. A friend of my husband’s used to do this. Ick, ick, ick. Just swat 'em and get it over with. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/9 "2001-07-11T17:56:18Z")
Kill the bastards! I’m not vegan, but vegetarian, and I have no problem slapping them flat. As a matter of fact if I’m outside and see one in my vicinity, circling near me, I’ll chase 'em down and try to kill them in mid-air, or where they lie. Get them before they get you!!! I’ve got a bite on my ear right now and it’s driving me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/10 "2001-07-11T18:10:08Z")
The thing I want to know is by slapping it - is there a chance of forcing bug guts and germs back through that feeding tube into my arm. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/11 "2001-07-11T18:24:58Z")
Anyone who does not kill a mosquito that is full oof blood, when they have a chance is an idiot. The blood is for breeding purposes. Remember, you aren’t just killing one mosquito, your killing all the millions of mosquitos that would have been its decendants. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/12 "2001-07-11T22:24:40Z")
Well, no, aside from everyone’s passion at this point in the summer, I’m still interested in a biologist’s or epidemiologist’s take on this. Say the bug is carrying malaria-- is it better to shoo it off and kill it in the air, or to smash it while it is still attached and the bloodflow could potentially reverse momentarily, so he’s not sucking but injecting-- might there be a higher risk factor? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/13 "2001-07-11T23:00:34Z")
Yes, kill the little !@#$%. I read somewhere that a female mosquito that eats nothing but plant nectar will lay 3 or 4 eggs, while a female mosquito that slurps down one helping of blood will lay 1000 or more. It is therefore your _duty_ to end its life ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/14 "2001-07-11T23:27:01Z")
Of course kill it if you have the chance. It’s trying to \* eat\* you! It has no idea that we don’t die when it sucks out our blood, nor does it care. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with killing something that tries to make a meal out of you. If cows had guns… ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/15 "2001-07-11T23:38:53Z")
When a mosquito bites, it injects anticoagulants and other things plus the bug-spit that it’s in. That is how it keeps the blood flowing and hopefully you from noticing. Once it’s proboscis is in you, so are it’s germs… so you don’t save yourself anything by waiting. Their proboscis is so thin and frail that I don’t think it would be strong enough to hold together under the comparitivly huge pressure of all it’s guts trying to flow back out, if that’s even what happens in the split second it takes to flatten them. Besides, I often miss killing a mosquito after it’s airborn - they don’t exactly hang around for pictures once they’re done. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/16 "2001-07-12T01:50:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by capybara \* > \*\*Say the bug is carrying malaria-- is it better to shoo it off and kill it in the air, or to smash it while it is still attached and the bloodflow could potentially reverse momentarily, so he’s not sucking but injecting-- might there be a higher risk factor? \*\* I don’t know for sure, but I doubt it. I would guess that once you have been bit that the damage has already been done. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/17 "2001-07-12T02:45:08Z")
\ Hey, Mike said something interesting, that the anticoagulents are supposed to keep you from noticing. I’ve heard it’s supposed to work that way too. However, I feel it the **second** they bite me, am I overly sensitive, or do most people feel pain, like a needle prick almost, from them feeding on them? I have a worse reaction that usual to the bites- excessive swelling- so I wouldn’t be surpised if others don’t feel it instantly… \ ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/18 "2001-07-12T04:55:00Z")
Well I didn’t really mean that the anticoagulants per say prevent you from noticing - they stop the blood from clotting so the mosquito can continue to draw blood. I beleive some snake venom has a similar property… blood thinning, so the area will continue to circulate (or loose) blood freely, helping the poison get around the circulatory system. I think mosquitoes also inject a bit of pain-killer or something, but I wasn’t sure on the exact composition of their spit so I just lumped them all together. I too can feel mosquitoes biting… sometimes. If I watch one land on me, feel around with it’s little drinking straw, then start drilling, it’s very noticable. I always seem to end up with a couple mosquito bites that I never knew were there until long after the fact though. The ingredients in mosquito spit that make their vile activities less noticable seem to work best when you don’t realize they are there in the first place, and are not on guard with the “slap of death” waiting. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/19 "2001-07-12T21:33:17Z")
I’ve heard people say they don’t feel anything when bitten and only know they were by the mark.\ ---
**Author:** ![kymri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6bbea6/32.png) [@kymri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kymri)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053/20 "2001-07-12T22:43:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*\*\ > …am I overly sensitive, or do most people feel pain, like a needle prick almost, from them feeding on them? I have a worse reaction that usual to the bites- excessive swelling- so I wouldn’t be surpised if others don’t feel it instantly… > \ \*\* I usually feel it when an insect bites me, but I have virtually no reaction at all. I could probably count the number of itchy bites I’ve had for the past ten years without having to resort to my toes. As a little kid, they affected me, but not anymore. I’m not sure why. A bit off the subject, but kinda’ related, I got poison oak once, and now I’m pretty much immune. I’ve romped through the stuff many, many times and never get an itch. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-slap-a-mosquito-when-its-feeding-on-you/72053.md?page=2)