Mosquitos!

mental07

<scratches> I've been getting eaten alive by a mosquito for the past few nights....but ha! I just killed it. <scratches> There better not be any more...the itchiness is intolerable

SimpleSam06

mental07 wrote:

<scratches> I've been getting eaten alive by a mosquito for the past few nights....but ha! I just killed it. <scratches> There better not be any more...the itchiness is intolerable

I thought I was going mad for a while there, I spotted some critters that look unmistakeably like mosquitoes going around, even down to the black and white stripes on the abdomen. Goddamn global warming!

By the way, don't scratch them, the itchiness is parasites trying to get into your system, if you scratch you'll make life easier for them. Best to cover the bites with a plaster, since the little bastards leave a pheromonal signature on the skin that attracts more skeeters.

/ missed a patch on his head once with the repellent cream
// got 15 bites on that small patch in one sitting

Zzippy

SimpleSam06 wrote:

By the way, don't scratch them, the itchiness is parasites trying to get into your system, if you scratch you'll make life easier for them.

Sorry, but that's BS. The itchiness is caused by the immune reaction to the bite - your body produces histamine, an inflammatory response to the bite, and that causes itchiness. Some mosquitos do carry a parasite - like malaria in tropical regions - but it enters your blodd when you're bitten, it doesn't try to get in through the skin when you scratch! :rolleyes:

mental07

SimpleSam06 wrote:

I thought I was going mad for a while there, I spotted some critters that look unmistakeably like mosquitoes going around, even down to the black and white stripes on the abdomen. Goddamn global warming!

By the way, don't scratch them, the itchiness is parasites trying to get into your system, if you scratch you'll make life easier for them. Best to cover the bites with a plaster, since the little bastards leave a pheromonal signature on the skin that attracts more skeeters.

/ missed a patch on his head once with the repellent cream
// got 15 bites on that small patch in one sitting

I'm not actually in Ireland, so yes, you're going mad It's IMPOSSIBLE not to scratch. I have 4 bites on one arm and 1 on the other. And one on my forehead. Attractive.

<scratches>

SimpleSam06

Galwayguy99 wrote:

Sorry, but that's BS. The itchiness is caused by the immune reaction to the bite - your body produces histamine, an inflammatory response to the bite, and that causes itchiness.

Well, half right.

The researchers infected mosquitoes with fluorescently tagged Plasmodium parasites, and then allowed the mosquitoes to bite a mouse.

From each mosquito bite, they found an average of 20 fluorescent parasites embedded in the animal's skin.

The parasites were found to move through the skin at high speed in a random, circuitous path.

After leaving the skin, the parasites frequently invaded blood vessels.

...

The researchers were also surprised to find that some of the parasites remained in the animals' skin for up to seven hours, raising the possibility that they might be responsible for a second wave of infection.

Professor Brian Greenwood, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, agreed that the study would help scientists better to understand the immune response to malaria.

He said it had previously been thought that infection levels at the time when a mosquito bites were too small to trigger an immune response, which only came once the parasites started multiplying in the liver.

Maybe someone should update the wikipedia article? In any case its a bad idea to scratch them.

mental07 wrote:

I'm not actually in Ireland, so yes, you're going mad

Dammit, not again!

Ghost Train

this is a good book on the mosquito

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mosquito-Story-Mans-Deadliest-Foe/dp/0571209858/ref=sr_1_5/202-7132212-9071823?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189714160&sr=1-5

Kintarō Hattori

I sympathise with you OP. When I was in Poland there a few weeks back it was impossible to sleep with the things. I was covered in bite marks for weeks and it was soooo damn itchy.

Tak3n

YEH!! And whats with the fu*kers biting me on my nob. Seriously i cant scratch without getting strange looks :mad: :mad:

Stark

SimpleSam06 wrote:

Dammit, not again!

There are mosquitoes in Ireland alright. There'll probably be a lot more of the buggers too with global warming. Up to now, very few of them made it through our cold winters long enough to complete their reproductive cycles.

m83

Damn mosquitos coming over here biting our women and taking our jabs.

Dennis the Stone

The little friggers are everywhere What do they want from me!! Sometimes they just make me cry

Wossack

came home from thailand this summer glad to be away from the biting buggers, but theyre over here now? how long has ireland had em? (or have we always? )

Black Swan

mental07 wrote:

<scratches> I've been getting eaten alive by a mosquito for the past few nights....but ha! I just killed it. <scratches> There better not be any more...the itchiness is intolerable

All all this time everyone thought someone was giving you hickies!

Th are worse than mexicans for taking your money.

Beruthiel

Stark wrote:

There are mosquitoes in Ireland alright.

Yup. They live in the woods behind my house.
I have 12 bites to prove it, which took a week to get rid of and itched like the bejaysus - my fella spends most nights killing the ones in the bedroom before we sleep.

_blank_

Beruthiel wrote:

my fella spends most nights killing the ones in the bedroom before we sleep.

Kinky.

tallus

m83 wrote:

Damn mosquitos coming over here biting our women and taking our jabs.

haha excellent

Plissken1

Killd about 50 in the house the other night.

Kintarō Hattori

Beruthiel wrote:

Yup. They live in the woods behind my house.
I have 12 bites to prove it, which took a week to get rid of and itched like the bejaysus - my fella spends most nights killing the ones in the bedroom before we sleep.

Pighead?

testicle

eo980 wrote:

I sympathise with you OP. When I was in Poland there a few weeks back it was impossible to sleep with the things. I was covered in bite marks for weeks and it was soooo damn itchy.

You're supposed to sleep with their women, not their mozzies!

Snake747

There is 20 species of mosquitos in Ireland

SimpleSam06

Snake747 wrote:

There is 20 species of mosquitos in Ireland

A big step towards removing mosquitoes is to remove all standing water in the area. Mosquitoes lay up to 250 eggs at a time in still water, which will hatch in 7 to 10 days. If standing water is eliminated weekly, many mosquitoes will be kept from breeding in the first place, eliminating the need to use pesticides against adult mosquitoes. This also reduces the number of mosquitoes around the house.

• Check for items that might hold water including wheelbarrows, tires, hubcaps, toys, garden equipment, pool covers, tarps, plastic sheeting, pipes, drains, boats, canoes, recycling bins and trash.
  
• Remove standing water in ponds, ditches, clogged rain gutters, flower pots, plant saucers, puddles, buckets, jars and cans.

I once knew a man who was so pissed that he got dengue fever from mosquitoes that he went around every puddle in the neighbourhood and poured motor oil over them.

Malteaser!

oh god i hate them so much, when i was in Greece at the start of the summer I had over 30 of them on my legs and then in France just last week, i was covered as well...3 on my face, 5 on my hand, countless ones on my back....Itchy like mad for ages and it's so hard to not scratch them!!

Kintarō Hattori

testicle wrote:

You're supposed to sleep with their women, not their mozzies!

Heh Heh that was actually funny............ but yeah I did manage that too!

wyk

We have mosquitoes wholesale here in Texas. If you think you have one in the house, run your bath, warmish, and leave the door open to it until it is about full. Go into the bath, close the door, and you and the Mosquito(es) will be there. They gather around warm water, and will do it nearly instantly. They will be on the walls, and also like to be near the mirrors as it looks like water to them. They also like to hide in dark and damp places. A trap I like to use is a black trashcan. They will hide and sleep in it during the day as it's dark and attracts them. When you arrive home from work, hit the can with bug spray, or carb cleaner. Carb cleaner is actually less toxic, cost less, and it kills them just as dead. Just don't do it while yer smoking. Unlike the big spray, carb cleaner will dissipate in air. I once killed nearly a dozen of them this way. So go then, and kill them all.


KILL THEM ALL!!!!

And don't forget to kill the mosquitoes, too.

Wez

Suaimhneach

Never had one, and they dont sound nice, hope I never do get one.

Kernunos

i always knew there were mosquitos in Ireland but my friends never believed me. THe fac that they lived at the 'bottom of my garden' did not help my case. Have not been bitten for a few years though.

Manic Moran

My greatest defense against mosquitos so far has been my sister. They all go after her and leave me alone.

That said, if I hear that god-awful whining noise, I'll turn on the light, and scour every square inch of the floor and ceiling on a seek-and-destroy mission. Even if it takes me a quarter-hour to do it.

NTM

Mr.Plough

used to be a few of them in the trees in my back garden. nightmare during the summer. got about 12 bites all on my back, which scar from scratching.


got one on my nob aswell, most enjoyable scratch ever.


lol scratchaments

jimbo007

killed almost 20 of them in my bedroom the other night.. they seem to be everywhere in limerick..

Mizu_Ger

Plissken1 wrote:

Killd about 50 in the house the other night.

I thought it was just my house that was full of them. I have stopped chasing them with a rolled up newspaper and now use the vacuum cleaner instead. Just suck the f'ers straight off the wall. No splat marks left behind and they don't get a change to fly away.

SimpleSam06 wrote:

A big step towards removing mosquitoes is to remove all standing water in the area.

I had a bucket in the back garden that was half full of rain water (used to use it to water the plants, I'm an amateur ecowarrior ) that was full of them. Have emptied it since.

Never been bitten by them over here, but I worked abroad for a few years where there were lots of them. Used to get bitten on my face at night and go into work with a big red mark on the side of my face. Looked a right spa!

Reku

mental07 wrote:

<scratches> I've been getting eaten alive by a mosquito for the past few nights....but ha! I just killed it. <scratches> There better not be any more...the itchiness is intolerable

It wouldn't have been the same one I'd imagine, they only use the blood to form eggs, it's the females wouldn't you know that are the little blood suckers!:p

Anyway, AFAIK there have been known to be mossies in St. Annes and Malahide during the summer for a few years now.