MOSQUITOES

MOSQUITOES have been around for 30 million years; that gives us knowledge that for generations, our ancestors have been fighting off those 200 different species in America since they arrived on the shores of the USA.

Recently, Old Trunks noticed people walking at dawn with an over all garb which was basically netting to keep the pests off them. If you have ever attempting to launch a boat in the still of the early morning, you know the sound of the buzz in your ears. Shiver.

As a child growing up in northern Minnesota, entertainment was to run in the fog/fumes when the city sprayed. Following the Jeep with the fogger tank on it was the entertainment in the evening when there was no breeze. The person driving the vehicle never told us not to breathe the fumes; nor did our parents, if they knew.

Daddy would stand with his hands on his hips in the evening and his arms would be black with those blood sucking females. He never chased them off or swatted them. We talked about Mother and her 6-12 in the bus and all the fumes that came out of that aerosol can and the odor of the spray. On the farm, we moistened straw bales, covered them with manure and lit them, It was called a smudge, and the ponies would stand in the smoke to keep the mosquitoes off.

We know that people who perspire are bitten more frequently. We know the mosquitoes hone in on carbon dioxde released from the body. Perfumes and scented soaps appear to make one even a bigger target.

Some people reach to the bite and get huge welts from them. That is a simple local reaction. The little bloodsuckers also carry malaria, (tropical and subtropical), encephalitis and dengue, (tropical and subtropical). In the last years, West Nile Virus has been blamed on the skeeters, of which many generations are born each summer.

What do we do about it? The repellents list DEET as the product in lotions and sprays that will keep you from being bitten. Through proper use of DEET-based repellents, you and your loved ones can enjoy outdoor activities more comfortably. Perhaps more importantly, you’ll help reduce the risk of getting Lyme disease, West Nile virus and a host of other serious illnesses spread by these pests.

West Nile virus has caused at least a thousand deaths since its arrival in the U.S in 1999, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During that time nearly 28,000 cases of West Nile virus infection have been diagnosed, though most public health experts say many cases go unreported.

My children were denied the pleasure of running in the fumes of the DDT fog. AW SHUCKS!

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