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Toxorhynchites – Mosquito Eater
- anonytrary 7y agoMissed opportunity: "mosquiters", although that also sounds like a cutesy way to say "mosquito".
- taneq 7y agoMosqueaters?
- thaumasiotes 7y agoIt's too close to "skeeters" to be interpreted any other way.
- test1235 7y agoskeeter-eater
- wrong_variable 7y agoSo all the money spent on mosquite coil, net , aerosol, skin cream ( while harming your own body ) was worth for nothing ? Nature had a better solution all along. If we lived in forests mosquitoes won't be a problem, well at least all those activities increased GDP.
- spiderfarmer 7y agoThe ignorance in comments like these is bugging (yes) me. If you truly believe nature itself is perfect and human inventions are stupid, leave the comfort of your home / office and try to survive buttnaked in the jungle, all by yourself.
- j7ake 7y agoPeople who think nature is all beautiful and perfect and benevolent ironically are the same people who have never tried to survive in the harsh wilderness.
- hutzlibu 7y agoOh, I do believe nature is all beautiful and perfect and I did survive some very harsh wilderness. I just never believed it is allways nice to be, if I am unprepared ..
- iamnotacrook 7y agoIf you lived in the forests of, say, Thailand there's a good chance you'd die from Dengue Fever or Malaria. Good ol' nature, looking out for the humans.
- ceejayoz 7y ago> Nature had a better solution all along. No, not really. That these eat mosquitoes makes it clear that they don't wipe out mosquitoes, or they'd have died out for lack of food. They may keep populations down to some extent, but any predator that wipes out its prey winds up dead quickly.
- lupinglade 7y agoLive in a forest? Probably even more mosquitoes.
- vbod 7y agoThe biology of Toxorhynchites mosquitoes and their potential as biocontrol agents http://www.cabi.org/bni/FullTextPDF/2000/20003030873.pdf http://www.cabi.org/bni/FullTextPDF/2000/20003030873.pdf
- RenRav 7y agoDragonflies are another great bug. They feed on mosquito larva during their own larval stage, and as adults they chase down adult mosquitos.
- chrischen 7y agoAre these effective to have in your room to hunt down mosquitoes?
- praptak 7y agoI'm afraid they would not stay in your room.
- smonff 7y agoYou can have geckos. They are quite effective and don't care of human presence. They just stay on the wall or on their branch.
- RomanBob 7y agothey poop all over your wall though
- pvaldes 7y agoWill not remain in place unless there is a small pond in the room. Spiders are much better for this purpose.
- egypturnash 7y agoI grew up in an area full of dragonflies and have never seen one indoors.
- jokoon 7y agoOh, I thought mosquitoes had no predators.
- jacobush 7y agoBirds?
- mark-r 7y agoWhen I was a kid, it was believed that Purple Martins ate lots of mosquitoes. People would build big houses for them to encourage the population. Later it came out that Purple Martins much preferred dragonflies, which are a more effective mosquito eater.
- m-i-l 7y agoBats eat mosquitoes: https://www.mosquito.org/page/faq#Do%20bats%20serve%20as%20an%20effective%20mosquito%20control https://www.mosquito.org/page/faq#Do%20bats%20serve%20as%20a...?
- hutzlibu 7y agoSo many mosquitos around and no one wants to eat them? That would be a strange evolution twist ... So, there are birds, bats, fish, spiders, lizards, geckos, other bugs, ...
- kouh 7y agoSpiders are also useful. My exgf lived in a farm and had dozens of harmless spiders in the ceiling of her bedroom that ate all mosquitoes. It nuanced my view on spiders.
- namanyayg 7y agoSo there were spiderwebs on the bedroom ceiling? I let spiders be in my bathroom but I can't stand the sight of their webs in my bedroom. Was that not a problem for her or you?
- kouh 7y agoThere were a few webs in the corners, but she didn't view it as a sign of dirty old carelessness like I was taught to through cartoons as a kid
- hutzlibu 7y agoI guess she still cleans them from time to time. I do, and they just make new webs. Only very old webs are ... dirty.
- mc32 7y agoYeah I thought spider webs only lasted a few days before they had to be torn down and rebuilt (because dusty webs aren’t effective nets)?
- hutzlibu 7y agoYes, I believe the spiders even eat their own webs and then produce new ones. But there always remain parts amd spiders die, change place etc. So old ones still remain.
- nikolay 7y agoI never kill spiders at home - they are our pets. My kids are no longer afraid of most bugs now as a bonus.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- velox_io 7y agoI recently found out that Bedbugs are still a thing (I thought they were largely eradicated). I also found out that I'm allergic to them, and While a mosquito will bite once of twice (until it finds blood), these guys leave a line of bites as they move around sampling your blood (my back, neck, and shoulders were covered in welts). I generally avoid killing/ removing spiders (they also prey on moths, keeping clothes etc hole-free), wasps too to an extent (but they are still largely a pest). The Bedbugs were quite easily eradicated with insecticide around and under the bed, but that's last a resort as it is toxic to virtually everything (including pets and humans), something I don't doubt as the smell is more irritating than Ammonia. I'd much rather use natural remedies (especially when you don't have to do anything), than strong chemicals that we don't truly understand the effects on the environment or the food chain.
- jbattle 7y agohttp://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html Diatomaceous Earth is a dusty substance made from the shells of tiny sea creatures. The shells are so tiny (and then ground finer) they wedge into the exoskeletons of insects and eventually kill the bbugs. But it's pretty safe for larger animals and safe for home use
- chrisweekly 7y agoDE is also used for swimming pool filters.
- DanielShaffen 7y agoOnly on this site would some bubble boy think bedbugs aren't a thing anymore.
- leetbulb 7y agoI HATE using chemicals around my home. Sometimes it makes sense, but I avoid it anytime I can. Some chemicals can linger for a very long time e.g. insecticides. I've found that using a steamer is an excellent way to kill / clean / sanitize just about anything. I haven't had to deal with bed bugs specifically, but I've read that using a steamer or clothing iron (best with steam) will effectively kill them. You can steam most carpets, floors, beds, etc. I live in a very humid area and bugs are a huge issue during the summer. I've sprayed the inner frame of one problematic window with insecticide (deltamethrin - lasts months), steam just about everything in my home every week or two, and regularly run all blankets and upholstery through my dryer's "sanitize" cycle (steam + 165F air). There's an occasional spider, but rarely see anything else... no mites, nothing. Of course there are plenty of things I don't see, but I do my best to keep it all at bay.
- known 7y agoScent of Chicken can drive away Mosquitoes https://archive.fo/IJm4Y https://archive.fo/IJm4Y