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Maybe there is some truth to the fact mosquitoes can only thrive with access to still water? I once visited Indonesia and stayed at this place which was essent

Maybe there is some truth to the fact mosquitoes can only thrive with access to still water? I once visited Indonesia and stayed at this place which was essentially jungle. I thought I was going to get destroyed by mosquitoes and yes we did have nets etc, but I was surprised at the lack of mosquitoes when outside. I spoke with the owner who me that he doesn't worry much about mosquito born illness because he ensures there is no still water anywhere near his place. He said the most dangerous place for this type of thing was near small cities and towns because lots of dirty still water is present in gutters and pot holes etc. These places are breeding grounds for things like dengue fever according to the locals. I can't really verify how true this but anecdotally I had a similar experience when I lived in a city, we started to get a LOT of mosquitoes hanging around our yard during rainy season. I went outside and noticed that many peoples bike tarps had sagged and formed ponds which had tons of mosquitoes hanging around them. I remembered what I learned on my trip and cleared all the water away. I do think it helped. Definitely not trying to state this stuff as fact, just thought it would be interesting to share.

cguess 4y ago
Mosquitos lay eggs in standing water and one of the major mitigation techniques is removing puddles (old tires, canoes turns upright, etc). The CDC even recommends this for prevention of West Nile (a mosquito born illness) https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/prevention/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/prevention/index.html
its_bbq 4y ago
This is effective for mosquitoes for two reasons First, because they lay eggs in standing water. Second, because mosquitos are relatively weak flyers compared to other flies. They often only travel a few hundred yards from where they were born during their lifetime. So removing standing water is an excellent way to keep mosquitos at bay. If you can't, applying BTI spores to the standing water can target their larva.
- silisili 4y ago
  Reason 2 is also important. You can often avoid mosquitoes in any area if you're willing to deal with a few large fans.
irjustin 4y ago
This is all pretty much true. Currently in Singapore where the local government is quite strict on standing pools of water. Very on top of it with a reactive-proactive system. If there's a confirmed (1? 2?) case of dengue they will send officials door-to-door in a neighborhood to inspect the house/office for any standing pools of water. I've been inspected with some regularity. Government will also spray mosquito smoke to help control populations. Separately, Indo has trialed a releasing a bunch of genetically engineered mosquitoes[0] [0] https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/10/health/dengue-modified-mosquitoes-indonesia-intl/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/10/health/dengue-modified-mo...
- sejje 4y ago
  If you are "caught" with a standing pool of water, what is the recourse? They help you fix the problem? Or do you receive a punishment?
  - irjustin 4y ago
    not sure! i've never been caught with one and couldn't find any info on escalations. many public service things come with a warning then fine system (beginning of COVID, masks mandates were this), but no definite answer here.
  - Tuna-Fish 4y ago
    For the first such offense, you only get a warning. For repeat offenses, the fines and jail time ramp up fast, up to 3 months in prison for a single puddle found on your property.
- dav43 4y ago
  Counterpoint to - living in Singapore. I'm in Singapore in a conda/apartment block where we currently have an outbreak of Dengue (spelling?) fever - 4/6 infections. As much as there is legislation to say - empty your buckets - its pretty ineffective when condo/apartment owners are pretty useless, having been told there are pools of water on the roof of the apartments. They just move to twice a week fogging (spraying fog into the bushes - of which we have no clue what chemicals they are using - DDT anyone?). We haven't had any government officials come.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
chewz 4y ago
From my experience in Indonesia places with malaric mosquitoes are clearly marked and dealt with by local authorities.... Even on remote islands...
adrianN 4y ago
It's Up To You: Dengue-Yellow Fever Control https://archive.org/details/ItsUpToYouDengue-yellowFeverControl1945 https://archive.org/details/ItsUpToYouDengue-yellowFeverCont...
yakubin 4y ago
Speaking from my experience kayaking, mosquitos are a tiny bit more frequent close to water than say in the middle of a forest, but not much. The real multiplying factor are swampy terrains, particularly close to places like water locks[1]. I've been told that the reason mosquitos are in bigger numbers in those places is that this is where they lay their eggs. [1]: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_(water_navigation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_(water_navigation)>
jbotz 4y ago
It is certainly true that mosquitoes need still water to breed, their larvae being aquatic. Depending on the species, this can be anything from a pond to a tiny puddle or even a thimble-full of water in a bromeliad. The main requirement is that the water remain for about 5-7 days, the time it takes for the larvae to go from egg to mosquito, so in places where the water from a rainfall dries up faster than that you aren't going to get a lot of mosquitos. If there's no still water, some mosquitos will lay their eggs in (slowly) running water as well, but few of the larvae are likely to survive as running water is likely to have plenty of other life in it and pretty much everything else that moves in water loves to eat mosquito larvae. In order to keep the window of time that their larvae need to develop a small as possible, the females try to give their offspring a head start in the form of highly concentrated protein... the source for which is your blood! The only time they bite is when they're "pregnant" with eggs (so only the females), otherwise adult mosquitos feed mostly on nectar.
- Yajirobe 4y ago
  > running water is likely to have plenty of other life in it And still water isn't?
  - 411111111111111 4y ago
    He's taking about animal life, not bacterial. In Rivers there are likely fishes etc, that's not the case with still water, as it often goes bad really quickly unless there is a filter installed, which usually also introduces some oxygen into the water etc. Another reason why Mosquitos usually only use still water is that the surface tension is necessary for them to inject their eggs, and moving water doesn't support their weight
    - april_22 4y ago
      Do you know if there are some rules to how fast the water should be? I know in siberia there are some rivers with suuuper slow speed, you almost can't see that it moves. I know that there are myriads of mosquitos too. Would be interesting to know if there's a connection to water speed and the amount of mosquitos breeding.
wruza 4y ago
Last summer I put water into a basin (d~50cm) to create some humidity, which I believed was lacking in my room. The room is usually isolated from the outside and AC-ed due to the heat. Some day I noticed a mosquito and it successfully fed on my leg. Fast forward a week, I surprisingly started noticing more mosquitoes. That was unexpected because a couple may come in by chance, but something felt off to me then. In this semi-alarmed state I started to check around, when noticed the basin - it was full of t-shaped larvae, every few cm2 there was one. In disgust I washed it with best chemicals I had and never experimented with it again. Idk if these larvae actually produced new mosquitoes or if it was just a coincidence.
- cassepipe 4y ago
  There was no need to wash it with chemicals, the larvae would have just died after they went to your canalizations... Or just boiling water ? I am surprised by the amount of people who think everything needs to be sterilized. They will use bleach to "clean" every surface and do not seem to understand the basic of how soap works.... Grease --> Soap, Hot water Tart --> Boiling alcohol vinegar Everything else -> Water, the best solvant on earth.
  - wruza 4y ago
    Yes I know basic chemistry, soap would do just fine. But I was under the affect of having spawning pool in my command center :)
goda90 4y ago
And on top of the standing water factor, a city is less likely to have the mosquito's predators. I'm from Wisconsin which has plentiful mosquitos, but there's a state park that has had an abundance of bat houses for many years, and there's practically no mosquitos in the park.
refurb 4y ago
Standing water is required but not the only factor. In Vietnam there is plenty of standing water in the cities but malaria is almost non-existent. Go outside in the rural areas and malaria is more common. You not only need water but a reservoir of disease for the mosquitos to transmit.
aaron695 4y ago

cguess 4y ago

Mosquitos lay eggs in standing water and one of the major mitigation techniques is removing puddles (old tires, canoes turns upright, etc). The CDC even recommends this for prevention of West Nile (a mosquito born illness) https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/prevention/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/prevention/index.html

its_bbq 4y ago

This is effective for mosquitoes for two reasons First, because they lay eggs in standing water. Second, because mosquitos are relatively weak flyers compared to other flies. They often only travel a few hundred yards from where they were born during their lifetime. So removing standing water is an excellent way to keep mosquitos at bay. If you can't, applying BTI spores to the standing water can target their larva.

silisili 4y ago
Reason 2 is also important. You can often avoid mosquitoes in any area if you're willing to deal with a few large fans.

irjustin 4y ago

This is all pretty much true. Currently in Singapore where the local government is quite strict on standing pools of water. Very on top of it with a reactive-proactive system. If there's a confirmed (1? 2?) case of dengue they will send officials door-to-door in a neighborhood to inspect the house/office for any standing pools of water. I've been inspected with some regularity. Government will also spray mosquito smoke to help control populations. Separately, Indo has trialed a releasing a bunch of genetically engineered mosquitoes[0] [0] https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/10/health/dengue-modified-mosquitoes-indonesia-intl/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/10/health/dengue-modified-mo...

sejje 4y ago
If you are "caught" with a standing pool of water, what is the recourse? They help you fix the problem? Or do you receive a punishment?
- irjustin 4y ago
  not sure! i've never been caught with one and couldn't find any info on escalations. many public service things come with a warning then fine system (beginning of COVID, masks mandates were this), but no definite answer here.
- Tuna-Fish 4y ago
  For the first such offense, you only get a warning. For repeat offenses, the fines and jail time ramp up fast, up to 3 months in prison for a single puddle found on your property.
dav43 4y ago
Counterpoint to - living in Singapore. I'm in Singapore in a conda/apartment block where we currently have an outbreak of Dengue (spelling?) fever - 4/6 infections. As much as there is legislation to say - empty your buckets - its pretty ineffective when condo/apartment owners are pretty useless, having been told there are pools of water on the roof of the apartments. They just move to twice a week fogging (spraying fog into the bushes - of which we have no clue what chemicals they are using - DDT anyone?). We haven't had any government officials come.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

chewz 4y ago

From my experience in Indonesia places with malaric mosquitoes are clearly marked and dealt with by local authorities.... Even on remote islands...

adrianN 4y ago

It's Up To You: Dengue-Yellow Fever Control https://archive.org/details/ItsUpToYouDengue-yellowFeverControl1945 https://archive.org/details/ItsUpToYouDengue-yellowFeverCont...

yakubin 4y ago

Speaking from my experience kayaking, mosquitos are a tiny bit more frequent close to water than say in the middle of a forest, but not much. The real multiplying factor are swampy terrains, particularly close to places like water locks[1]. I've been told that the reason mosquitos are in bigger numbers in those places is that this is where they lay their eggs. [1]: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_(water_navigation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_(water_navigation)>

jbotz 4y ago

It is certainly true that mosquitoes need still water to breed, their larvae being aquatic. Depending on the species, this can be anything from a pond to a tiny puddle or even a thimble-full of water in a bromeliad. The main requirement is that the water remain for about 5-7 days, the time it takes for the larvae to go from egg to mosquito, so in places where the water from a rainfall dries up faster than that you aren't going to get a lot of mosquitos. If there's no still water, some mosquitos will lay their eggs in (slowly) running water as well, but few of the larvae are likely to survive as running water is likely to have plenty of other life in it and pretty much everything else that moves in water loves to eat mosquito larvae. In order to keep the window of time that their larvae need to develop a small as possible, the females try to give their offspring a head start in the form of highly concentrated protein... the source for which is your blood! The only time they bite is when they're "pregnant" with eggs (so only the females), otherwise adult mosquitos feed mostly on nectar.

Yajirobe 4y ago
> running water is likely to have plenty of other life in it And still water isn't?
- 411111111111111 4y ago
  He's taking about animal life, not bacterial. In Rivers there are likely fishes etc, that's not the case with still water, as it often goes bad really quickly unless there is a filter installed, which usually also introduces some oxygen into the water etc. Another reason why Mosquitos usually only use still water is that the surface tension is necessary for them to inject their eggs, and moving water doesn't support their weight
  - april_22 4y ago
    Do you know if there are some rules to how fast the water should be? I know in siberia there are some rivers with suuuper slow speed, you almost can't see that it moves. I know that there are myriads of mosquitos too. Would be interesting to know if there's a connection to water speed and the amount of mosquitos breeding.

wruza 4y ago

Last summer I put water into a basin (d~50cm) to create some humidity, which I believed was lacking in my room. The room is usually isolated from the outside and AC-ed due to the heat. Some day I noticed a mosquito and it successfully fed on my leg. Fast forward a week, I surprisingly started noticing more mosquitoes. That was unexpected because a couple may come in by chance, but something felt off to me then. In this semi-alarmed state I started to check around, when noticed the basin - it was full of t-shaped larvae, every few cm2 there was one. In disgust I washed it with best chemicals I had and never experimented with it again. Idk if these larvae actually produced new mosquitoes or if it was just a coincidence.

cassepipe 4y ago
There was no need to wash it with chemicals, the larvae would have just died after they went to your canalizations... Or just boiling water ? I am surprised by the amount of people who think everything needs to be sterilized. They will use bleach to "clean" every surface and do not seem to understand the basic of how soap works.... Grease --> Soap, Hot water Tart --> Boiling alcohol vinegar Everything else -> Water, the best solvant on earth.
- wruza 4y ago
  Yes I know basic chemistry, soap would do just fine. But I was under the affect of having spawning pool in my command center :)

goda90 4y ago

And on top of the standing water factor, a city is less likely to have the mosquito's predators. I'm from Wisconsin which has plentiful mosquitos, but there's a state park that has had an abundance of bat houses for many years, and there's practically no mosquitos in the park.

refurb 4y ago

Standing water is required but not the only factor. In Vietnam there is plenty of standing water in the cities but malaria is almost non-existent. Go outside in the rural areas and malaria is more common. You not only need water but a reservoir of disease for the mosquitos to transmit.

aaron695 4y ago