I’m kinda over it. Normally they don’t bother me so much but this year there seem to be more mosquitoes than usual. Maybe I’m just in their hood more often these days. Either way, they bug me when I’m trying to sleep and they bug my clients when I’m leading a workout. Enough already you nasty buzzers!

Rather than sitting around itching I decided to look into mosquito matters a little. Here’s what I found beyond the usual; they carry disease, live in puddles, come out at dusk and dawn and suck your blood:

• There are 170 species of mosquito in North America. Each is very different from the other, and not one product/remedy will work on every species. Great!
• Mosquitoes don’t see very well, but they zoom in on you like a heat-seeking missile. Mosquitoes locate you by scent, and heat. From 100 feet away mosquitoes can smell your scent (some of them love sweat!), especially the carbon dioxide (CO2) you exhale. Interesting! Guess that’s why they find you faster when you’re working out. Ugh!
• Females live from 3-100 days, males 10-20 and they stay within one mile of their breeding sight. Only the females bite (suck your blood). Hum…
• Mosquitoes can breed in as little as a tablespoon of water. Damn!
• Apparently our only escape from the nasty buzzers is to stay away from even a drop of water and drown ourselves in insect repellent, natural or otherwise. Please don’t use smokers or sprays as those products kill other, beneficial critters as well as pollute the environment!

Since we’re talking mosquito the responsible thing would be to mention this:

Mosquitoes and West Nile – West Nile Virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and spread by migrating birds. Disease in humans is rare, but its consequences can be severe. If you develop an illness with high fever, headache, stiff neck, confusion, or muscle weakness, see your doctor immediately.

Anyway, I learned a few things in this research but mostly I feel better for having done more than just be bugged about the buzzing and biting. I’m not a fan of repellents so I’ll just have to keep my eyes open for the pests and squish ‘em when I can. If you’re interested, here’s a link to some natural repellant ideas, I’ve tried a few but so far no luck, other than my squishing method…good to know they don’t’ see well, maybe I can sneak up on ’em…