Mosquito Problems

This Zika virus problem reminds me of an event in the past.  In 1999, I was suddenly getting bitten by mosquitoes in the daytime.  I managed to hit one of the little blood-suckers against my arm with a cupped hand.  It was completely dead and completely intact.  The air pressure killed it.

It didn't look familiar when I looked at it under a magnifying glass, so I did an internet search.  It was an Asian Tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), only known as far north as North Carolina at the time (I'm in Maryland, 2 states north of there).  I put it in a small plastic container and set it in the refrigerator.  Then I called around looking for anyone who might be interested.

The University of Maryland Entomology offices weren't interested.  The Washington Post newspaper was not interested.  I should have called the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, but I didn't think of them at the time.  After a few months, I tossed it away.  After all, there were plenty of others around.

Then 2 years later, I read an article in The Washington Post about how Asian Tiger mosquitoes had arrived in our area.  Gee, I tried to tell them that 2 years before!  I keep wondering if it would have helped if they had listened to me then.

I have a mosquito-unfriendly yard.  I have some standing water (a 5' pond and a tub used for cleaning garden tools).  But I put Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) dunks in them that kill mosquito larvae.  I even have trap pots of Bt water around the yard.  But they are still here.  They don't travel more than a 100 yards, but I suppose my neighbors are less careful than I am.

My point is that that another mosquito (Aedes aegypti) is the most common carrier of Zika virus, but  is climate-restricted to the very far southern US.  Asian Tiger mosquitoes, however, have also been found now to carry it.  Asian Tiger mosquitoes survive as far north as New England.

And the June 2016 issue of Smithsonian magazine has a cover article about how we can kill off mosquitoes using genetics.  The method seems convincing, effective, and relatively straight-forward.

Yet there are people in the article who question the morality of deliberately causing the extinction of mosquitoes.  REALLY?  We are killing off much more advanced animal species almost daily and they are worried about MOSQUITOES?

Sharks kill about 6 people per year, scorpions 3,250, snakes 100,000, and mosquitoes 725,000.  725,000!  Most mosquitoes don't transmit diseases.  KILL ALL THE DISEASE-CARRYING MOSQUITOES!!!

Sign me up to "push the button", "throw the switch", "give the order", whatever!  I'll accept the ethical blame...  With peace in my heart...