Science Forums 2

[Michaelangelica]

DDT use in malaria campaign requires extreme caution

2008-08-24 10:06:00
By Theonestina Kaiza-Boshe

Malaria, being a number one killer disease in Tanzania, is one disease that any Tanzanian would wish the Government to accord the highest priority in fighting.

DDT use in malaria campaign requires extreme caution
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Mosquitoes stay away from DEET because they hate the smell!
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=40868
According to scientists in the U.S. the reason why the insect repellent DEET works so well is because mosquitoes don't like the smell.
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=40868

9. Placing a dryer sheet in your pocket will keep the mosquitoes away.

My Good Cents Blog Archive Did You Know?
What's a dryer sheet?

But did you know you can rub the powder found on the bark of a Quaking Aspen tree on your skin and it works as mosquito repellent. You see, mosquito repellent actually works not because the mosquitoes are driven away by the offensive smell, but because there are chemical compounds whose odour blocks the mosquito's sensory receptors effectively hiding us.
So, you can be invisible to mosquitoes by buying mosquito repellent with "DEET," an organic hydrocarbon molecule, or use the powder from the bark of your Quaking Aspen tree, an organic molecule from a whole 'nuther source.

Multi-Use Plants and Shrubs

What are mosquitoes good for?
by Kelly A. Mello
Believe it or not, mosquitoes are good for more than just buzzing in your ear and giving you that itchy bump. As with all living creatures, they are a part of "the circle of life".

You see, fish eat mosquitoes when they are larvae, and birds and bats eat them when they are adult insects.
Various other carnivores eat those animals, which we, in turn, eat.
If mosquitoes were to be eradicated, this would throw the whole system out of order, just as if you were to do this with any living organism.

Additionally, mosquitoes are pollinators.
Since the diet of mosquitoes is composed of plant nectar, they help plant life grow. You can use this to your advantage.
If you live in a highly populated mosquito area, plant some flowers in your yard to attract them to the pollen, rather than your arms, legs and other delicacies.

Unfortunately, there are no more reasons that I can think of as to how mosquitoes are good.
Honestly, at first glance, I write them off as one of Earth's greatest pests. However, the benefits of them that I have given should not be taken lightly.
If you take mosquitoes out of the picture, you might as well take yourself out too.
So before you raise your hand in the slapping position, pay a tribute to the almighty pollinator and fish/bird/bat food.

What are mosquitoes good for? - by Kelly A. Mello - Helium

Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Mosquitos, What Good Are They Anyway?

NPR's Krulwich on Science discusses the positive marks of mosquitos with David Quammen this morning. Here is my favorite reason, go to the link above for more:

"Knowing, as we all do, that humans for eons have been moving into forests and plains and shores and river valleys and hills, pushing animals, vegetables and minerals around in their very human way, destroying more and more life forms, and knowing, as we also do, that we are down to precious few places on Earth where there is still a rich diversity of species, have you ever wondered why, even into the 21st century, there are still large tracts of equatorial rainforest that have somehow survived human exploitation?

Who or what has defended those last outposts of ferns, butterflies, beetles and ants from humankind?

Quammen says while there may be many explanations, certainly the lady mosquito deserves credit. Every time human settlers stepped into those areas in serious numbers, they got bit, then they got sick, and then, until very recently, most of them backed off.

So all you biophiliacs, tree huggers, Green Party members: If greens everywhere wanted to say thank you to one creature, one fierce defender of ecological diversity who's been willing to bite to defend her turf, they should, says Quammen, say "thanks to 10 million generations of jungle-loving, disease-bearing, blood-sucking insects" — and especially, of course, to the lady mosquito, "nature's Viet Cong."

http://other95.blogspot.com/2008/07/...ey-anyway.html

What Good Do Mosquitoes Do?

Mosquitoes are not all pests. There are many mosquitoes that rarely bite humans or only ever occur in very small numbers. Mosquitoes provide food for birds, bats, frogs, fish and other insects. Some mosquitoes may also help pollinate plants.

http://www1.hnehealth.nsw.gov.au/hne...sLifecycle.htm