Article: Are we getting more mosquitos in the UK?
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Interesting slant on things. It seems to be similar to whats going on over here. I've spent this summer working in Iceland and have been surprised at the number of flying insects I've found - or rather, that have found me! Not mossies or biting per se, but something a little bigger and lazier than midges and every bit as annoying - not quite sure just what they are truth be told.
Anyway, I was surprised they could survive the winter here, and even this summer with it's late onset and a chilly start seems to not have deterred them. Speaking to the GF it seems this wasn't usual even a few years ago but now they are noting more and more insects and some different species too. Perhaps changing temperatures are allowing them to spread northwards and in another 10 or 20 years the mossies in the article will be here as well!
Another thing I noticed too was that these bugs are v common in coastal areas and around rivers, the water doesn't have to be stagnant for them. Although, maybe these are not dependent on the water at all and are just attracted to the rotting seaweed that gets washed ashore here?
And, what's the fogging method, a pesticide?
Cheers
Beardy
Anyway, I was surprised they could survive the winter here, and even this summer with it's late onset and a chilly start seems to not have deterred them. Speaking to the GF it seems this wasn't usual even a few years ago but now they are noting more and more insects and some different species too. Perhaps changing temperatures are allowing them to spread northwards and in another 10 or 20 years the mossies in the article will be here as well!
Another thing I noticed too was that these bugs are v common in coastal areas and around rivers, the water doesn't have to be stagnant for them. Although, maybe these are not dependent on the water at all and are just attracted to the rotting seaweed that gets washed ashore here?
And, what's the fogging method, a pesticide?
Cheers
Beardy
BOD
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Not having a go at Switzerland. I have been researching dengue and the extended range for A. albopictus includes alpine switzerland according to some reports.
Yes. Not sure just what though. The county's fogger trucks spray from the road near residential areas on a regular basis. When I was a kid it used to be done by crop duster aircraft. But now that I think about it, I believe the aircraft were targeting fire ants.
Tthe number of diseases carried by mosquitoes continues to rise. Last time I went to get my jabs updated from a topical disease centre before a trip I was given one for Japanese encephalitis (I think from memory) and was warned about the major spread of dengue fever, for which there is no vaccine.
Basic instructions were "cover up night and day, and splash on the Deet. (nothing else works anything like as well, regardless of any "word of mouth" recommendations).......................basically, stop getting bitten in the first place"
Basic instructions were "cover up night and day, and splash on the Deet. (nothing else works anything like as well, regardless of any "word of mouth" recommendations).......................basically, stop getting bitten in the first place"
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In the 16th and 17th centuries there were malarial mosquitoes thriving in East Anglia, I remember some years ago reading about a chap there who was on his sixth marriage, his earlier wives all having died of malaria.
And don't forget other parasites they carry. Heartworms can be fatal (will be if left untreated) to cats and dogs.
Interesting development. Mosquito numbers falling in some places in Sub-Saharan Africa. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14685612 Originally it seems that control measures by humans were praised, but later on it mentions that the numbers are decreasing even where no control measures take place. Climate change is mentioned, but it seems they don't like erratic rainfall, rather than (what I half expected) to be increasing heat concurrent with them pushing further away from the equator, as in to the UK. Also mention of some sort of disease or affliction in the mossie population, and less resistance in the kids recently born should the population and malaria rate recover to 'normal'. Food for thought, in any case.
Ringing the NHS Direct for advice about bites is most definitely the right thing to do. Some people suffer extreme adverse reactions to bites and stings, often requiring immediate attention to combat worsening complications. These innocent mosquito bites can often lead to conditions like bursitis, and then there's the risk of subsequent infection which requires antibiotic treatment. People with existing health conditions can suffer exacerbations due to their current medicines regimen. If it's just an itchy bite then fine, but if you experience symptoms like massive swelling, nausea, respiratory difficulties or a rise in temperature then it's important to get immediate medical attention.
We even have them here in the North, masses of Midges as well, but the midge (for me) only leaves a small red mark which rarely itches whereas the blooming mosquitos leave me with a large itchy swollen red lump that seems to last about 5 days. I only know this as I watched one feeding on the back of my hand a few weeks ago... I now just DEET myself up whenever I'm out and about in the forests up here.
As an angler and hill-goer, I'm always surprised by the misconceptions that all midges bite and there are no mosquitoes in Scotland. I've been aware of the existence of mosquitoes in Scotland for decades. I'm always suspicious of research done via disconnected media like NHS 24, however, as the increase of reported bites or stings proves nothing other than that there is a convenient means of reporting. Neither does it provide proof of species.I read somewhere of suspicions that there had been the presence of malaria amongst The Navvies who built the West Highland Railway. Between the first sod being cut by Lord Abinger at Fort William in October 1889 and the last spike being driven by Mr Renton on Rannoch Moor in Sept 1893, we know much about the local dignitaries and aristocracy concerned with the railway, but nothing whatsoever about the men who actually built it. There are very few graves and fewer gravestones or memorials, despite the fact that there were known to be outbreaks of cholera and typhus amongst the workforce. Their only legacy and memorial is the railway itself, and scattered graves from Craigendoran on the Clyde to Mallaig on the Atlantic Coast.For many years now, I've used on the passing, a camping spot alongside The West Highland Way, as a mate lives close by with convenient access to a pub. I've had my suspicions that the midge/mosquito problem has increased steadily with the growing popularity of the route, which is likewise reported by locals.It may be of interest that a fairly new route has been established in the Borders, The Southern Upland Way, which has not yet attained the number of walkers or the popularity of the WHW. I imagine that some parts of the 200+ miles of the route are busier than others, but this would be a good opportunity for researchers to study the effects of an increased number of walkers in areas which have been virtually depopulated for the past 100 years, and the response of the local mosquito population. One issue probably applies as much here as it does throughout the 3rd World however, there's no money in it!
To be honest, other than the possibility of a mosquito bite passing on some nasty, virulent disease (which are pretty localised, anyway: you won't find malaria in all mosquito areas, for example), I've always found midges far more annoying. I've heard that the mosquito exhudes a pheremone when it bites, so that you'll only be bitten by one at a time. Midges, on the other hand, attack and bite en-masse; they're an absolute nightmare. Whilst mosquitos have been an annoyance, in places I've camped where mosquitos are an issue, It's only midges that once caused someone I was camping with to wake up, in the middle of the night, and quite literally scream, "AAAAARRGH! They're eating my f-ing head!" (LOL).
I was bitten twice at a works meeting 18.00 hrs indoors on November the first in South Wales!!!! Had a huge lump on my neck and a little one on my jaw, could `nt believe it. In June got bit several times on my legs in my local woodland, own fault on that oe as I was wearing shorts with no protection. Beware folks there are out there.
True with most human diseases. I'm not so sure about pet and/or livestock problems though. Heartworms are spreading almost exponentially.
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