As we head into the thick of summer, there is one thing we can all agree we’d like to avoid: mosquitoes.
According to John Hainze, Vice President, Science and Research at Thermacell Repellents, INC., once you understand mosquito behavior and their feeding strategies, you can develop strategies to make yourself less attractive to nature’s buzzy annoyance. John has compiled some insights on everyone’s least favorite insect and reveals tactics on how to defeat them, including:
- Mosquitoes are everywhere. There are more than 100 trillion mosquitoes on the planet at any given time. Mosquitoes are found worldwide — from the tropics to the Arctic. They can live at elevations over 12,000 feet above sea level and as low as 3,000 feet below sea level in mines.
- Not all mosquitoes bite people. There are approximately 3,500 species or kinds of mosquitoes around the world, with about 175 species found in North America. Many of these mosquitoes do not feed on humans but will feed on other mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
- Mosquitoes love your dirty feet even more. Once mosquitoes are close enough to start sensing body odors, they use that information to figure out where to bite. Mosquitoes’ receptors are sophisticated enough to pick up the subtle differences between the smells of our face, armpits, arms, and feet. They may target feet and ankles because we’re less likely to notice a mosquito biting there. Plus, there are a lot of stink-producing bacteria living between our toes, so human feet are easy for mosquitoes to find1].
Are you working on any summer stories that these insights might be a fit for, or would you be interested in a larger conversation with John? His full list of tips can be found here.
One of the most effective ways to limit mosquito exposure is by using an area repellent like the new Thermacell E55 Rechargeable Mosquito Repeller which creates a ground-breaking 20 foot zone of protection with the push of a button.
