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Does anyone think this will be a big problem in the future or just something to adjust to? Surrounded by water I don't think we will be able to avoid it and spraying them is also very harmful to the ecosystem. Between the bugs and humidity this summer left alot to be desired.
Like another poster mentioned, the winter was very mild and I think this has a lot to do with this year's bumper crop. It's been warmer than usual and very humid, so it's like living on Mosquito Island. Maybe we'll have a frigid winter, which will kill off more of the dormant eggs.
side note: There are actual bleeding hearts in the comments section of that link who are afraid using this technique will disrupt the food chain and wipe out all species on the planet /. It's public furor like this that will probably prevent US states from trying the gen modified way. Don't worry, if we start seeing other species die off, we can breed millions more mosquitoes and reintroduce them into our habitat . I swear, people are f-ing idiots.
Quote:
The Oxitec mosquitoes are an engineered version of Aedes aegypti, the main transmitter of dengue fever. The modified males carry a lethal gene that is kept in check only by a special diet. They survive to mate with wild females, but the offspring die. In field tests conducted in Juazeiro, Brazil, the engineered insects shrank the A. aegypti population in an 11-hectare area by 85% over one year.
Consider a commercial-sized electric mosquito killer. It's widely-used in Asia especially during outdoor parties.
Placement of these are recommended to be 100ft from the house itself and most people don't have that much space in their backyards to begin with. You'll basically just get a bunch more mosquitoes coming toward your property. Just a theory. Other people according to product reviews don't like the constant zapping either. Believe me I considered it.
Placement of these are recommended to be 100ft from the house itself and most people don't have that much space in their backyards to begin with. You'll basically just get a bunch more mosquitoes coming toward your property. Just a theory. Other people according to product reviews don't like the constant zapping either. Believe me I considered it.
You're right about the constant zapping. But one way to rationalize it is that it's proof that the product works; it could make the owner feel good hearing each of them perish. If you want something closer to the house, maybe the personal sized one might be a better fit although not big enough to kill swarms. To me, the downside with electricals is that it can kill other insects besides mosquitoes.
Bats are dying in record numbers due to white nose fungus. So far they can't seem to figure out the cause but is anyone really shocked that it appeared soon after mass spraying for mosquitos started?! Bats are the #1 mosquito killing machine ever made. No bats = mosquito epidemics. Welcome to the new reality caused by our knee jerk reactions to a few cases of West Nile. We'll kill the birds, bees, lobsters, fish and every other insect to keep 3 elderly voters from contracting West Nile. Brilliance in action.
I'm against anything that will decimate the bat population and harm the ecosystem. That said, bats are generally ineffective against large swarms of the Asian tiger mosquito and could themselves become vicitms. Asian tigers do not typically fly and go swirling around in swarms (that make other insects easy targets for bats) unless they are attracted to something specific like prey. They are pretty efficient with their movements. They are either stationary or they fly to their prey or some other thing that attracts them.
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