Wet conditions bring mosquitoes.
July 17, 2007 (Tuesday) – This is one of those blogs you will probably not want to keep. It is definitely “trivial” and offers nothing but the musings of an “armchair expert.”
When we are in drought conditions, we pray for rain. When we are in a wet cycle, we tire of the rain. I guess you could say we are in a wet cycle, if we define it as “it has rained a lot.”
Wet conditions, producing puddles and stagnant water, bring mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are an important part of our ecological system. I’m not sure how it works, but they are part of a food chain that keeps working all the time for the benefit of the earth and all its creatures, including us. But when one of those pestiferous creatures bites us, it is almost totally impossible for us to think of a mosquito as beneficial to anyone in any way. In fact, we know that some species of mosquito can transmit diseases. Researchers are constantly discovering how they do this, and attempting to bring cures. Some of these efforts have been spectacularly successful, such as the fight against Yellow Fever, a notorious killer.
There are many theories as to why some people look delicious to mosquitoes and others make it say, “Yech!” I used to be delicious to them, but over the years have become a “yech” kind of guy (probably in more ways than one). I am not totally immune to their bites, but neither am I as attractive to them as I once was (a principle aplicable in many ways). Most of the time they avoid me, but if one does manage to jam her (only females bite) proboscis into my dermatologic exterior, the effects of that intrusion don’t linger.
As I said, ordinary people and scientific researchers have come up with ideas as to why this is so, but no one seems to be offering an answer that explains it so well that it ends debate. Evidently there is more than one explanation, and each individual has a unique response to these pesky critters as they inspect their human dinner plate before diving in.
There seems to be a correlation between the length of stay in a specific area and the way people who have been here the longest seem to have a diminished problem with the tiny winged vampires. Evidently, the more you have been bitten in the past, the less you will be bitten in the future. This does not hold true for everyone — it’s just one of those “everybody knows that..” kind of thing. Of course, everybody doesn’t know it and the proposition has not been successfully proved. All we know is what people say, and I’m here to say today the mosquitoes don’t bother me like they once did. Have patience if you are cowering in the face of this entomologic assault by this pseudo plague. You may develop a virtual immunity. Won’t that be nice?
For those who love natural cures, try rubbing garlic on your skin instead of cologne or perfume, to which mosquitoes seem to be attracted. The mosquitoes may leave you alone. It’s also a good way to achieve solitude, if that’s what you like.
If you are interested in theories of how to overcome mosquito attacks, just do a search on the internet. Find a forum where people post their own ideas as to how they have reached “no-mosquito nirvana.” I can tell you right now, because I have done the search, their notions about immunity are many and varied.
I like the old song, “No Tears in Heaven.” Someone should write one entitled, “No Mosquitoes Over There, Hallelujah!”