The best repellents by the version of Consumer Reports

In a hike, on a picnic and even in our own yard, mosquitoes and ticks await us. Insects-parasites not only spoil the impression of summer rest, but also seriously endanger our health. Every year the list of diseases carried by them becomes more and more long and awesome.

To encephalitis and Lyme disease, tropical infections that were not previously heard in the US - Zick viruses and West Nile fever - were added. The situation is further aggravated by the fact that this summer in America there is a real invasion of mosquitoes and a significant increase in the population of ticks.

So, without a good remedy for insects simply can not do. The US Consumer Union decided to test several popular repellents to find among them really effective. The results of the experiment the organization published in the publication Consumer Reports.

WHY DO MOSQUITOES DRINK BLOOD?

In this frosty fact that the basis of the ration of some animals is blood, there is nothing surprising (it is rich in nutrients, especially proteins). And there is nothing strange in the fact that some animals, in particular representatives of the family Culicidae, whom we call mosquitoes, have adapted to extract it.

Thanks to the "bloody diet" female mosquitoes were able to lay their eggs more than once in life, like many other Diptera, but several. A record number of clutches - 12 - was registered in a malarial mosquito. It is no accident that the need for blood is experienced only by female mosquitoes - males are indifferent to it, they suck out nectar and pollen from plants. There are almost no proteins, but enough carbohydrates as an energy source. However, females also go on a vegetarian diet, if there is nowhere to take blood, only in this case they can not lay eggs.

Virus Zika found in three Britons

Three Britons were diagnosed with the virus Zika after returning from travel to potentially dangerous from the epidemiological point of view of the country. Patients undergo treatment at the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust . Detailed information on the cases detected between April 1 and June 30 was published yesterday in the report of the Infection Control Service.

Department of Health advises pregnant women to refuse trips to Miami Beach

The City Department of Health advises pregnant women to refrain from traveling to Miami Beach, as there is official confirmation that mosquitoes carry the virus of Zeka there. Winwood also got on the "black list".

Summer in New York: how to protect yourself from mosquitoes

Summer is often the favorite season of the city, even among the inhabitants of megacities, but this time of year there is a huge drawback - the activity of mosquitoes. Laura Harrington, a professor of entomology and a mosquito expert from Cornell University, told us which mosquitoes are to be feared by the residents of the city, and how to deal with them.

Mosquitoes are myths and the truth

The season of mosquitoes began. Now itching and blisters (in children often very large) - a frequent phenomenon. What are the dangers of these insects that are habitual for us, what statements about them are true and which ones are not?

Fact No. 1: Mosquitoes bitten more dinosaurs

Yes it's true.

The first mosquitoes appeared on Earth more than 100 million years ago and reached 5 centimeters in length. In 2008, in the Spanish province of Cantabria, fossil insects with dinosaur blood in the stomachs were found. Modern individuals are much smaller, but enough million mosquitoes to deprive a person of all blood. True, the mosquito itself will die sooner from a toxic shock. In Siberia in ancient times, even there was such a form of execution - prisoners were tied to a tree and left to eat a nest, and in Persia, criminals were sent to swamp mosquitoes by boat.

In Long Beach, mosquitoes that carry the Zick virus

According to reports from the Department of Health and Human Services, Long Beach first detected mosquitoes that could be carriers of the Zick virus, dengue fever and other viruses.

In the United States bred special mosquitoes, killing mosquitoes

Killer mosquito

The state of Florida will be the first in the United States to colonize a colony of genetically modified mosquitoes, "programmed" to kill ordinary mosquitoes. 

"Microsoft" has developed a robot-killer mosquitoes

killer mosquitoes

Trap with "brains" is designed for catching insects that carry diseases.
Microsoft has created an intelligent mosquito trap that can help scientists detect dangerous viruses and bacteria in these insects. The results of the first experiments were announced at a scientific conference in Boston.

New York mosquitoes carry West Nile virus

In New York, the mosquito season began, and insects are in full swing with their victims. 
What is fraught with their bites, except for itching and unattractive pink spots? Especially this issue is relevant this year, after the world shook the news of the outbreak of Zik's Fever. 

In Los Angeles there is an invasion of insects

 Rainy and warm winter helped to solve the problems of drought in Southern California, but brought new trouble - insects literally overcame the state. 

Mosquito

Mosquito - an insect of small size, reaches a length of about 3 millimeters, refers to a family of long-witted Dipterous insects.

Why do mosquitoes not bite all? Genetics will find out with the help of dirty socks

 

Soon we will know the answer to a question that has long tormented many: why some people during the rest on the nature constantly wave off mosquitoes, while others do not cause any annoying mosquitoes any interest.

This month, British scientists began to conduct research to find out whether heredity is a key factor in attracting mosquitoes or whether it is due to other features of the body. About this world told the publication Scientific American.

What type of blood is "preferred" by mosquitoes?

Japanese experts are sure that insects consider "the most delicious" the first blood group, but many factors also influence their tastes.

For example, in the Gambia, it was investigated that these insects are ecstatic about the blood of pregnant women. As it turned out, the stomachs of expectant mothers are almost 1 degree warmer than other parts of the body. This leads to increased sweating, and this smell attracts mosquitoes.

Also, beer lovers can become victims of mosquitoes. The used foam bottle will absolutely attract an insect to you.

It is interesting that mosquitoes and the smell of dirty feet will not be ignored. This was pointed out by the Dutch scientist Bart Knoll. According to his observations, 75% of bite attempts were on the feet. But after Bart washed them with soap, mosquitoes lost their interest.

Equally important is the color of the clothes. According to American scientists, dark colors provoke insects more than light colors.