Noah had his problems with them as well.
Even though he only allowed room on board for two of them, he soon discovered they multiply faster than
rabbits. Mosquitoes only lay 100 eggs at a time, but they can produce 15 generations
a year, or roughly speaking, Noah soon had over 31 billion of the suckers
swarming the decks.
Is it any wonder that when his boat docked, the whole crew jumped ship? Not even Noah showed up for the return voyage.
Some people claim the ark is still waiting at the dock where Noah left it. But there is a huge cloud of mosquitoes hovering over the ark and it can only be seen from certain angles during special times of the day.
By the time John Smith had his head on the chopping block mosquitoes were so thick that Pocahontas promised to save him if John would just reveal the secret formula for Skeeter Slurry to her tribe. John coughed up the entire list of ingredients and even volunteered to help her go shopping to find them in England.
The Indians had made a bad bargain. Skeeter Slurry directions read like this: "Lock yourself in your tepee and fill it full of thick, stifling smoke. This makes the mosquitoes so mad they will fly off into the swamps." If the mosquitoes didn't buzz off soon enough --- well, the Indians had to either face the music outside, or stay in and just croak.
More civilized methods of chemical warfare arrived with
Franklin's suggestion of pouring sweet oil on still waters. All oil does is keep
the little snorkel tubes from getting air in the larval and pupal stage of the
skeeters.
Sad but true, Ben's methods worked even better than DDT buzz bombs, and they cost less to administer. At least in Ben's day skeeters were only biting us on the east coast. Now they are biting hunters all the way up to Alaska. 20 years of massive government-sponsored spraying programs hasn't worked. Something has got to be done before they take over the whole world.
Truth is Stranger
than Affliction..
Prepare Now For Mosquito Season
The worst ever mosquito season is here, and mosquito-borne
diseases are already resurfacing. The Centers for Disease Control
documented over 34,000 cases of equine West Nile virus in the
United States since 2001, with a 25 percent mortality rate.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis is not as prevalent as West Nile
virus, but it is predicted to spread to other states this year
and the fatality rate is 90 percent.
To protect horses, the mosquito populations around stables and
pens must be reduced. Traditional methods of control, however,
are not sufficient. Keeping horses stabled during heavy mosquito
activity, insecticide fogging, and topical mosquito repellents
are not adequate safeguards. Even vaccinations do not ensure
protection.
"No vaccine has a 100 percent guarantee of preventing an
illness," said Dr. Marcia Hillard, DVM, with the Northeast
Arkansas Equine Center in Jonesboro. "Some horses do not
respond favorably to vaccinations. As a result, they are
susceptible to mosquito-borne diseases. Plus, a large number of
horses will not get vaccinated and others will not get their
boosters."
Dr. Hillard recommends a safe and effective way to reduce
mosquitoes in target areas. "The Mosquito Killing System is
the most efficient method of mosquito control we have found. And
we've tried everything," she said.
Developed with technical assistance from NASA, the Mosquito
Killing System is the result of 16 years of research and testing.
This Underwriters Laboratory (UL) Listed device attracts
mosquitoes by mimicking body temperatures and breathing patterns
of warm-blooded mammals through thermal imagery and carbon
dioxide.
The Mosquito Killing System reduces the mosquito population in a
one-acre area without pesticides or chemicals. It is quiet,
odorless and does not use a propane tank. This technology is used
at government facilities, health clinics, amusement parks,
universities, stables and horse racetracks.
Numerous tests reveal that machines with the following features
outperform other systems. First, electricity is necessary because
propane cannot produce the proper airflow or heat to mimic body
temperatures. Second, scientific measurements are needed for the
heat source and carbon dioxide release. Third, controlled and
measured releases of carbon dioxide should cycle every several
minutes producing body heat signatures of humans, horses, etc.
Fourth, mosquitoes should detect no air turbulence, but the
airflow should sufficiently vacuum them in. Finally, the unit's
surface should simulate skin texture.
National Wildlife claims that mosquitoes are the deadliest animals on earth. The malarial parasite carried by them probably kills a million children each year, just in Africa alone. Mosquitoes have probably killed more people than all the wars that were ever filmed for television. They carry yellow fever, malaria, filariasis, sleeping sickness, and at least 100 different viruses, including dengue that horrible breakbone fever disease. The only mercy mosquitoes show is a shot of Novocain as they drill so you usually don't feel a thing even while the palpitating pump inside her head section sucks off 3 to 4 times her own weight. Swarms of them have been known to draw enough blood to kill grown cows overnight.
It is a known fact --- only the girl skeeters need blood. Warm blood makes their eggs hatch more efficiently. Consequently, only the girls are putting the bite on us.
Boy skeeters are the sugar and spice of the species. They hatch out a few minutes before the girl skeeters. The mating ritual is so violent that even the strong boys are lucky to live 7 days beyond the event; They just wander around in a daze and starve to death.
Girl skeeters are made of sterner stuff. According to the American Mosquito Control Association they live up to 30 days. Consequently, if we try to kill only the girl skeeters we have saved half the money now being wasted on indiscriminate mosquito spraying.
Here at last is a suggestion you can hang your hat on: Let's use their need for blood to suck them into a devastating ambush. This can be done by creating modern day scarecrows.
Most machines catch 50-100 mosquitoes daily. The Mosquito Killing System, however, captures from a few hundred to several thousand per night, greatly reducing mosquito populations. Each mosquito caught is a female that can lay a raft of 300 eggs. So, for every 1,000 mosquitoes eliminated the mosquito population is actually reduced by 300,000 in that area.
Mosquitoes stay very near their hatching source. To reduce an area of mosquitoes requires at least two weeks. Occasionally, it takes longer to capture enough generations of female mosquitoes to eliminate new eggs from hatching in the vicinity of the device. It is recommended that all stagnant water and roosting sites, such as tall grass, be eliminated in conjunction with using the machine.
Now is the time to prepare for mosquitoes. Don't wait for a full-blown infestation. In 2003, the Centers for Disease Control documented over 9,100 human cases of West Nile virus and 228 deaths nationwide. It is much easier to protect horses, people and pets when a mosquito control program is in place at the beginning of mosquito season.
"If you think anything of your horses, this is a good investment and definitely worth the money," said Dr. Hillard. "I even encourage owners with vaccinated horses to buy one or two systems. Your horses will be a lot more comfortable."
For more information about mosquito control or the Mosquito Killing System, call 573-896-8533 or visit http://www.mosquitokillingsystem.net A video of the unit in action can be seen at the website.