MARK HAYTER 936-537- 0918 hayter.mark@gmail.com
Hayter article for June 2, 2024
Mosquitoes like Kay the most.
It’s going to be a bad summer for Kay. That’s terrible because she hasn’t had that good of a spring. The important thing is that few of her woes are my fault. The main blame belongs to mosquitoes. They love Kay. I do, too, but then I don’t pester her as much as the mosquitoes.
What I did do was research the habits of the cluicidae in an attempt to make things better for Kay. I need to—Beg pardon? Oh, “cluicidae” is the family name for mosquitoes. Our family name is “human”. – Where was I?
Oh, yeah, Michael Garcia. You may have seen Michaels article in last Monday’s newspaper. It was titled, “How to get those pests to buzz off”. It weas so informative that I used some of it for my research.
Speaking of which, mosquitoes can see you from 16 to 49 feet away. Apparently, someone sponsored a contest to see which mosquito can see the farthest. There is no other sensible way they could’ve come up with 16 to 49 feet. The Brits refer to that distance as “five to fifteen meters.” Ah, now I get it.
Bottom line? “A mosquito has good sight.” Unlike the June bug that keeps smashing into windows and screen doors. One of the few animals that will eat June bugs are skunks. It’s easy to see the effect it has on them.
So, mosquitoes see through their bug eyes, but they won’t bite you until they know your blood type. The two most popular blood types for mosquitoes are “O” and “AB”. I’m O positive, But I’m perfectly safe because the Asian Tiger Mosquito is the one that prefers O blood. That’s why I’ve been steering clear of Asia.
While O blood is common I don’t know about AB. The mosquitoes that prefer AB blood are marsh mosquitoes. Since my Forest Service days, I’ve made it a point to stay away from marshes.
One type of mosquito that has never bitten anyone is the male mosquito. They don’t even like blood. Popsicles? Likely. The female needs blood to produce her eggs. Yes, they lay eggs. Without eggs, mosquitoes wouldn’t exist. That would mess up the entire food chain.
The big question for me was “How do mosquitos know what blood type you have?” Well, I’ll tell you. Mosquitoes can determine your blood type through your sweat. God did that because… I don’t know. He doesn’t share a lot with me.
Kay has “A” negative” blood. She gets bitten all the time. And the girl doesn’t sweat! So, mosquitoes merely smell her blood type. When I work outdoors, I’m drenched with sweat. But apparently, mosquitoes don’t care for my smell. I get that a lot.
Of course, the main reason I seldom get bit has to do with DDT. As a child in Pasadena, Texas, every kid on the block ran along with the DDT fog man. It was late evening during the summer when the guy driving a jeep hauling a 55-gallon barrel of DDT, fogged up our neighborhood. The spray came out in a deep, dark cloud. The plan was to run inside the fog without tripping over the curb, running into a parked car, or straddling a garbage can. Those few of us still living thought it a blast.
Kay’s mother knew better. Kay was not allowed to run inside of DDT fog. She had two brothers, but one was crippled and the other blind, so they weren’t tempted to run inside the poisonous fog. It didn’t matter because Kay’s mom ordered her inside the house and closed all of the windows when the DDT man showed up.
I think the DDT story explains why few mosquitos mess with me. As a youngster, I was allowed to inhale a lot of DDT. Today, much of my blood still contains a quart or two of DDT. I can’t smell it, but the mosquitos can. Kay and I will be sitting on the back porch and the mosquitoes will be all over her, because as a child she was not allowed to ingest DDT.
I have shared with Kay some of Michael Garcia’s findings about how to protect yourself from mosquito bites. It’s best to wear loose-fitting clothes. I have few loose-fitting clothes. It’s also recommended you wear a long-sleeve shirt and pants during a sweltering summer night. Mosquitoes prefer the heat as do old people.
Mosquitoes favor dark colors, especially green and black. I don’t know why and I’m fairly sure they don’t either. They are partial to beer drinkers, especially those who drink a quart or more. They’ll even wait for you to finish. They also prefer people who have eaten something sweet, salty, or spicy..
Mosquitoes aren’t partial to lavender, mint, or sage cologne. They’re okay with rosemary, but not thyme. Scarborough Faire? They can take it or leave it.
Ladies, mosquitoes prefer you be pregnant. Pregnant women exhale 20 percent more carbon dioxide than normal ladies. Mosquitoes are partial to heat and to CO2. Sane humans hate both of those.
When we inhale, we’re pulling in 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and very little CO2. The reason we exhale carbon dioxide has to do with the glucose, fats, and proteins in our bodies that burn up to provide our body with energy. The process lets off CO2, which you exhale, thus attracting mosquitoes.
I’m going to leave you with that. I wish to thank Michael Garcia for his help with this. And Kay for allowing me to include her in my research. She said, “Anything to save others.” The mosquitoes don’t seem to care one way or the other.
end
hayter.mark@gmail.com
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