Mosquitoes are very insidious and dangerous creatures. In addition to the fact that they bite painfully, they also spread various viral diseases and are dangerous to human life. There are about 35 thousand species of these parasites, 6% of which drink human blood. But even these six percent create a lot of problems for us, especially if they started their hunt at night, and prevent us from falling asleep.
How to kill mosquitoes at home, at night, when you are almost falling asleep and don’t want to disturb your household? The situation is very unpleasant, because the mosquito has disturbed your sleep, bitten you painfully, and even the site of the bite itches. And if there are small children in the house, then night bites can be a serious problem, because the child cannot sleep, cries, and in the morning all exposed parts of the body are swollen and red. This is the best case scenario if the child does not have allergies. We hope you find our tips on how to properly kill a mosquito helpful.
How to get rid of an annoying mosquito?
Those who did not manage to fall asleep in the evening before the buzzing bloodsucker appeared will agree that mosquitoes have now become much smarter. Previously, it was enough to turn on the light sharply and slam him while he was drinking blood. Now, in the light, the insect quickly disappears, rushes chaotically around the room, and it becomes impossible to quickly catch a mosquito.
Today's mosquitoes enter the room in the dark and fly to the source of increased temperature, not only through the windows, but also with the help of ventilation. Some “victims” claim that these creatures even “climb” to the ninth floor in the elevator!
There are such ways to find a mosquito in a dark room:
- attract him with light;
- remove with a vacuum cleaner;
- attract with a flashlight;
- become bait for him;
- kill on the wall;
- catch in a glass.
Each of the options is worthy of attention.
Introductory part
Before we move on to tips, let's remember what attracts female mosquitoes to humans - this knowledge will help us kill a mosquito in the dark.
The first is, of course, blood and the protein it contains. Moreover, if a mosquito has a choice between blood groups I, II, III and IV, it will choose the first. Why? Scientists explain this by saying that group I has existed in humans for many thousands of years and mosquitoes have been drinking it for about the same number of thousands of years, and the remaining groups are considered relatively new and are not very familiar to them. Rating: 10 best mosquito repellents
Rating: 10 best mosquito repellents
Even the best spray against mosquitoes and ticks in nature does not always protect against other blood-sucking insects...
netkomaram.ru
Open ›
In second place after blood is carbon dioxide (CO2), which people emit when breathing. The more intensely you breathe, the faster the mosquito will detect you. Detection radius is approximately 50 meters. In addition to carbon dioxide, mosquitoes are attracted to the smell of sweat or alcohol.
Mosquitoes also readily fly to heat and light. Moreover, they perceive light not as people, but as a source of heat. Therefore, they fly into the light of ordinary incandescent lamps or fires. But LED lights are practically not attractive to them.
Interesting! We haven't tested it ourselves, but based on the above, if you get bitten by mosquitoes at night, you need someone who has drunk a bottle of beer, is breathing heavily, is holding a floor lamp, is sweating, and has blood type O. In this case, with a 99% probability they will not bite you! But whether you can sleep next to such a defender is another question.
Homemade products: traps and fumigators
Homemade devices and structures will help you get rid of mosquitoes at home, for the manufacture of which you can always use any available means available in each apartment:
- You can make a fumigator against domestic mosquitoes from lemon and cloves. To do this, take half a citrus and stick in about 8-10 clove buds.
- You can make a mosquito trap with your own hands from a plastic bottle. This simple design will help catch mosquitoes at night, for which the container is cut below the neck: pour 200 ml of hot water into the larger part, add 50 g of sugar and 1 tsp of yeast, mix everything, put a funnel on top from the neck so that it does not reach liquid, for decoration the structure is wrapped in colored paper. Its action is based on the formation of carbon dioxide during the fermentation of a yeast mixture, the smell of which can attract mosquitoes: they crawl inside and will not be able to get out.
- You can make your own mosquito repellent from several glass containers: put rosemary branches covered with lemon slices in each, then pour water to ¾ level along the height of the jar, add 5-10 drops of essential oil (mint, lavender, cedar), lower the floating ones on top candles and light them on fire - this will help you spend a romantic evening with friends without the raid of “bloodsuckers”; It is better to change the contents of the containers every week. Candles against mosquitoes can also be industrial.
How to catch a mosquito in a room at night
With the arrival of the spring-summer period, not only the season of frequent walks in nature begins, but also many inconveniences and problems. Important! But the whole point is that there are insects that bother us very much and create a lot of discomfort. We're talking about mosquitoes. Humanity has always known about them, they just called them differently. Their spread across continents was caused by geographical discoveries. They reached other territories through water in barrels.
And since insect larvae develop in water, there were no difficulties in transportation or adaptation.
Now they are distributed throughout Europe, America, and Africa. There are several species of mosquitoes that can live in certain climates, and some species are completely picky about conditions.
Features of the bloodsucker mosquito
A mosquito is an annoying insect that feeds on the blood of warm-blooded animals. Constant buzzing can easily make even the calmest person nervous. Attention! Mosquito bites can not only cause discomfort, but also provoke allergies. This is especially unsafe for small children. This can all be justified if you are walking on the street. But it’s another matter if you are in your house or apartment and you are bitten by a mosquito. Despite the fact that the windows are closed, and if they are open, there is a mosquito net. The question arises: where do mosquitoes come from?
An interesting point is that the biting mosquito is a female. Because male mosquitoes feed exclusively on flower nectar. Females lay eggs on the surface of the water, and after some time adults emerge.
The larvae are adapted to life in water, so moisture is exactly what the mosquito needs. A dangerous type of mosquito is the malaria mosquito. He is a carrier of a very dangerous disease - malaria. After a bite, you should immediately go to the hospital.
What is the danger from mosquitoes
When a mosquito bites, red spots appear in that place. Over time, they can increase in size, as if they are becoming inflated. Severe itching and redness appears. Advice: Mosquito bites are very painful and can cause a number of allergic reactions in humans. Young children are very susceptible to this. Not only can this cause a certain reaction in their body, but the bites also take a very long time to heal. An insect bite can cause fever and rash. Also, this insect is a carrier of very dangerous infections.
First of all, after a mosquito bite, when the wound does not heal for a long time, you should definitely consult a doctor. This is especially serious with children.
First aid for a bite is the following:
- Do not comb the affected area;
- can be treated with ammonia or ice; in the absence of ice, cold water is good;
- Pharmacies have remedies for mosquito bites; a budget option is the well-known “Zvezdochka”.
When purchasing medications intended for use after a mosquito bite, carefully read the instructions. This is especially important if you are expecting a child, you will be using it for a child, and you are sensitive to certain medications.
Pregnant women who have been bitten by mosquitoes are advised to consult a doctor. After all, a bite can provoke premature birth or the use of drugs after the bite.
How do mosquitoes get into an apartment?
This question worries those who carefully ensure that no harmful insects enter the house. If your windows were wide open and not protected by a mosquito net, then the answer to the question is clear.
But if all the protective equipment is in place, and an insect flies into the room, then it is not clear how this happened. There are several possible answers to this question:
- A mosquito can enter a house when a person enters or leaves. You can't be sure that insects won't land on your clothes. Vice versa! This is how you can bring a mosquito or other insect into your home. Or through the front doors. It may be dark in the entrance, but then a light appears in the doorway, and for the mosquito this is a signal that it is safe to fly there. They are very agile and need a couple of seconds to get into your room.
- Presence of a mosquito nest in the home. The ideal habitat for this pest is a humid environment. They feel good in places where it is very humid. Such places could be an attic where water is stored, a basement, etc. In a private house, the situation is much more complicated. Since the area itself can be favorable for mosquitoes. And if this is an apartment, then the main source of mosquitoes is the basement.
- A mosquito can directly live in your apartment. As we already said, standing water attracts insects. If there is constant humidity in the room or there are open containers of water, mosquitoes will appear in the room. Also, they can be in the bathroom or get through the ventilation.
- Mosquitoes can fly through a vent (vent pipe) in a bathroom or kitchen. Cleaning ventilation pipes is very important. By cleaning, you will not only get rid of the accumulation of dust and grease, but also from many insects. The grilles can be covered with gauze to prevent mosquitoes from entering the room from basements or sewers if they are located near the exit of your windows.
- The insect may fly to the pronounced smell of sweat. This is the first thing that attracts a mosquito to a person. And especially female mosquitoes. For them, the important point is to get enough food and breed. And they are bloodthirsty and will drink blood from an animal or person to the last.
- Balcony and window gaps. When there are old windows and the balcony has not seen repairs for a long time, then cracks are inevitable. This means that any small creature will come to stay with you through them. In this case, you need to take measures to eliminate this problem. Insulate the balcony by blowing out all the cracks or change the frame, windows, glass.
- Insects can live in a residential area for a very long time. And even though you try to use any methods of prevention or elimination. The ideal place for them would be the bathroom, kitchen, toilet. They can hide well in dark places: corners of rooms, dark closets, under beds or sofas, on dark surfaces. When doing general cleaning, try to clean everything as much as possible and ventilate the room.
If you are walking by a river or in a park, or maybe just not far from such an area, then the possibility that a mosquito will come home with you is more than one hundred percent.
The mosquito reacts to a sweet smell, dark clothing or surface. Therefore, try not to wear dark clothes in the evening and avoid wearing sweet scents.
You can spray a stroller with a child with lemon juice and cloves to prevent mosquitoes from landing on it and hiding in secluded corners. This combination does not attack the olfactory receptors so much and is more pleasant for the child.
And then there will be no constant thought about where the mosquitoes in my apartment come from and what to do with them. But, if such a pest has already appeared and is interfering with sleep, then you need to take action to eliminate the irritant.
Prevention methods
First of all, check for open windows or vents. If you cannot live with the windows closed all the time, then worry about installing a high-quality mosquito net. It will become the first obstacle in the path of the mosquito. Important! There are times when it is not possible to install a grid. There are other ways to do this. Indoor flowers. The ideal option would be geranium or tomatoes. Mosquitoes cannot stand the strong, nasty smell and try to stay away from such places. Placing geraniums on a windowsill with an open window will be an excellent choice if you want cool, fresh air and don’t want uninvited guests at all.
Regarding odors, the smell of citrus fruits is also unfavorable. Especially lemon. By placing it in the room or on the windowsill and adding cloves, mosquitoes will immediately begin to run away and will not want to fly into your rooms.
You can also arrange aromatherapy with clove or eucalyptus oil. This is also a good way to eliminate mosquitoes indoors. You can also use camphor oil, but do not get too carried away with this product, as there may be health complications. Attention! You can place a small container with cedar oil on the windowsill. It is not only good against mosquitoes, but also against flies and cockroaches. Today there are many ways to combat insects. Traditional methods are good in their action. But when using odors, you need to take into account the fact that they may be intolerable to you. Therefore, act in such a way that it does not harm you.
How to prevent the appearance of mosquitoes - disinfection of the basement and attics. This is one of the surest ways. Especially if there are real mosquito swarms bothering residents.
Even in the private sector, you need to periodically disinfect your premises, cellars, basements, sheds and attics. This will greatly help ensure a restful sleep and a healthy body.
How to fight mosquitoes
Use different scents. We talked about them above. Eucalyptus oil, clove oil, cedar oil, as well as tomatoes, citrus fruits and geranium help in the fight against mosquitoes. Tip! They can be used not only on window sills, but also in the rooms where you sleep. You can put a small amount of oil on a napkin or saucer and place it by your bed. The oil can also be used in candle holders for aromatherapy. But look at your personal tolerance for smells. You can buy an electric fumigator or a mosquito coil. These products can be purchased at any store. They can be in liquid form or in the form of platinum. They are easy to use.
You just need to plug the device into a power outlet and that’s it. The liquid or platinum contains substances that, when evaporated, emit a toxic odor for mosquitoes and contribute to their destruction. The action of the electric fumigator is fast.
Within two hours you can already forget that you had mosquitoes. But it is worth noting that the vapors released from the device negatively affect the human body.
Therefore, you should follow the operating instructions and install it only with open windows in the room. When you run out of liquid, you can use eucalyptus oil. It is as effective as the chemical.
Mosquito coils can be used directly in open areas. That is, on the street. It is very convenient when you are relaxing in nature. The operation of the device is the same as in an electric fumigator, but only without liquid.
An option to control mosquitoes is to bait them in basements. Why in the basements? Because this is where mosquitoes can wait out the cold seasons and breed.
When it comes to a high-rise building, disinfection of basement paving must be carried out several times a year. Especially before summer and spring. Important! By disinfecting, you can get rid of all kinds of parasites that can enter the living space through ventilation or sewage. You can call a special service that deals with this. First collect the signatures of the residents of the house and submit an application.
Or you can contact the housing office so that they can carry out such robots. But not only the basement needs to be disinfected; attics should also be included in such treatments. Since they are also a source of spread of mosquitoes and all kinds of insects. Attention! Sewer repair. This range of work is important not only for the purpose of improving the drainage system, but also as work to eliminate pests. Sewage is not only an environment for dangerous bacteria and microorganisms, but also an excellent place with an attractive smell for mosquitoes. There they will definitely find comfort and coziness for themselves. And it is from there that they can get into the house and begin their action there.
When fighting mosquitoes, pay attention to all possible ways they can get into your apartment. Eliminate as much as possible. Don't forget that the most basic methods can help much more effectively than anything else.
Wide open windows without a mosquito net, sources of constant dampness, unsealed windows and balconies, living in places near a river, lake, septic tanks, sewerage provoke the appearance of mosquitoes in your apartment.
If you were bitten
Despite all precautions, sometimes this cannot be avoided. Moreover, the body’s reaction may be different. Some people experience only minor itching, while others develop a huge, red lump. In order for the allergic reaction to end faster, you can take Suprastin or a similar drug. In addition, there are a number of ways to help relieve itching. These are lotions with vinegar, salt and chamomile decoction. We can’t say that this will help immediately and 100%, but it will still get better.
Facts from Adaptive Capacity
In the summer, you can find mosquitoes everywhere. Initially, blood-sucking creatures lived in the wild near water bodies, in swampy places, and deciduous forests. However, gradually some moved to urban settlements. Nowadays you can find a mosquito in any metropolis.
Mosquitoes
They live in damp basements, entrances, outbuildings, near garbage cans, thickets in the yard, and city parks. Eggs are laid in damp soil, on pipes, where condensation, wet rags, and rotten leaves constantly collect. Since the development of larvae cannot be called complete, the generation of urban mosquitoes is much weaker than swamp ones.
Ultrasonic repellers
Ultrasonic mosquito repellers
Ultrasonic repellent devices are small portable devices powered by electricity or batteries that are effective means of repelling mosquitoes in the apartment. The principle of operation is based on the production of an ultrasonic signal, which is an analogue of the sounds that males make when signaling danger. For humans, these sounds are inaudible and therefore do not cause any discomfort.
Hearing the ultrasonic signals, all the insects fly away. The area of action of an ultrasonic mosquito repeller directly depends on the sound power. Its advantage is the absence of any toxic chemical substances, due to which such a device can be installed in a residential area. You can also make your own mosquito repeller.
When choosing the most effective mosquito repellent for your home, you should take into account the health status of the residents, the presence of children and allergy sufferers, choosing from folk and store-bought methods of combating “bloodsuckers.”
