by Tiresias » 26 Jul 2021, 13:45
Oh, this one is going to be a lengthy response. Sorry.
I grew up in Zambia, Egypt and Singapore. Firstly, in Lusaka we used nets. Night biters. Then we used those weird green coils that you have to separate carefully, and stick on a pressed metal base. Lovely nostalgic smell for me. But, they have to be placed so the rising smoke intercepts the mosquitoes’ flight paths. I’ve used them under tables before, but you inevitably stand on them. In Cairo we had electric hot pads that took lozenges that achieved the same effect.
In Sing we lived on the top floor of a block on Gilman Heights. The little buggers don’t tend fly above the 10th floor. Not that they can’t, just don’t tend to.
I have probably ingested more cloroquine/analogues than most.
Now a second strand. My partner has spent a lifetime (and still is) on researching into malaria. Spread by mosquitoes. A professor no less. Any inaccuracies in anything that follow are due to my status as a well meaning moron. No blame attaches to my partner.
Never ask a research scientist a question.
Are your mosquitoes day biters or night biters? Anopheles or culicines? (That may be the same question, I tend to glaze over a bit – rather like the response when I start off on one of my rants on property law and negligent valuations). So, I’m summarising somewhat, and my spelling is probably rubbish.
However. The Avon thing is tosh. It may work for some people in some places. Perhaps. But I would prefer to take the judgement of someone who has thousands of mosquitoes in colonies, fed every day on blood from the Glasgow blood bank (yeah, I know – have they become over-friendly, and prone to spending large sums on designer labelled fashion), and when that isn’t available on themselves (only the uninfected ones, obviously). And my partner says it isn't reliably effective.
DEET works best. And physical protection. Screens, nets &c. The anopheles track by carbon dioxide, heat and the smell. They have 10 olfactory receptors that are peculiarly effective. Smelly feet are a particular attractant.
So get yourself some screens. And wash your feet.