do long term residents here get fewer mosquito bites as time goes on? meaning that scientifically, will a body ever develop any sort of immunity to the bites or just not be bothered by the itchiness anymore? i know that mosquitos are a fact of life here, but damn they’re annoying. on my last trip here, i left with 8-10 assorted bites on my arms and legs. it’s not so bad now, but i’m hoping that i won’t always have these stupid mosquito bites to worry about. my relatives seem to think i attract the mosquitos because i’m “fresh meat”, if you will. if that’s the case, i’m hoping that as times goes on i won’t look so attractive to those little buggers anymore.
quote:Originally posted by Flipper:
do long term residents here get fewer mosquito bites as time goes on? meaning that scientifically, will a body ever develop any sort of immunity to the bites or just not be bothered by the itchiness anymore?
Yes and no. I got fewer bites as time went on, but it wasn't from immunity--it was from getting better at tracking the little suckers down in the middle of the night. Those electric zappers are great, and vaccuum cleaners will do in a pinch.
Why some people are bitten more than others is not clearly understood, but it is certainly true.
What is known is that studies of identical twins show they are bitten identical amounts, whereas non-identical twins are bitten in competely different ratios. This indicates that genetic factors are to blame since only the identical twins have identical genes.
Further research is underway to determine which genes are responsible.
Some people have serious allergic reactions to bites, that may get better or worse with time.
To kill 100% of mosquitos, place the mosquito on a table and hit it quickly with a large book. It works every time.
Seriously though, I paint the walls white and throw pillows at them. They are not quick enough to dodge such large flying objects. I notice my Taiwanese friends are pretty good at creeping up on them and swatting them by hand or even catching them in the air, I have not mastered this approach yet. Guess it needs a lot of practice.
my sister refuses to visit taiwan because of mosquito bites. even though she was born here, she gets some tons of bites whenever she comes back. we’re talking like 10-20 at any given time. i’m not sure if it’s an allergic reaction, but needless to say, it makes life pretty damn uncomfortable everytime she came back when we were younger.
Those bottles of liquid that you plug into the electrical socket are also pretty good, and have the added advantage that when you leave them on all night, the chemical fumes gum your eyes up really well, making it more difficult for the light to get in.
Seriously, though, I find that just allowing a fan to blow over me at night keeps them away.
quote:Originally posted by Jeff:
Yes and no. I got fewer bites as time went on, but it wasn't from immunity--it was from getting better at tracking the little suckers down in the middle of the night. Those electric zappers are great, and vaccuum cleaners will do in a pinch.
Ugh! Reminds me of when I’m trying to sleep…the room is completely quite, but then I hear a faint “bzzzzzz…” And if I don’t find the little sucker I know he’s gonna bite me.
Then those zappers…they’d “ZAP” something so loud it would startle me out of my sleep.
I buy into the “fresh meat” theory. I also noticed that the longer I was in Taiwan, the fewer the bites. Also, when I was a missionary and had been in Taiwan for a while, we noticed that the ‘new guy’ seemed to get bitten the most. Maybe once you get enough “Taiwan” in your blood it doesn’t make you stand out as much (from the mosquito’s point of view).
quote[quote] Those electric zappers are great [/quote]Especially for kids that frequently speak Chinese in the classroom [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]
quote:Originally posted by Geng:
Then those zappers...they'd "ZAP" something so loud it would startle me out of my sleep.
No, I was talking about the electric flyswatters. You know, they look like badminton raquets with only horizontal “strings.” They work great on mosquitos but not so well on larger bugs…
No, I was talking about the electric flyswatters. You know, they look like badminton raquets with only horizontal “strings.” They work great on mosquitos but not so well on larger bugs…
Oh yeah! I forgot about those! They’re lots of fun.
A friend of mine who visited and brought mosquito rackets back for everyone he knew later found them online. mosquito missile defense
But check out the price. I think it’s being marketed for the sharper image set.
i just read an article about amnesty international condeming taiwan because of the large industry and unregulated sales of electronic zapper devices(like stun guns).
and ANYTHING at restoration hardware is aimed at yuppies with WAY too much money to spend.
I have one of these things (my friend picked it up in a night market). It seemed hard to use and somewhat dangerous to me… if anyone want’s it (Taipei) just email me!
I think my racket works very well. Always makes me nervous when my girlfriend tries to use it to get one near my head. She hasn’t gotten me yet, but sooner or later the odds will catch up.
Those rackets are so much better than pillows, newspapers etc. No blood on the walls and you can catch them midflight. But I onlyhave to use them if I didn’t turn on my ‘little plug in bottle of liquid thingy’ - that works 99%
For some reason, mosquitos like to bite my ankles and feet much more than anywhere else on my body. But I’ve found that if I first spray that area with insect repellent, then the mosquitos never bite there, and it lasts for hours.
They sell an insect repellent called “Off” at most convenience stores in Taiwan. It contains a chemical called “DEET”, and it’s very effective. I use it all the time, whenever I plan to be outside in the evening for more than an hour or so (like going to a night market, etc).
But for mosquitos that are in the house, I can usually see them flying around before they bite me, so then I use a zapper racket.
I’ve found that the bug lights only work if you turn off all the lights, which isn’t convenient to do except when you go to bed at night. But then like Geng said, they wake you up every time they zap something. And it’s usually just a moth.