These anti mosquito remedies and magic weapons are unreliable, and the mosquito density in Shanghai will reach its peak throughout the year! But mosquitoes | mosquito repellent | year-round

The latest results of vector monitoring in Shanghai show that after the emergence of plum blossoms, the temperature in Shanghai will significantly increase, precipitation will increase, mosquito and fly breeding will accelerate, and mosquito density will reach its annual peak. Monitoring also found that the number of Aedes albopictus mosquitoes capable of transmitting infectious diseases such as dengue fever is gradually increasing.

Mosquitoes are rampant, but many popular "mosquito prevention tips" on the internet are unreliable.

Mosquitoes prefer type O blood? No, I prefer these people more

The topic of "who mosquitoes like" has always been highly popular on the internet. A group of people together, why do some people have multiple mosquito patches, while others don't attract mosquitoes at all?

A popular belief is that mosquitoes prefer people with type O blood. However, this conclusion does not have sufficient research support. Because the current research on blood types and mosquito bites is relatively shallow, there are problems such as insufficient sample size, significant differences in the number of people for each blood type, and multiple variables. Simply put, different blood types can be subdivided into different types, and the relationship between different types of mosquitoes and blood types is also inconsistent, so a conclusion cannot be given.

Study the relationship between mosquito bite preferences and specific populations

However, existing scientific research has indeed found that mosquitoes have a preference for certain populations. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently pointed out that four types of people are prone to "attracting" mosquitoes:

Firstly, people who emit more carbon dioxide.

The carbon dioxide emitted by the human body has a strong appetite for mosquitoes. Mosquitoes mainly rely on their olfactory organs to perceive human information coming from the air when searching for targets. People who emit more carbon dioxide tend to have a relatively high concentration of carbon dioxide around their bodies, resulting in clearer images in the unique field of view of mosquitoes.

Next are people with strong metabolism and easy sweating.

The sweat excreted by the human body evaporates in the air, which is also a major signal to attract mosquitoes. Moreover, people who like to sweat have a higher lactate content in their blood and a higher acidity in the sweat they excrete, which is also attractive to mosquitoes.

In addition, the heated body in mosquito antennae is highly sensitive to temperature changes, and the human body continuously dissipates heat when sweating, which in turn becomes a temptation for mosquitoes.

So, children with high metabolism, pregnant women with high body temperature, and other groups are prone to mosquito bites.

Once again, it's the makeup crowd.

Perfume containing stearic acid and cosmetics such as hair gel and face cream with floral smell are also attractive to mosquitoes. However, mosquitoes also dislike some odors, including those of bay leaves, lemon grass oil, garlic, and so on.

Finally, there is the crowd dressed in dark colors.

Mosquitoes like to suck blood in low light environments. When people wear dark clothes, the reflected light is darker, which is just right for them. Moreover, dark clothes have strong heat absorption ability and are also favored by mosquitoes.

From the perspective of clothing color, black is the preferred choice for mosquitoes, followed by blue, red, green, etc., and the least favored color is white. Similarly, mosquitoes tend to bite people with darker or redder skin tones.

These mosquito prevention "secrets" and "magic weapons" are not trustworthy

With the increase of mosquitoes, the popularity of various mosquito prevention "secrets" and "magic weapons" is also rising, but many of them are "unreliable" and "intelligence taxes".

Firstly, mosquito repellent stickers and wristbands have limited protective effects.

The principle of this type of product is to use aromatic plant essential oils to emit odors that mosquitoes do not like. But they are only locally applied or worn, usually only able to protect the skin around the adhesive or wearing area of more than ten square centimeters. Combined with air circulation, the odor duration and radiation effect of such products will be compromised. So, many consumers have found that even if they stick or wear mosquito repellent stickers or wristbands, they still leave mosquito patches on their bodies.

There are many options for mosquito repellent stickers and wristbands

Secondly, applying or consuming onions, garlic, ginger, and other juices in large quantities may not repel mosquitoes, but it is likely to drive away people.

This folk recipe is similar to mosquito repellent stickers and mosquito repellent wristbands, and also uses odor to repel mosquitoes. Can also be constrained by the environment and have limited effects. Moreover, many people do not like their scent. Applying or eating too much can actually drive people away.

Thirdly, spraying vitamin B1 solution or taking vitamin B1 orally is ineffective.

At present, there is insufficient evidence to prove the effectiveness of the above measures. Moreover, the molecular structure of vitamin B1 is unstable, and it is afraid of heat and easily decomposes when exposed to light. The practice of dissolving and spraying in water is not scientific.

Fourthly, the effect of planting a large number of aromatic plants may not be ideal.

Someone has suggested that if a large number of plants such as mint, lemongrass, and lemongrass are planted at home that can emit odors that mosquitoes do not like, they can be blocked out. Unfortunately, this is only an ideal state because when these plants secrete a large amount of fragrance, it is often accompanied by physical damage - for example, when people rub their leaves with their hands, the odor becomes stronger. Under normal growth conditions, the odor concentration emitted by these plants is not sufficient to repel mosquitoes; If the mosquito repellent concentration is really reached, it may also smoke people indoors.

Can fragrant plants really repel mosquitoes?

Fifthly, ultrasonic mosquito repellent products are suspected of "intelligence tax".

Unlike mosquito repellent remedies or products that target the mosquito's sense of smell, ultrasonic mosquito repellent is aimed at the mosquito's hearing, which sounds very reasonable - through ultrasonic transmitters or even mobile apps, it emits ultrasound waves that are difficult for mosquitoes to accept, thereby achieving mosquito repellent effects. Many businesses claim that these products are suitable for special groups such as mothers and infants, and are non-toxic and harmless.

However, ultrasonic mosquito repellent is only theoretically feasible. Not to mention whether the ultrasound waves emitted by these products or apps are really disliked by mosquitoes, even if they are effective, they still face the situation of a wide variety of mosquitoes and different types of perceived ultrasound frequency bands, making it impossible to drive away all mosquitoes.

It should be noted that some ultrasonic mosquito repellents may emit monotonous sounds such as "dripping" and "hissing", which can cause physiological discomfort such as irritability when the human body is exposed to them for a long time. Especially for infants and young children with weaker resilience, they are more likely to cry and fall asleep, which is not conducive to their growth.

Rational view on ultrasonic mosquito repellent

Scientific mosquito prevention is the most effective way to do it

So, how to prevent mosquitoes? Based on the preferences and foraging habits of mosquitoes, the following methods are more reliable——

Firstly, starting from oneself, take frequent showers and change clothes, use less smelly cosmetics, and wear more light colored clothes to reduce personal attraction to mosquitoes.

In the home environment, it is important to clean up accumulated water, such as the bottom tray of a flowerpot or the water dispenser.

Secondly, physical protection is the safest and most effective.

For groups such as mothers and infants, physical mosquito prevention measures can be taken, including using mosquito nets while sleeping, wearing light and breathable long sleeved pants when going out, and avoiding areas where mosquitoes gather such as grass, flower beds, and water pools.

Mosquito nets are excellent physical mosquito repellent equipment

Finally, choose chemical mosquito repellents reasonably.

Although some chemical mosquito repellents contain low toxicity components, their mosquito repellent effects are relatively guaranteed, and reasonable use will not affect health.

At present, the recognized safe and effective chemical mosquito repellent ingredients include mosquito repellent amine, picaridine, mosquito repellent ester, lemon eucalyptus oil, etc. Adults can apply mosquito repellent products containing such ingredients; Children over 2 months old can also choose chemical mosquito repellents, but it is not recommended for children under 3 years old to use mosquito repellents containing lemon eucalyptus oil.

Reasonable selection of chemical mosquito repellents