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North Carolina blood suckers

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by bwilson4web, Oct 1, 2018.

  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Source: Mosquitoes 3 times larger than normal attack North Carolina

    Vadovsky is just one of the many people in North Carolina who is fighting against a monster mosquito outbreak, the result of flooding caused by Hurricane Florence.

    “It didn’t hit automatically. It was more gradual. It took maybe 3 or 4 days after the storm passed before it got to this epidemic level.” Vadovsky said. “And I’m not even on the side of town that had the major flooding. Imagine how bad it could be over on that end.”

    Mosquito experts say that floodwaters can cause eggs that would have otherwise laid dormant for over a year to hatch – sending billions of the vicious parasites into the air.

    The ones plaguing the Carolinas are called "Gallinippers," or "Psorophora ciliata," according to entomologist Michael Waldvogel of North Carolina State University (NCSU). This species that can be three times as large as average mosquitoes and the larvae are known to prey on aquatic animals that are as large as tadpoles. The females grow up to feed on large mammals, humans included.

    “There’s 61 species of mosquitoes in North Carolina and of those, probably 15 to 20 would be highly responsive to floodwaters in this way,” said Michael Reiskind, Associate Professor of the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at NCSU. “When you have major flooding, a lot of these eggs hatch and you can see rapid population growth.”    ​

    Bob Wilson
     
    #1 bwilson4web, Oct 1, 2018
  2. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I was swarmed last night while finishing up outside last evening. Can't dump all the places and things that might hold water.
     
    #2 Trollbait, Oct 1, 2018
  3. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Meh...
    I've been to Alaska and Michigan.

    Haven't really seen 'big' mosquitoes since.
    Besides.....anyone who has lived in the Carolinas for any length of time will tell you that, pound for pound, the 'blood sucker' prize goes to the humble Ceratopogonidae a.k.a. 'ariel-dantes', 'no-see-ums', 'sand flies' etc.....
    The ones a little further south we called screaming mimis - probably an adaptation from various military nicknames for artillery and rockets.
    Bases on the reactions from people afflicted by swarms of ariel-dantes around sunrise/sunset - I personally found the nickname to be quite descriptive!

    We used Avon's "Skin-so-soft" against them very effectively on my last boat, and I had a supply weenie tell me once that SsS actually has an NSN (Military National Stock Number.)
    It smelled HORRIBLE!
    I cannot fathom that a female with normal brain function would willingly use it as it was originally intended by the manufacturer unless it's some secret #metoo repellent for another type of pest.

    When I was in the desert we used DEET but you had to be careful with that stuff on some watches, glasses, and other gear and I often as not imagined that I would probably be getting love letters from attorneys (speaking of blood-sucking PESTS!) trying to get me to join a class action suit against people that manufacture the stuff for all manner of imagined illnesses.....

    SsS doesn't do much against mosquitoes, and people with nothing much better to do will be squalling about West Nile pretty soon...
     
    #3 ETC(SS), Oct 1, 2018
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2018
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  4. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Some insects, I think bees, are attracted by Skin-so-soft.
     
    #4 Trollbait, Oct 1, 2018
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    we're having a swarm now, after a very dry and quiet summer, but i've never seen mosquitos like in canada when i was a kid, it was like a constant black cloud from the ground up.
     
    #5 bisco, Oct 1, 2018
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  6. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    I've been swarmed by ariel-dentes and I'm allergic to bees.......

    I'll take my chances with the bees....;)
     
    #6 ETC(SS), Oct 1, 2018
  7. davecook89t

    davecook89t Senior Member

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    Hmm, I never knew you had spent time up there. I bet you were spending your vacations somewhere in northern Ontario, the part known as the Canadian Shield. That still doesn't beat the swarms we used to get in Manitoba, close to the stagnant water in the "dugouts" farmers made in the ground to give their cattle a place to drink.
     
    #7 davecook89t, Oct 1, 2018
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    we were on a cross country summer vacation in '63, a la chevy chase :cool:
    no idea where we were, all campgrounds from seattle through canada to new york.
    one particular place/day was the buggiest.
     
    #8 bisco, Oct 1, 2018
  9. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    When I first saw the title, I wondered why this was in Environmental Discussion, not FHoPol.

    Oh, you meant the six-legged ones, not the two-legged variety ...
     
    #9 fuzzy1, Oct 1, 2018
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