All the “whys” about mosquito bites: Why and how do they bite? Who gets bitten more often? What attracts them to a person?

How much blood does one mosquito need and is it worth getting rid of it right away?

Many will agree that even a single mosquito can make a sleepless night with its squeak. But how many times it can bite is known only to the most erudite, as well as entomologists who have devoted their lives to the study of insects.

Surely someone will say that this is absolutely useless information. But one can argue with this statement. After all, children suffer the most from mosquito bites, and even a few itchy blisters will cause a lot of anxiety for adults.

Perhaps, knowing how active blood-sucking insects can be, we will begin to more seriously protect ourselves and loved ones from their bites, using all possible means.

Females and males: who is more biting?

It’s worth saying right away that only females are bloodthirsty. In the natural habitat, blood is not the only source of mosquito nutrition. Both males and females feed on plant sap and nectar. Only after fertilization does the female experience the need for protein, which is necessary for laying eggs. She finds it in the blood of animals and people.

Males that do not need protein do not bite at all, do not suck blood, but live in places with high humidity, feeding on plant nectar. Their life expectancy is on average 10 days, death occurs immediately after the fertilization process.

After fertilization, the female goes in search of blood, finding a person according to several criteria:

• the smell of lactic acid in sweat (research by American scientists in the late 90s showed that for malaria mosquitoes, for example, the smell of old rather than fresh sweat is more attractive);
• exhaled carbon dioxide;
• body warmth;
• movement.

It is so laid down by nature that the female usually goes out to hunt her prey in the evening and at night. She can lay up to 250 eggs after one fertilization, so she needs to be fed. The female drinks up to 6 ml of blood, which is twice her own weight (about 3 g).

The eggs are formed within 3 days, during which the mother mosquito does not need blood and therefore does not bite. Then the reproduction process repeats again.

How a mosquito bites

A mosquito sting consists of an upper and lower lip, extended and pressed tightly against each other. Because of this, it feels like there is a solid trunk on the insect’s head. Inside there are two pairs of jaws, which are needles. With them, the mosquito pierces the skin and gets to the food.

The structure of the mouthparts of a mosquito

At the moment of the bite, the insect injects saliva inside, which prevents plasma clotting. It is this that causes itching and irritation. It also transmits various diseases, such as malaria and fever. Therefore, doctors recommend protecting yourself from mosquito bites in every possible way.

Having pierced the skin, the mosquito begins to absorb the necessary substances. From the outside you can see how his body gradually inflates and turns red. Having eaten, the individual becomes less mobile and goes to lay eggs.

How many times can one mosquito bite in a night?

What can one single female do to us? According to scientists studying the life of mosquitoes, one representative of the mosquito genus is capable of biting from 5 to 15 times. This amount depends on how easy it is to draw blood. If we constantly drive her away, slapping ourselves indiscriminately on the face, arms or legs, she will have to work hard and bite us as often as possible in order to gradually suck out the necessary 6 ml and get enough.

When falling asleep at night, a person does not feel pain when bitten, so the mosquito calmly sucks out its portion and flies away to lay eggs. When we are awake, we begin to interfere with the bloodsuckers. If we have enough skill, we can swat the insect. Otherwise, we will get worse.

IMPORTANT!
Let the female get enough blood, and after 10 minutes she will fly away. By driving away the female, we provoke her into repeated attacks and bites.

A female mosquito does not die after being bitten unless it is swatted by a person, trying to protect herself from the annoying insect. Perhaps in the future she will return for a new portion of blood. Don't forget to prepare!

Death after feeding

Whether a mosquito dies after biting a person depends on certain circumstances. Blood itself is quite suitable for an insect to continue to perform its functions - to live and reproduce. Even a sick person with serious health problems, infection, or virus does not harm the blood-sucking creature. Some types of mosquitoes die after laying eggs, but not after being bitten.

The risk of death increases significantly if the female bites a waking person, who is instantly able to swat the pest, barely feeling any discomfort. In this case, the mosquito’s chance of dying increases significantly. The exception is infants under 1 year of age who do not yet understand what’s what.

How many bites does a female leave during her “mosquito” life?

One female lives on average 45-55 days. Some of them die immediately after laying eggs. The rest are fertilized again and again fly in search of blood.

Mosquitoes live the longest if they:

• sufficient humidity;
• air temperature 10-25°C;
• availability of sources of plant food and blood;
• the absence of people capable of interrupting the life of insects.

Theoretically, the female can lay eggs every 3-4 days. It is easy to calculate that one female can attack 15-18 times. And this is provided that she drank the required amount of blood in one bite.

INTERESTING!
According to the observations of scientists, in practice one female produces no more than 3 clutches, therefore the actual number of her bites is much less.

Some types of mosquitoes can hibernate in winter and, waking up in the spring, live their allotted period of 30-50 days. Such long-livers are found only among females!

Lifestyle of mosquitoes

In many species of mosquitoes, the diet of males and females differs significantly. Males, like many other insects, feed on flower nectar and plant juices. Females can also use these substances for food, but their oral apparatus is structured somewhat differently. As a result of this, they are able to pierce the skin of animals, feeding on blood from the capillaries adjacent to its surface.

In some species, female mosquitoes do not use the parasitic method of feeding all the time, but only during the breeding season.

The nutrients they obtain from the blood of their host animals may be necessary for them to produce eggs.

Therefore, the activity of mosquitoes as blood-sucking insects significantly depends on the time of year, weather and the characteristics of the life cycle of a particular species of these insects.

The period of greatest mosquito activity occurs from May to October, if we talk about the temperate climate zone. Peak mosquito activity may occur in different months in different regions, depending on climatic conditions.

Is it worth starting a war with one mosquito in the house?

If we take into account all of the above, it is not difficult to understand that even one mosquito is capable of biting a person several times during the night. What if this is a child, and even one suffering from allergies? Is it worth protecting ourselves from one female that accidentally flew into our house?

Definitely worth it. And we should start with preventive measures that will stop the bloodsuckers on the threshold of our home. The most reliable protection will be mosquito nets installed on windows and doors.

A few more simple preventive measures recommended to prevent insect bites on your property:

• remove all sources of standing water around the house, including even water containers for pets;
• in areas with high concentrations of mosquitoes in the evening and at night, wear clothes that cover the body as much as possible, as well as socks and a hat;
• Be sure to stock up on natural or chemical repellents. Among natural remedies, essential oils of strong-smelling plants (citronella, lemon eucalyptus, mint, vanilla, cloves, lavender) are considered the best.

INTERESTING!
According to Australian scientists, lemon eucalyptus oil provides 95% protection against mosquitoes within 3 hours.

A mixture of citronella, lemongrass, peppermint and vanillin oils, which has a pleasant aroma for a person’s sense of smell, can repel not only mosquitoes, but also other flying blood-sucking, as well as ixodid ticks.

Why are mosquitoes dangerous?

Many people perceive mosquitoes as annoying insects that bother and interfere with sleep or rest, but do not pose a serious danger.
But in fact, mosquitoes are often carriers of infectious diseases, some of these diseases are deadly.

The microorganisms that cause the disease may be contained in the mosquito's saliva, which enters the human bloodstream at the site of the bite. These can be viruses or microscopic parasitic organisms.

According to official statistics, more than a million people die every year from diseases carried by mosquitoes.

It is important to understand that this problem affects not only the regions that are primarily associated with diseases such as malaria or dengue fever - Africa and South America - but also other continents. Cases of mosquitoes transmitting various infections have also been reported in Russia.

Since the mosquito's proboscis is in direct contact with blood, this insect could theoretically be a carrier of the human immunodeficiency virus. However, modern epidemiology assesses this possibility as extremely unlikely.

How long can they live in an apartment?

Despite the peculiarity of dipterans to adapt to climatic conditions, the temperature regime largely determines their lifespan. Life of a female:

• +23°C and above – up to 43 days;
• +20-23°C – up to 58 days;
• +15-20°C – up to 114 days;
• +10-15°C – up to 120 days.

The life of a male under the same temperature conditions will be approximately 2 times shorter, and after mating it does not exceed 5 days; the female is not limited in mating games. The temperature in the apartments of most people is 20-25 degrees, based on this, we can conclude that a female can live in such conditions for 1.5-2 months, a male for 20-30 days. Moreover, having the opportunity to feed on blood, a female individual will regularly hatch larvae in damp places in the room, populating the house with a new generation.

To prevent blood-sucking insects from entering your home as little as possible, mosquito nets are placed on the windows. However, in practice, such means of protection do not give 100% results; squeaks still enter the house through the front door or otherwise. Many chemicals have been invented to combat insects, but they may not be suitable if there are allergy sufferers and small children in the house, so the safest methods are considered to be keeping plants at home: geranium, elderberry, marigold, basil, lemongrass, lilac, bird cherry. The use of aromatic oils is also effective: geranium, eucalyptus, cedar, anise, tea tree, basil.

Sources

• https://klopkan.ru/komary/skolko-zhivet-komar-v-kvartire-posle-ukusa-i-bez-krovi-cheloveka-2/
• https://TaraKlop.ru/komary/skolko-zhivut-komary/
• https://apest.ru/komary/ukusy-komarov/skolko-raz-kusaet-komar/
• https://kipmu.ru/skolko-raz-mozhet-kusatsya-odin-i-tot-zhe-komar/
• https://sandezeco.ru/skolko-zhivut-komary-posle-ukusa-cheloveka/
• https://notklop.ru/komary/ukusy-komarov/skolko-raz-kusaet-komar/

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Life cycle of a mosquito

The life cycle of a mosquito includes 4 stages:

1. Egg. After mating with the male, the female looks for a pond with standing water or damp soil, lays eggs and flies away. Each clutch can contain from 30 to 280 eggs.
2. Larva. Depending on the air temperature, after 2-8 days the eggs form into larvae that look like small worms. They feed by filtering water from which they extract nutrients. About 1 liter of liquid passes through 1 mosquito larva per day.
3. Doll. After about 20 days, the larvae pupate.
4. Adult. An adult mosquito appears 5 days after pupation. It will be able to start reproducing within a week.

Adult insects feed on carbohydrate foods – nectar of flowers and juice of plant leaves. Decaying vegetation can serve as a food source. Only females feed on blood.

Does spraying alcohol and applying baking soda really help?

Alcohol is unlikely to relieve itching, but it disinfects - this is the prevention of secondary infection when scratching. Some people use perfume for these purposes; sometimes it may even seem that this is more effective than simply wiping the bite area with alcohol. The fact is that spraying cool perfume has a local cooling effect and thus can relieve itching.

To relieve itching, you can use cold (apply ice or something cool to the bite sites), as well as soda - it is mixed with water until it becomes mushy and applied to the bites. When drying, the composition forms a crust, like Calamine.

Food preferences

Many people notice that mosquitoes can bite one person twice, bite another completely, and not touch a third at all.

• Insect bites are usually located in areas not covered by clothing, a blanket, or thin fabric.
• Mosquitoes are attracted by the smell of lactic acid, carbon dioxide, and heat. Children are much more likely to suffer from mosquito attacks. This is explained by thin skin, rapid metabolism with intense release of lactic acid and heat.
• The smells of females attract and repel. Men's cologne acts as an effective repellent, while sweet women's perfume attracts the attention of pests.
• More often, people who sweat a lot, suffer from hormonal disorders, and heart disease complain of mosquito bites. Females are attracted to increased levels of estrogen, testosterone, cholesterol, nonanal, and steroids. At risk are pregnant women, people with diabetes, and men who play sports.

It is easier to pierce thin skin, therefore, if there is a child or adults in the house, mosquitoes give preference to the youngest member of the family. Adults may not suffer from bites at all.

Can a bedbug bite burst?

Bedbug bites become swollen compared to the skin around them and feel like they might burst. But this never happens.

Whiteheads can burst because the pores are clogged and the inflamed area swells. Pressure builds up inside until it bursts on its own or you squeeze out the pus yourself. After the pus drains, the inflammation gradually goes away.

Bed bug bites swell for another reason. They swell because the bedbug uses its saliva to numb you at the site of the bite. Your body recognizes this saliva as a dangerous foreign substance. What happens next is called a histamine reaction. The area around the bite becomes inflamed to increase blood flow and the number of antibacterial cells sent by the immune system.

If you try to squeeze a bed bug bite, it won't pop because there is no extra fluid underneath the surface of your skin, it's just layers of skin, fat and blood.

Someone bites in bed at night: other insects

, many insects can bite at night Now you will find out which ones.

Common mosquitoes

Quite dangerous are simple mosquitoes, which seem harmless to us at first glance. An insect ringing in our ear can be a deadly threat. A mosquito bite can cause a severe allergy attack, especially if a person has a weakened immune system. An ordinary person does not care about a parasite bite. A mosquito bite can cause redness of the skin and itching, which goes away quickly. However, there are some people who are very sensitive to the saliva of this insect. This group often includes children, as well as adults under 35 years of age. What awaits these people if they are bitten by an ordinary mosquito? First of all, what’s not the worst thing is blisters and severe swelling at the site of the bite, as well as a severe rash. In addition, the following serious complications may occur: high temperature, fever, asthma attacks, severe headaches, chills and nausea. These symptoms may appear just a few minutes after the mosquito bite. The first signs of anaphylactic shock are fever, redness of the skin, shortness of breath and headache. Sometimes swelling of the larynx may also develop with strong breathing, a rather strong dry cough appears, and the skin begins to itch very much. After this, blood pressure may drop sharply, and convulsions often appear. In the worst case, all this can even lead to death.

Fleas

If someone bites you in bed at night , it could be fleas. These insects are especially dangerous for owners of pets, particularly cats and dogs. Yes, yes, they really like to climb into people's beds. True, fleas, unlike bedbugs, bite people quite rarely - more often during the day. At night they behave much calmer. Flea bites are similar to bedbug bites, with the difference that the paths from them are a little shorter. You may be in danger even if there are no animals in your home.

You can easily bring fleas on yourself by petting a yard cat once, or uninvited guests may well jump to you from your cat-loving neighbors. It is necessary to get rid of fleas in two stages: first, treat them on the animal’s body, and after this operation, treat them throughout the entire apartment. Any of the drugs used to combat domestic bedbugs are suitable for an apartment, but you should ask a specialist at a pharmacy for advice on cleansing an animal’s skin.

Read more about flea bites on humans HERE!

Human head lice

Such lice do not live in bed; they prefer to settle on the head and follow their prey everywhere. It is very important for lice to feed on blood frequently. In this regard, when falling from a person, they almost completely die from hunger. This little thing can also bite at night, thereby disturbing your sleep. True, lice bites are not very pronounced and are much less painful than bites of the same fleas or bedbugs. However, due to their large number, they can cause a person many unpleasant moments.

Cockroaches

Many people do not know that with a lack of water and a very large number of relatives, any hungry cockroach can easily crawl into a person’s bed and gnaw the epidermis around the lips and nose of the sleeping person. True, such cases are very rare, and if they do occur, then, as a rule, in student dormitories, where no one normally cares about the cleanliness of the kitchen and driving these parasites away. Therefore, you can only suspect cockroaches if you are absolutely and definitely sure that there are no fleas, bedbugs, or lice in your home.

There are known cases when hungry cockroaches bit small children, the wings of the nose, ears, and lips.

Human linen lice

These lice are carriers of dangerous diseases such as typhus and relapsing fever. They bite a person in order to drink blood. In addition, they cause itching on the skin, redness, an allergic reaction, and small ulcers that may not heal for a long time. These are the insects that bite in bed at night except bedbugs .

Linen lice eggs

Pubic lice

They live mainly near the genitals, on the pubis and around the anus. These parasites never live on the head. They feed on blood. If there is no food, they die after 24 hours. They are infected with a disease such as lice pubis. As a rule, these insects are found in people who are promiscuous.

Lice themselves are not very dangerous. However, once lice pubis is diagnosed, treatment should begin as soon as possible, since bites can cause an allergic reaction, and itching and scratching can weaken the protective barriers of the human body.

Body lice

Who bites in bed at night besides bedbugs ? Of course, body lice. They live in human clothing. They are a close relative of the well-known head louse. During the meal, it quickly leaves clothes on the human body. He drinks blood and again hides in the seams of his clothes. Various infections can enter through wounds.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes bite if you visit the forests of the marshy areas of Siberia and the Urals. Mosquitoes are practically never found in houses and apartments. Bites are dangerous due to various allergic reactions on the skin. Dealing with parasites is not that difficult since you can see them. You can simply brush it off, or kill with your hand.

Vodni

When you are relaxing on a lake or river, you are periodically bitten by large flies, these are water flies. After their bites, large blisters immediately swell and itch for a long time. These insects are practically never found in apartments; they are quite rare in private houses, only if the housing is located near a forest.

Malaria mosquitoes

Does someone bite you ? This can be a large malaria mosquito, which is quite rare. As a rule, it lives in wooded and swampy areas. The bite of this insect can cause malaria, a very dangerous disease that often causes death.

Who can bite in bed at night?

When figuring out who might bite in bed at night, the easiest way would be to catch the bloodsucker right at the crime scene, take a good look at it and compare it with photos on the Internet.
And after that, take the necessary countermeasures. If someone bites you in bed at night, then this article is for you! Of all the insects, bedbugs are, of course, the leader in creating a feeling of discomfort. However, there are other bloodsuckers besides bed bugs that can bite a person in bed at night.

The constant presence of blood-sucking parasites in the bed is not just sleep disturbances, nightmares at night, and itchy bites in the morning, but also the risk of contracting quite dangerous infections. Yes, such that the next day you can be busy all day just getting rid of bites. For example, some blood-sucking insects are potentially capable of transmitting pathogens of encephalitis (and we’re not just talking about ticks), plague, anthrax, and typhoid. Only this is enough so that at the first suspicion of the presence of such insects in the house, immediately take measures to remove them.

You shouldn’t expect that living in a big city and a comfortable apartment will completely protect you from insects in your bed. A very characteristic feature of these human parasites is their indifference to the sanitary condition and cleanliness of the room, because they feed on blood, and not on the remains of our food. After reading this article you will know who can bite in bed at night .

Area

Mosquitoes are widespread throughout the globe and inhabit all continents except Antarctica. The widest range is the common mosquito (Culex pipiens), which is distributed everywhere where humans, its main victim, are found.

In warm and humid tropical regions they are active throughout the year, but in temperate regions they overwinter, entering diapause at one of the developmental stages (usually the adult or egg stage) during the cold season. Arctic mosquitoes remain active for only a few weeks a year, when heat causes thermokarst pools of water to form on top of the permafrost. However, during this time they manage to breed in huge quantities - swarms of mosquitoes can take up to 300 ml of blood per day from each animal in the caribou herd.

The eggs of mosquitoes living in temperate latitudes are more resistant to the negative effects of cold than the eggs of mosquitoes common in warmer climate zones. They can even withstand exposure to snow and freezing temperatures. In addition, adult individuals can survive throughout the winter in habitats suitable for their wintering (for example, warm and humid basements of residential buildings).

Distribution media

Humans have contributed to the spread of various species of mosquitoes throughout the world and their movement over long distances into regions where they are not native. First of all, these are journeys along sea routes, in which eggs, larvae and pupae of mosquitoes are transported in worn-out tires filled with water or containers with cut flowers.

However, in addition to sea transport, mosquitoes have actively mastered travel on personal vehicles, trucks, trains and even airplanes. Thus, the spread of mosquitoes is difficult to control, and even quarantine measures have proven to be ineffective and difficult to implement in practice.