The mosquitoes that circulate in Italy belong to 67 species

The mosquitoes that circulate in Italy belong to 67 species: there are diurnal and nocturnal ones, but only the females are responsible for the bites. Mosquitoes identify their human “victims” by detecting the carbon dioxide coming from breathing. But as we read in an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, another substance is also implicated in this irresistible magnet effect that sees humans and birds among the favorite targets.

The substance, nonanal, is an aldehyde, an organic compound known for its fruit and flower scent that is used in the perfume industry but that our skin also emits naturally. The discovery is important for developing techniques to control mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit.

In other areas of the planet these insects are responsible for the spread of diseases that are deadly for humans. Malaria, West Nile Virus, yellow fever, dengue and other infections affect half a billion people a year on the surface of the planet. Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles, a genus represented in Italy by the species Anopheles labranchiae and Anopheles superpictus.

Birds are the “repository” of this disease: mosquitoes pick up the virus when they suck the blood of these animals and transmit it to many other species including humans, but also horses, dogs, cats, bats, monkeys, skunks, squirrels and rabbits.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 781,000 people died of malaria in 2009 worldwide, 90% of whom were in Africa and 92% were children under five. Researchers at the University of Florida in the United States measured the level of protection of different products. According to the results of the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the one that works best is “NN-diethyltoluamide”, a substance with a complicated name, but which has been used for almost fifty years in the most well-known products on the market.

But what are the natural repellent products?

alternative and much more natural remedies! Found on the site infozanzare.info edited by some researchers from the CNR
– Put some vinegar and a few slices of lemon in a flat-bottomed container, mosquitoes will not come near.
– Where possible, plant scented geraniums and citronella and lavender plants, effective natural repellents whose scent mosquitoes cannot stand.
– In the evening, put a few drops of neem oil (Marta points out to me that it smells of burnt onions) or citronella on wide-based candles.
– Light mosquito coils or Neem incense (an Indian insecticide plant).
– Eat garlic or chili peppers, which give sweat an unpleasant odor to insects.
– Also using brewer’s yeast flakes (a pinch, like parmesan, once a day, on food) seems to be effective, for the aforementioned reason.
– The same can be achieved with vitamin C.
– There is a yellow light bulb (the least loved by mosquitoes) that keeps them away for about a meter around.
– There is an entire line of mosquito-repellent clothing made with a fabric containing a repellent acrylic resin that resists washing.
– Online, it is on sale for 9.90 euros, a small instrument, to be worn around the neck, that promises to keep mosquitoes away by emitting ultrasounds at a frequency between 5,000 and 9,000 HZ and is recharged with the sun’s rays.
– You can also buy online electronic mosquito repellers that are either mains-powered or battery-powered. I just bought one and it works great!
– It is said that bergamot extract is an excellent repellent.
– As a repellent and soothing agent, Andiroba oil is also worth trying. It is extracted from the seeds of the chestnut-shaped fruit of Carapa guaianensis, by cold pressing. It is used by the populations of the Amazon to defend themselves from insect attacks.
– Onions also keep mosquitoes away, so it is useful to keep half an onion in a small dish in the room where you are staying, with cloves applied to the surface.

An excellent mosquito repellent is also a decoction of mint and a few basil leaves that should be filtered and sprayed on the exposed parts of the body. It is advisable to keep it in the refrigerator.

Sources:

infozanzare.info

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