D. Mosquitos

If you answered D. Mosquitos, you would be right! Mosquito Bites result in over 1 million deaths per year and you may also be surprised to know that the female mosquito is the only one that bites humans.  Carbon dioxide is one of the main ways in which mosquitoes locate their next feast. They use a special organ called a maxillary palp to follow the smell of CO2 released from our breath. According to the American Mosquito Control Association, there are over 3,000 different species of mosquitoes throughout the world. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about one mosquito becoming the bane of your existence causing itchy bites for eternity. Why? Well, these biting insects have a very short life span. It is estimated that mosquitoes live less than 2 months! We all know mosquitoes like to enjoy a couple of human blood cocktails, but did you know they can drink more blood than students can drink alcohol during freshman week?

There are lot of mosquito-borne Illnesses and some are very deadly with a 30% death rate of people infected. These mosquito-borne illnesses include Malaria, Chikungunya, Dog Heartworm, Dengue, Yellow Fever, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), St. Louis Encephalitis, LaCrosse Ecephalitis, Western Equine Encephalitis, West Nile Virus, and Zika Virus.

There are things you can do to minimize mosquitos in your area such as, dump out or drain any standing water near your home. You can also use mosquito repellents and wear light -colored clothing. Stay in-doors during dusk and dawn and if you cannot do that there are some natural scents that work well too such as: lavender, peppermint, citronella, rosemary, garlic, neem oil, basil, lemongrass, eucalyptus, and bergamot.