Kunming: Mosquito ?

[w000t311]

In Kunming, are there mosquitoes? I really hate those things, and if I had the power, would wipe every last one of them off the face of the Earth (and no, I don't give a crap what that would do to the food chain). Just wondered since Kunming is southern enough to possibly have them, but I was thinking also that since it is at a higher elevation the bugs wouldn't be able to stand it, but otherwise the place seems to have a stable enough environment for them to thrive. Just wondered from any locals how bad that problem is, especially in conjunction with malaria. Speaking of which, a friend of mine who lives in Beijing told me that if I take an increased load of Vitamin B supplements (6 and 12), that this makes my blood unpleasant in both taste and smell to the mosquitoes. Is there any truth to this?

[onebir]

In Kunming, no malaria AFAIK. Not sure about dengue fever, but no one seemed too bothered. There are mosquitos in some places but not others - I never had any trouble with them where I lived, but last summer someone I know did - despite living on the seventh floor.

[pandaxiongmao]

There are mosquitos in Kunming, though you'll find more in other locales.

Vitamin B won't necessarily help. My mother gets bitten less by mosquitos when taking Vitamin B supplements, but it seems to make no difference for myself. I am close to being vegan, so mosquitos don't tend to bite me. That might make a difference.

Those blue electrical lamps don't seem to work either - they attract male mosquitos, but the ones that will bite you are female.

I've noticed there are different kinds of incense you can buy to keep mosquitos away, but it makes me feel bad as well.

[mr.stinky]

skeeters? yepper, we gots 'em. in my last place up north i had 'em on the 24th floor.

but then i lived just a couple hundred meters from the river. moved into a 4th floor place

a bit closer to the water last november, and even had a few during the winter. they

must be living in the open pipes. seemed strange to be hunting skeeters in the

apartment while it's snowing out.

if you don't want to burn skeeter repellent, you can buy a small heater thingy with

replaceable chemical pads. kills the skeeters just fine, i suppose it does the same

to brain cells. another option is to buy a skeeter tent that fits over your bed, cost

is 200-300 rmb at carrefour.

[nobody200071]

There's mossies here, but they aint that nasty (i can gauge the agression of any biting insect based off the current inflimation of my extemities), not been bitten once, and they love my sweet haribo-addicted western blood.

[green84]

there are a lot of here, but since it's getting cold here these days, you won't find many.

guess depends on your blood type that if they like you , hohoho:lol:

[liuzhou]

The mosquito coils which you burn are not a good idea. They work, but are believed to be carcinogens. See here. I seem to recall that the USA have now banned imports of coils from China.

The little tablets which you put on a heated pad are a better bet.

For my top mossie tip for China click here.

[Luobot]

For my top mossie tip for China click here.

That’s a useful tip in your blog. I couldn’t make out the middle character (lu4). Is it 露 with the whole name being 花露水 ?

By the way, mosquitoes are attracted to or repelled by smell. They buzz around you as if they were courting you to find a part of your anatomy that they are particularly attracted to. If they like where they smell, then they suck.

Edited September 4, 2008 at 11:31 AM by Luobot

[liuzhou]

it's 露 in 花露水

Yes, mossies find you by smell. That's why this stuff confuses them.

[flameproof]

A few facts from mozzy research:

Mozzy likes the "Buteric Acid" smell. Something similar you transmit when your sweat ferments, specially from the ankle areas. A frequent daily deep shower with a brush may help. Specially if people are around that stink more then you.

Mozzy does not like drafts much. A fan can help a lot.

Mozzy does not like aircons at all.

Mozzy doesn't care about the mystic blue light. Some may go there by accident, or just because it's a bit warmer. To really attract Mozzy you need a CO2 source that comes with the light (or the high voltage to be precise). More advanced traps have a CO2 source, usually yeast generated. BTW, Mozzy can't see very well.

Mozzy needs water and will only be in places where water is in a 50m range.

Mozzy doesn't like certain plants, i.e. they stay away from most citrus related plants.

Mozzy doesn't like those Autan (sp??) sticks at all.

PS: If you travel in a group, try to discourage your friends from washing (tell them stories about skin cancer from showers etc.), that will keep you safe.