Source: Global Times
Yellow mosquito lights
A bat house in a German park
[Global Times special correspondent in Germany Aoki] Summer has arrived, and the hateful mosquitoes have come out again to look for "prey". There are about 3,500 species of mosquitoes in the world, and mosquitoes transmit more than 80 diseases, killing hundreds of thousands of people every year. Now the environmental protection of various countries is getting better and better, the green space is increasing, and the wetland is expanding, which also creates conditions for mosquito breeding. However, many European countries always seem to give the impression of flowers, green plants, clean and comfortable, and rarely encounter mosquitoes and flies. This is thanks to the "dead endless" anti-mosquito networks of European countries.
Establishment of a professional "mosquito control officer"
Some cities in Germany have set up "mosquito control officers" many years ago to carry out special rectification of mosquito problems. The small German town of Hanau is the "home of the Brothers Grimm" with a population of less than 100,000 people. Hanau's "mosquito control officer" Uvi told reporters that every year when the weather warms, he will lead the team to the places where mosquitoes have been serious in previous years to collect water samples. Ponds, ditches and other places where water accumulates are likely to become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. In order to prevent a large increase in mosquitoes in parks and public places, the "Mosquito Officer"'s recommendation to Hanau is to add BTI mosquito repellent to the surface water. BTI Chinese called Bacillus thuringiensis, is a natural bacterial larvicide. The addition of this pesticide to wetlands, ditches and other places by local people can eliminate the breeding mosquito larvae and be safe and harmless to aquatic plants, fish and humans.
The reporter walked on the streets of Hanau and found that the flower beds, lawns, and bushes here are neatly trimmed, and the ground is relatively clean, and the grassless places are often paved with tree fragments or cedar leaves, even if they lie on the ground, they will not get dirty. "Mosquito officer" Uve explained that piles of leaves, rotten flowers and grass and wet ground can become an ideal place for mosquitoes to continue to breed, so it is very important to clean up and clean in time, and tree fragments or cedar leaves can absorb excess water and reduce the possibility of mosquito breeding.
Grow bitter oranges and raise frogs
Every city in Europe has a unique anti-mosquito trick. In many of Berlin's parks, there are log cabins like letterboxes on the trees and on the walls of public places. Locals told reporters that this was a bat house. Bats are natural enemies of mosquitoes and can eat hundreds of mosquitoes in an hour. Bats usually like burrows, but the park does not have such a place, in order to attract bats, the park will make them nests in the trees, and sometimes put some food in them.
The reporter has found in Seville, Spain and other cities, where many bitter orange trees are planted. It is said that the bitter orange tree is fragrant and fresh when it blooms, which can play a mosquito-repellent effect.
Italy also has a "Real-time Mosquito Map" app. People who are afraid of mosquitoes can always know where there are the most mosquitoes and be prepared for mosquito prevention.
In 2018, the mayor of the french city of Briole issued a "mosquito ban" because of the mosquito epidemic. Two weeks after the ban was imposed, mosquitoes in the small town really plummeted. Of course, the ban is just a humorous measure of the mayor, and the real reason for the decline in mosquitoes is that the floods have receded and mosquitoes have lost their breeding bases.
Many European families have their own small gardens, or open up balconies as "hanging gardens", planting some flowers, vegetables and fruits, not only to pass the time, cultivate the skills of growing vegetables and fruits, but also experience the rare urban idyllic life. The larger gardens also have ancillary equipment such as small ponds. Domestic flowers and plants will also attract mosquitoes. Therefore, many families will plant some deworming plants. These plants emit a strong odor that mosquitoes can't avoid. The most favorite insect repellent plants planted by Europeans are lavender, mint, lemongrass, rosemary, wormwood and so on. These plants can not only protect against mosquitoes, but also serve as spices for cooking delicacies. If there is a pond in the garden, you will also choose to stock fish, frogs, etc., to eat mosquitoes.
The mere cultivation of insect repellent plants often does not completely drive out mosquitoes. They also use insect repellents that target mosquitoes, such as pyrethroids. Most of this insect repellent only needs to add a few drops to the water and then spray it around the garden through a garden sprayer to form a barrier.
Some household mosquito repellent equipment is also necessary, such as incandescent lamps are more attractive to mosquitoes, so the mosquito repellent bulbs placed outdoors should try to use "insect lights", sodium lamps, yellow or red LED lights. Studies have shown that mosquitoes do not like yellow and red. There are also households that use carbon dioxide catalyst mosquito traps.
Using Science to "Transform Mosquitoes"
In addition to various anti-mosquito techniques of the government and the people, Europe also regards mosquito control as an important scientific research content, and there are dozens of projects currently underway. On the outskirts of Vienna, the capital of Austria, there is a "Laboratory for The Transformation of Mosquitoes" sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency and others. Scientists in the lab are said to be working to use two techniques to achieve the goal of changing mosquitoes: one is to infect male mosquitoes with the help of Wolbachia bacteria, and the female mosquitoes will be unable to have children after mating with this male mosquito, thereby reducing the mosquito population. The other is the sterility of male mosquitoes through radiation technology.
The team at Wageningen University in the Netherlands found that some people are particularly attracted to mosquitoes, and some people are not easily bitten by mosquitoes. This difference may be related to bacteria on the surface of the skin, with fewer types of bacteria more attractive to mosquitoes and more variety having less attractiveness.
Scientists at the University of Milan in Italy have also confirmed that after people eat sweets, the impulse to bite mosquitoes is suppressed.
Imperial College London in the United Kingdom is using genetic "transgender" techniques to make mosquitoes stop biting. Previously, scientists published papers saying that they reversed the sex ratio of mosquito offspring by modifying the genes of Bambian Malaria Mosquitoes, so that they produced more male offspring that did not bite. Compared to the study of the "Laboratory for the Transformation of Mosquitoes", this study seems to be more in line with the purposes of the European Mosquito Protection Organization.