Mosquitoes are everywhere nowadays (they are rampant that it's hard to sleep at night in my residential area in Putrajaya) and in this article on ~Dominasi Pertamaku // My First Domination~ blog, I will be sharing with you how to make mosquito trap using simple ingredients that we can find in our home. Below the sharing of making the cheap and easy-to-make mosquito trap, there will be an interesting and educational article about mosquitoes, shall you want to spend your time on reading. Enjoy. :)
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| Scroll below for full description in Chinese. |
Sekarang ni di Putrajaya memang banyak nyamuk. Geram nk tidur malam-malam susah. Dah macam gambar Jong Kookie (Running Man) kat bawah ni dah haha.
Berikut ini cara yang MUDAH dan MURAH yang boleh anda mencubanya. (Cara buat di bawah video). Di bawah juga ada informasi tentang nyamuk. :)
Bahan yang diperlukan adalah :
- 200 ml air
- 50 gram gula merah
- 1 gram ragi/ yis (yeast)
- Botol plastik 1.5 liter
Langkah-langkah:
1. Potong botol plastik di tengah. Simpan bahagian atas/ mulut botol.
2. Campurkan gula merah dengan air panas. Biarkan hingga sejuk dan kemudian tuangkan di bahagian bawah botol yang telah dipotong itu.
3. Campurkan ragi/yis. Tak perlu digaul. Ini akan menghasilkan karbon dioksida.
4. Pasang/ masukkan potongan bahagian botol atas dengan posisi terbalik seperti corong.
5. Balutkan botol dengan sesuatu yang hitam, kecuali dibahagian atas dan letakkannya di beberapa sudut di rumah anda.
Dalam masa dua minggu, insya-Allah anda akan dapat melihat banyaknya jumlah nyamuk yang sudah mati di dalam botol.
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| Click for larger image. |
Selamat mencuba!
Article below is from Howstuffworks:
Freudenrich, Ph.D., Craig. "How Mosquitoes Work" 05 July 2001. HowStuffWorks.com. 08 February 2014.
Freudenrich, Ph.D., Craig. "How Mosquitoes Work" 05 July 2001. HowStuffWorks.com.
Mosquito
Let's say it's summer time. You're out in your backyard enjoying thesun and grilling your dinner. Ouch! You look down at your arm and see a painful, swelling mosquito bite. Moments later, you feel another one bite you. What are these pesky insects? Why do they bite? Do they carry diseases? What can you do to protect yourself
In this article, we'll take a close-up look at mosquitoes -- how they breed, how they bite, what diseases they carry and what you can do to control them.
Up Close
Mosquitoes are insects that have been around for more than 30 million years. And it seems that, during those millions of years, mosquitoes have been honing their skills so that they are now experts at finding people to bite. Mosquitoes have a battery of sensors designed to track their prey, including:
- Chemical sensors - mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 100 feet (36 meters) away. Mammals and birds gives off these gases as part of their normal breathing. Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to attract mosquitoes (people who don't sweat much don't get nearly as many mosquito bites).
- Visual sensors - if you are wearing clothing that contrasts with the background, and especially if you move while wearing that clothing, mosquitoes can see you and zero in on you. It's a good bet that anything moving is "alive", and therefore full of blood, so this is a good strategy.
- Heat sensors - Mosquitoes can detect heat, so they can find warm-blooded mammals and birds very easily once they get close enough.
Something with this many sensors sounds more like a military aircraft than an insect. That's why mosquitoes are so good at finding and biting you. As we'll see later, one of the only ways to stop mosquitoes from finding you is to confuse their chemical receptors with something like DEET.
Like all insects, adult mosquitoes have three basic body parts:
- Head - This is where all the sensors are, along with the biting apparatus. The head has two compound eyes, antennae to sense chemicals and the mouth parts called the palpus and the proboscis (only females have the proboscis, for biting).
- Thorax - This segment is where the two wings and six legs attach. It contains the flight muscles, compound heart, some nerve cell ganglia and trachioles.
- Abdomen - This segment contains the digestive and excretory organs.
So you have a sensor package, a motor package and a fuel processing package -- a perfect design!
The parts of a mosquito
Freudenrich, Ph.D., Craig. "How Mosquitoes Work" 05 July 2001. HowStuffWorks.com. 08 February 2014.
Types of Mosquitoes
There are more than 2,700 species of mosquitoes in the world, and there are 13 mosquito genera (plural for "genus") that live in the United States. Of these genera, most mosquitoes belong to three:
- Aedes - These are sometimes called "floodwater" mosquitoes because flooding is important for their eggs to hatch. Aedesmosquitoes have abdomens with pointed tips. They include such species as the yellow-fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) and the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). They are strong fliers, capable of travelling great distances (up to 75 miles/121 km) from their breeding sites. They persistently bite mammals (especially humans), mainly at dawn and in the early evening. Their bites are painful.
- Anopheles - These tend to breed in bodies of permanent fresh water. Anopheles mosquitoes also have abdomens with pointed tips. They include several species, such as the common malaria mosquito (Anopheles quadrimaculatus), that can spread malaria to humans.
- Culex - These tend to breed in quiet, standing water. Culex mosquitoes have abdomens with blunt tips. They include several species such as the northern house mosquito (Culex pipiens). They are weak fliers and tend to live for only a few weeks during the summer months. They persistently bite (preferring birds over humans) and attack at dawn or after dusk. Their bite is painful.
Some mosquitoes, such as the cattail mosquito (Coquilettidia perturbans), are becoming more prevalent pests as humans invade their habitats.
Let's examine how mosquitoes live and breed.
Life Cycle and Breeding
Like all insects, mosquitoes hatch from eggs and go through several stages in their life cycle before becoming adults. The females lay their eggs in water, and the larva and pupa stages live entirely in water. When the pupa change into adults, they leave the water and become free-flying land insects. The life cycle of a mosquito can vary from one to several weeks depending upon the species (the adult, mated females of some species can survive the winter in cool, damp places until spring, when they will lay their eggs and die.)
We’ll look at the stages of mosquito development in the next section.
Aedes aegypti larvae extend into the water and have short siphons.
Photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Mosquito Development
Egg
All mosquitoes lay eggs in water, which can include large bodies of water, standing water (like swimming pools) or areas of collected standing water (like tree holes or gutters). Females lay their eggs on the surface of the water, except for Aedes mosquitoes, which lay their eggs above water in protected areas that eventually flood. The eggs can be laid singly or as a group that forms a floating raft of mosquito eggs (seeMosquito Life Cycle for a picture of an egg raft). Most eggs can survive the winter and hatch in the spring.
Larva
The mosquito eggs hatch into larvae or "wigglers," which live at the surface of the water and breathe through an air tube or siphon. The larvae filter organic material through their mouth parts and grow to about 0.5 to 0.75 inches (1 to 2 cm) long; as they grow, they shed their skin (molt) several times. Mosquito larvae can swim and dive down from the surface when disturbed (see Mosquito Life Cycle for a Quicktime movie of free-swimming Asian tiger mosquito larvae). The larvae live anywhere from days to several weeks depending on the water temperature and mosquito species.
Pupa
After the fourth molt, mosquito larvae change into pupae, or "tumblers," which live in the water anywhere from one to four days depending on the water temperature and species. The pupae float at the surface and breathe through two small tubes (trumpets). Although they do not eat, pupae are quite active (see Mosquito Life Cycle for a Quicktime movie of free-swimming Asian tiger mosquito pupae). At the end of the pupal stage, the pupae encase themselves and transform into adult mosquitoes.
Adult
Inside the pupal case, the pupa transforms into an adult. The adult uses air pressure to break the pupal case open, crawls to a protected area and rests while its external skeleton hardens, spreading its wings out to dry. Once this is complete, it can fly away and live on the land.
One of the first things that adult mosquitoes do is seek a mate, mate and then feed. Male mosquitoes have short mouth parts and feed on plant nectar. In contrast, female mosquitoes have a long proboscis that they use to bite animals and humans and feed on their blood (the blood provides proteins that the females need to lay eggs). After they feed, females lay their eggs (they need a blood meal each time they lay eggs). Females continue this cycle and live anywhere from many days to weeks (longer over the winter); males usually live only a few days after mating. The life cycles of mosquitoes vary with the species and environmental conditions.
This female Anopheles gambiae mosquito is feeding. You can see the blood swelling her abdomen.
Photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, photographer Jim Gathany
Mosquito Bites, Diseases and Protection
As mentioned before, only female mosquitoes bite. They are attracted by several things, including heat (infrared light), light,perspiration, body odor, lactic acid and carbon dioxide. The female lands on your skin and sticks her proboscis into you (the proboscis is very sharp and thin, so you may not feel it going in). Her saliva contains proteins (anticoagulants) that prevent your blood from clotting. She sucks your blood into her abdomen (about 5 microliters per serving for an Aedes aegypti mosquito).
If she is disturbed, she will fly away. Otherwise, she will remain until she has a full abdomen. If you were to cut the sensory nerve to her abdomen, she would keep sucking until she burst.
After she has bitten you, some saliva remains in the wound. The proteins from the saliva evoke an immune response from your body. The area swells (the bump around the bite area is called a wheal), and you itch, a response provoked by the saliva. Eventually, the swelling goes away, but the itch remains until your immune cells break down the saliva proteins.
To treat mosquito bites, you should wash them with mild soap and water. Try to avoid scratching the bite area, even though it itches. Some anti-itch medicines such as Calamine lotion or over-the-counter cortisone creams may relieve the itching. Typically, you do not need to seek medical attention (unless you feel dizzy or nauseated, which may indicate a severe allergic reaction to the bite).
Diseases
Mosquitoes can carry many types of diseases that are caused by bacteria, parasites or viruses. These diseases include:
- Malaria - Malaria is caused by a parasite that is transmitted by an Anopheles mosquito. The parasite grows in your bloodstream and can produce symptoms that develop anywhere from six to eight days to several months after infection.The symptoms include fever, chills, headaches, muscle aches and general malaise (similar to flu symptoms). Malaria is a severe disease that can be fatal, but can be treated with antimalarial drugs. Malaria is prevalent in tropical or sub-tropical climates.
- Yellow Fever - Yellow fever no longer occurs in the United States or Europe, but it is prevalent in Africa and parts of South America. It is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Yellow fever produces symptoms similar to malaria, but also includes nausea, vomiting and jaundice. Like malaria, yellow fever can be fatal. There is no treatment for the disease itself, only the symptoms. Yellow fever can be controlled by vaccination and mosquito control.
- Encephalitis - Encephalitis is caused by viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes such as the Aedesmosquitoes or Culiseta mosquitoes. The symptoms of encephalitis include high fever, stiff neck, headache, confusion and laziness/sleepiness. There are several types of encephalitis that can be transmitted by mosquitoes, including St. Louis, Western equine, Eastern equine, La Crosse and West Nile. West Nileencephalitis is on the rise in the eastern United States, which has raised concerns about mosquito control .
- Dengue Fever - Dengue fever is transmitted by the Asian tiger mosquito, which is native to East Asia and was found in the United States in 1985. It is also transmitted by Aedes aegypti in the tropics. Dengue fever is caused by a virus that produces a range of illnesses, from viral flu to hemorrhagic fever. It is especially dangerous for children (see Dengue Fever & Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever for more information).
We'll look at ways to reduce mosquito populations in the next section.
Mosquito Repellents
The best way to reduce mosquito-borne diseases is through mosquito control and personal protection. You can do a few things to reduce the number of mosquito bites that you get while enjoying the outdoors. First, wear clothing that covers most of your body, if temperatures permit. Second, use a mosquito repellent that containsNN-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) at a concentration of 7.5 percent to 100 percent. Lower concentrations are sufficient for most outdoor protection, and a 15-percent concentration is recommended for children. Avon's original Skin-So-Soft is a weak, short-lasting (less than 20 minutes) mosquito repellent, although there are newer Skin-So-Soft formulations that include EPA-recognized insect repellents.Permethrin, an effective pesticide, is for use on clothing only (Never apply it to your skin, it is aneurotoxin!). To learn more about mosquito repellents, see the EPA's How to Use Insect Repellents Safely.
Beyond mosquito repellents and clothing, you can try to control the mosquito population. Mosquitoes need water to breed and will use any source of standing water.
So, to reduce the mosquito population, eliminate sources of standing water in your yard. Empty watering cans, remove old tires and cover rain barrels.
If you have a lily pond in your garden, stock it with some fish that will eat the mosquito larvae. Some petroleum oils can be added to water to form a thin surface layer that suffocates the mosquito eggs; however, many of these oils will also suffocate any fish living in the water.
To prevent mosquitoes from entering your home, make sure that all of your window screens are intact.
Finally, there are many commercial pesticides available to kill mosquito larvae and mosquito adults. Many communities conduct large-scale spraying of pesticides containing mallothione to control mosquito populations during the spring and summer, especially in attempts to reduce the spread of West Nile encephalitis. Another option is a device like a Mosquito Magnet, which lures and traps mosquitoes.
For more information on mosquitoes and what you can do about them, see the links on the next page.
MOSQUITOES ARE IMPORTANT
The mosquito larvae and pupae are important food sources for fish in aquatic ecosystems.
Mosquito Summary
Although small in size, mosquitoes have been around for over 30 million years. They have honed their hunting skills over that time and today use chemical, visual and heat sensors to locate their prey. They use their chemical sensors to detect carbon dioxide and lactic acid from up to 100 feet away. Certain chemicals in sweat can also trigger their sensors. Their visual sensors aren't very keen, but they can see you moving if you are wearing clothing that contrasts the background. They use their heat sensors to detect warm-blooded mammals and birds in their vicinity, so they can always locate humans when they are near enough to sense body heat.
There are approximately 2,700 species of mosquitoes with the majority belonging to 3 major genera: aedes(eggs are laid in floodwater areas), anopheles (eggs are laid in permanent fresh water) and culex (eggs are laid in quiet, standing water). In terms of development, all mosquitoes start as eggs and hatch into larva or "wigglers". As larva, mosquitoes molt several times until they become pupa or "tumblers". As pupa, mosquitoes mature and become adults and begin to mate and feed. After mating, most males die within a few days, whereas the females can live for many weeks, depending on the species of mosquito and the environmental conditions present.
Top 5 Mosquito Facts
- Mosquito is Spanish for "little fly".
Learn more about mosquitoes.
- Only female mosquitoes bite. Mosquitoes are attracted to heat, light, perspiration, body odor, lactic acid and carbon dioxide.
Learn more about mosquito bites.
- Treat mosquito bites by washing them with soap and water. Avoid scratching the bite area by using anti-itch medicines, such as Calamine lotion.
Learn more about treating mosquito bites.
- There are many diseases that can be caused by a mosquito bite, including:
- Malaria
- Yellow Fever
- Encephalitis
- Dengue Fever
Learn more about diseases spread by mosquitoes.
- There are 3 basic things you can do to repel mosquitoes:
- Wear clothing that covers most of your body
- Use a mosquito repellant that contains NN-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET)
- Eliminate sources of standing water in your area to prevent mosquitoes from breeding
Learn more about mosquito repellants.
Freudenrich, Ph.D., Craig. "How Mosquitoes Work" 05 July 2001. HowStuffWorks.com.
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