ok... I live in a place thats the Tokyo of Mosquitos. They come in all sizes and shapes. Some with moustaches, some with tattoos, some with gel in their hair... ok... that wasn’t exactly right, because all of you know that in the case of a mosquito - the female of the species is more deadlier than the male. And moustaches and tattoos arent ladylike.

It’s not cool to kill innocent animals. But this one isnt innocent. I read this line somewhere - If you see a mosquito, kill it... before it kills you... (all who agree with that say AYE)

AYE!!!!!!!!!!!

Lets analyse these little beasts. They dont have the compound eyes of a fly, the strength of an ox, the intelligence of a fox (heh... i seriously doubt what I just wrote... they seem to know how to avoid all the traps i set) AND A VERY SHARP, POINTY END!!

Not enough facts to go with so I did some research. Lets learn more about these little descendants of Dracula...

Mosquito Facts
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Fact #1 Mosquitos rely on SUGAR for energy. All mosquitos drink nectar. Its when they need to reproduce that the female seeks out blood. Which proves that pregnancy can make the ladies a tad cranky (please dont hit me for saying that). So, only the Female Drinks blood! The male is happy to drink a glass of mango Frooti.

Fact #2: Mosquitos spread some serious diseases with a bite: We’re talking about some real serious diseases. Mosquitos are one of the biggest killers of human beings. Some of the diseases you can get from them are:

1. Malaria: a rather serious disease transmitted by mosquitos that can cause high fever, body pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, kidney failure and even death.

2. Dengue fever: cause huge rise in body temperature and severe body pains.

3. Filaria: the dreaded disease caused by a roundworm that is transmitted by mosquitos. It causes a part of the body (usually the leg) to swell and grow in size. This condition is called Elephantiasis...

4: The infamous West Nile Virus is also carted around by our good friend - the mosquito

Trust me, writing all that made my stomach churn. It just goes to prove that statement - kill the damn thing before it kills you...

Preventive measures
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Prevention in this case is better than cure because as with conditions like Elephantiasis - THERE IS NO CURE!

Lets see what all one can do:

#1: Fortify your home: Get those netting people to install netting on all your windows. Make sure that this is closed as much as possible to prevent the little dudes (or in this case - dudettes) from sneaking in through your window. Also, seal cracks in doors and windows.

#2: Stagnating Water Sucks: Water is where they lay their eggs. These eggs usually float on top. So make sure there are no water sources in your neighbourhood where they can breed. Hygiene is the key. Launch a neighbourhood cleanup drive. Even water standing still in your home, like in a vase or a bucket etc. can be a breeding ground.

I read somewhere that pouring a little oil in stagnating water can destroy the eggs as it cuts off the oxygen supply (cant say whether this works or not though)

PS: They dont lay eggs in flowing water so dont go pouring oil into a river.

#3: Chemical Warfare: They started it! So dont let your conscience bug you. They started it, you finish it. You didnt go and bite them or their babies. They came and bit you. So... Payback time. Unleash the nukes.

Mosquito repellants come in cans (PSCHHHHH...), as coils which you burn, as mats, in liquid format and also in the intrusive form of lotions and creams - which reminds me of a famous name - ODOMOS - the legendary cream. Now ODOMOS is cool because it does work and the cream is safe to use. Get a tube and smear it over your exposed body parts before you hit the sack.

#4: Nature has a few tricks too: Wiping your floors with Citronella oil helps a bit because mosquitos dont like the smell (yeah... you dont like the smell... I dont like your bite... so we’re even).

And... can you say GARLIC???? Eating a good amount of garlic can help... Mosquitos dont like the stuff

#5: Last but not the least: ELECTROCUTE THEM! I know this is kind of inhuman but there is this little tennis racquet-like device called HUNTER (there might be other brands too). The idea is simple. You do a SANIA MIRZA on the mosquitos using them as the tennis balls. If you are sadistic, you can watch them fry and grin. If you are just trying to survive, say a little prayer after you zap them.

Thats all I got!

If you do have any tricks or tips on this one, please share them by jotting them down in the comments section. I hope this helps in some way.

Thanks for reading. Peace.

Special thanks to those people who did the research to churn out all these great facts. You guys are awesome.