Mosquitos in Ireland???

The Dr00g

I just wondered what was the official stance on this now?

I found one in my house a few nights ago. I trapped the little sh1t under a glass and starved it to death. Took 3 days to die. :rolleyes:

FX Meister

are you sure it was a mossie? It's fun to let them suck your blood and as the are feeding squeeze the area, he will fill with blood and keel over, too heavy to move.

Champ

Hmmm; how big was the thing?:) Correct me if i'm wrong but isn't Ireland's climate a little too unstable for the critters? I.e i doubt they'd appreciate the cold winds and heavy rains; in the West of Ireland anyway... they prefer the more heated climates don't they?:rolleyes:

Of course i've caught on more than one occassion a skimpy like insect; with large transparent wings; and some dangling thing behind it as it flies... i thought it may be a mosquito.. but then again i thought this is Ireland.. no way...

The Dr00g

Pretty sure. It looks exactly like the little sh1t in this pic:

John

I'm not sure on the official stance but I wouldn't deny the fact that they're here. The weather is getting warmer all through the year in Ireland, the winters are definitely milder, just think how often it snows in recent years. I don't think there's a substantial population of mosquitos or even a stable population as of yet.

seamus

I'd never seen or heard one of these before I was on holidays this Summer. Dirty little buggers, very hard to keep track of them. Way smaller than I thought they were. I assumed they were closer to the size of a small daddy long legs.

Why did you trap it under a glass instead of just killing it outright?

Capt'n Midnight

AFAIK one of Cromwells generals died of the AGUE while on a trip here , which is an old name for malaria

The Dr00g

Originally posted by John2
I'm not sure on the official stance but I wouldn't deny the fact that they're here. The weather is getting warmer all through the year in Ireland, the winters are definitely milder, just think how often it snows in recent years. I don't think there's a substantial population of mosquitos or even a stable population as of yet.

Well I think the official stance should be, THEY'RE HERE!!!

I've seen a few here before.

As for the weather... Has anyone seen 'The Day After Tomorrow'??? I think the official stance should be, IT'S COMING!!!

I agree with you though, I don't think there's a substancial mosquito population here yet. But the very nature of the little sh1t is that it can adapt and multiply quickly.

The Dr00g

Originally posted by seamus
Why did you trap it under a glass instead of just killing it outright?

I wanted to examine and observe it, and be sure it was what I thought it was. And I wanted to see how long it could last without a blood meal. By the way, it excreted a lot of watery green droppings onto the white paper part of the trap/observation device/glass.

See how the one in the pic is raising one of its back legs? I observed my little "friend" doing exactly that. Why do they do that? Is it some kind of defensive tactic?

Victor

Mosquitos were introduced to Ireland by Lord Talbot (whatever possessed him to do it I don't know) and have been resident in Malahide for over a century. Any outside of Malahide are either tourists fromt here or abroad (a strong breeze can send them from Wales or Scotland in 1-2 hours or they can hitch a ride on humans or livestock).

Zaph

I remember reading somewhere a few years ago that Cherry Orchard hospital had 3 or 4 different types of resident mosquito. I also vaguely remember it saying something about none of them being able to transmit disease, but I can't remember the reason why not.

Victor

Cherry Orchard has some natioanl designation when in comes to exotic stuff. I presume their mozzies are cative.

center15

I'm living in Cork and there has definitly been a rise in Mosquitos in the last week. I got bitten and there was a huge swelling on my arm afterwards.

Zaph

Cherry Orchard is where they treat tropical diseases, and it is possible that their nozzies were originally captive, but apparently they live in the air conditioning system now.

The Dr00g

Fascinating.

John

Mosquitos probably got to Cork via the ferries coming from France. That's my thinking anyway.

mike65

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3927761.stm

Two cases of West Nile Virus infection have been confirmed in Ireland.

In both instances the patients had recently visited the Algarve in Portugal.

West Nile Virus usually causes mild symptoms such as fever or skin rashes, but can be deadly. It killed 264 in the US last year.

The Health Protection Agency has warned people travelling to Europe to take measures to avoid being bitten by infected mosquitoes.

The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes which suck the blood of infected birds and then feed on humans.

It has been found in parts of Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia as well as North America. In Europe, recent outbreaks have occurred in Romania and Russia.

The Department of Health announced in May it had drawn up plans for dealing with an outbreak of the potentially deadly West Nile virus as a precaution.

The Irish cases were confirmed after tests on samples from the patients were carried out at the Health Protection Agency facilties in Porton.

Mike.

Victor

Originally posted by zaph
Cherry Orchard is where they treat tropical diseases, and it is possible that their nozzies were originally captive, but apparently they live in the air conditioning system now.

Eh, what do they survive on? Don't they need blood or something to eat? And don't they spawn in water and water and ventilation systems and hospitals and Legionaires Disease don't get on well together?

Dave99

i was reading a book in bed on friday night and heard the unmistakeable sound of a mosquito near my head. this was in dundrum in south dublin. it was a warm night however i have never heard of a mossie in ireland before. having travelled in australia and se asia and survived bedroom-packed battalions of these little friendly fellows i was stunned to recognise the sound. amazing the other reports on this thread.

Merrion

There are a large number of different species of mosquito, many of which can live in ireland...but the only one to be scared of is the female anopholees (sp?) mosquito which is the one with the stripey back legs. <as in the photo above>. These need warm standing water to breed in so the only place you'd be likely to find them here would be in a used tyre yard.

norrie rugger

irish mossies dont carry malaria.

cocobryce2

theyre ****in everywhere. think my girlfiends house has an infestation. killed five this evening in the space of about 10 mins.

DrIndy

where the hell did this thread come from?

Victor

It came from 2004.

DrIndy

should have stayed there.

Capt'n Midnight

One of Cromwells commanders died of the ague and then there's that bit of the Scottish play

Macbeth wrote:

our castles strength will laugh a siege to scorn: here let them lie till famine and the ague eat them up

also this
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6no1/reiter.htm Malaria in England in the Little Ice Age

IrelandJunior

Yes, that's Cyprus currency. And these bastards were nowhere to be seen in that country.

Is it good to be home? Hell ****ing no! They are eating me alive!!!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :eek:

hulie

Omg i've killed like at least 20 mosquitoes in the past two days and i live in kildare, i've seen them in work and in my home, they're everywhere. Just this second i was lying in bed and i heard one, that noise is so distinctive.I was in Africa in June and i swear to god i didn't see as many as i've seen here, it's ridiculous. I've never seen them in Ireland before...didn't think we had the climate for them??? Anyway should i be afraid...what's the worst that can happen??? Please somebody put me out of my misery!?!?

Victor

hulie wrote:

Please somebody put me out of my misery!?!?

**Click click BANG!**

Jumpy

I have mosquito bites all over my feet because they were sticking out from under the covers. The little bastards ate me alive last night.

Spyral

are you sure it was a mossie? It's fun to let them suck your blood and as the are feeding squeeze the area, he will fill with blood and keel over, too heavy to move.

HE wont, only females drink blood !

Lossy

I have killed about 35-40 of them in my house in the last few days (Laois). Killed 10 in one night. Have kept the windows shut since and have not seen as many. Never had them in the house before. Little B@s7$rds.

TBF

very interesting. I live in Co. Limerick and have just spent an hour and a half vaccuming the s***s from the ceilings in my house - at minimum 100 of them:eek: ditto last night. I've never seen anything like it. HELP

ZorbaTehZ

Very strange, after reading this thread I saw one in my Bathroom, and then woke up the next morning with 3 bites (omg they're SO fcuking itchy).

Schlemm

Yes mosquitoes are in Ireland and there are about 18 species of them here:eek: however none of them are a cause of concern to people or animals as of yet;)

IrelandJunior

Killed another 40 two nights ago, the trick is don't leave the doors or Windows open. I'm seriously considering getting mosquito guard for my door next year. What the **** is going on? Al Gore must be right.

P.S. this insect repellant stuff is seriously expensive. Can be anywhere from €6 - €13 for a packet/jar of the stuff, and the amount you get just isn't funny. This stuff called Ben's100, wasn't that great, used it up in a week, and cost about €13 for a 37ml bottle. Using Jungle Formula now, and Citronella. Both are better, but aren't cheap neither. I haven't got malaria, but I do hate these dick-faces, and I have around 50 bites on my body. I have around 10 bits (well they don't actually bite I know) on my left elbow alone. Friend sat there in a pair of shorts the other day, they didn't touch him. The love me, and I hate them.

Strange days indeed - John Lennon.

John

A book and a determination to kill with said book worked wonders last night.

r3nu4l

I've never seen so may people with one or two posts posting in a single thread...suspicious!

There are substantial breeding populations of mosquitos in East Anglia (where I live) and it has been confirmed that the populations are growing here so I wouldn't be surprised if there was an increase in Ireland too.

yank_in_eire

Merrion wrote:

There are a large number of different species of mosquito, many of which can live in ireland...but the only one to be scared of is the female anopholees (sp?) mosquito which is the one with the stripey back legs. <as in the photo above>. These need warm standing water to breed in so the only place you'd be likely to find them here would be in a used tyre yard.

Lots of different mosquito species have stripey back legs - look up Culex spp or Aedes spp if you don't believe me. There are around 60 different types where I'm from back in the States.
The thing to look out for is the resting posture - Anopheles mosquitos at rest are almost perpendicular to the surface they are on (ie their arses are pointing up in the air). The non-malarial species' resting position puts its body parallel to the surface.

wayne040576

Noticed a lot of these little buggers around the house over the past few weeks. There seemed to be a lot more of them this week. Just killed another one five minutes ago.

Decided to search google tonight with the words mosquitos and Ireland and got this thread as my first hit.

cazzy

i saw some at weekend in galway - havent seen any in dublin though.
surprised after the summer we've had

wayne040576

cazzy wrote:

i saw some at weekend in galway - havent seen any in dublin though.
surprised after the summer we've had

It was still quite warm with all that rain. Don't their larvae thrive in warm and wet conditions?

Mosquito larvae can be found in a wide variety of habitats, including temporary floodwater and snowmelt pools; more permanent water habitats like marshes, swamps, lagoons, and ponds; stagnant waters; and natural and artificial containers. Shallow water is ideal for larval survival because there is less turbulance and wave action. Upper water movement interferes with the surface feeding of some mosquito species, and in most species, it hinders the larvae and pupae from obtaining oxygen at the air-water interface. A deep-water environment prevents bottom-feeding water from reaching food that has accumulated at the lower levels of the water column. Water quality in larval habitats can vary from fresh to saline to high in organic wastes. Different species can tolerate and thrive in water with varying degrees of organic content.

DrIndy

remember that malaria was endemic in the thames basin in the middle ages and also in sicily until mosquito eradication after the second world war. there are 12 species of mosquito in northern europe that can carry malaria and with global warming, more mosquito species are moving northward.

joker77

I'd started a thread on the Weather forum in relation to Mosquitoes, unsure of where to put it and unaware of this thread.

For the last 3 years, I've been getting bitten while football training in Dundrum, Dublin in July/August and into September. I was training last night, and have got about 5/6 bites. I was amazed that on the 11th October the little b@stards would still be alive!

Noopti

I can't believe people in Ireland still seem to think the notion of mosquitoes in this country is untrue. I have been told numerous times "they can't be mosquitoes" or "there are no mosquitoes in Ireland". There are.

I have seen them for the past 5 years. My parent came back from holidays there at the end of September. When they came back they left the back door of the house open for a while to air the place. That evening, the house was infested with them, my dad killed something like 30 of them. And yes, they were definitely mossies, bulbous striped bodies/legs, needle mouthpiece and they even left large red blood marks when killed(so they had fed on something previously).

I have also seen them in other parts of Dublin, Leixlip and also in Navan this year. I think the reason we are seeing them so late this year is due to the very wet summer, and the relatively mild/warm days we had a few weeks ago.

unkel

Interesting thread. I've only seen mosquitos in Dublin in '95 and this year. In '95 (very warm and long summer) they stung the bejaysis out of me. This year they arrived late, seem to live in the bathroom only (damp). They don't seem to sting and they are very lethargic / can be killed easily

Briongloid-M

Right, so I'm not going crazy then, they are mosquitoes.
Though the allergenic carabuncles did kinda give the game away.
Great so now even though we don't have anything remotely resembling a tropical climate we still have monsoons and mosquitoes. Go global warming!

Actually I'd be interested to see how many people have been searching for "mosquitoes in Ireland" lately. Searching online that is, no need to search for them in our houses they seem to be doing a good job of finding us.
Especially since we're living beside a lake. Sure they don't seem to be as nasty as their Australian or North American counterparts (allergy wise) but they're still a nuisance and I, for one, am hoping that this mild autumn will finally end and so the little bastards will die.

By the way, I've come across a few cockroaches recently too, outside though, not in my house thankfully. Anyone else come across cockroaches?
Maybe it's time for a bugwatch site where people can sign in and report strange bugs they've found. Who knows what we'll discover; Scorpions, Galway Funnelweb spiders, green white and gold striped tarantualas?

Argh! I've to scratch my arm again...

Darth Melkor

I had never seen Mosquitos in Ireland before. I had been stung/bitten by wasps. midges, horseflies etc.

However, this summer I have been destroyed by Mosquitos. I have killed around 2 a night on average since June, some nights killing up to 10. I'm living in Limerick, but am often in Ennis and have been bitten a good few times there too.

Its November now, I thought once Autumn came I would have some relief, but I'm still being bitten at night and have to check the room thoroughly before sleeping - no use - they always have a way of hiding.

They are wrecking my head - I can't stop itching. Looks like even winter isn't going to deter them. I'm going to declare outright War and buy massive stockpiles of sprays etc.

I have talked to friends about this, and a lot agree that this is the first year they have encountered Mozzies in the Mid West, a friend from Wexford said that he has always been familiar with them in Ireland, but it used to be only Midges that annoyed us in Clare and Limerick.

Another colleague, informed me that Malaria returning to Ireland is only a matter of time, as its already appearing in Southern Europe again with the mozzies crossing over on the wind from N Africa.

Well, at least reading this thread has showed me that other people have noticed this as well.

Briongloid-M

Yeah there's still a few around, the little bastards. But they're dying now.
The weather's finally starting to get too cold for them.

Incidentally sprays are mostly ineffective and those UV zapper things you buy in the garden centre don't work. For my next trick I'm gonna see if I can't buy myself a Venus Fly Trap.

Victor

Darth Melkor, consider ventilating your house and chilling it out.

Are you sure they are mosquitos in these temperatures? Do you keep your house too warm. Where are they coming from?

John

Briongloid-M wrote: »

Incidentally sprays are mostly ineffective and those UV zapper things you buy in the garden centre don't work. For my next trick I'm gonna see if I can't buy myself a Venus Fly Trap.

I find a book is a most effective method of dispatch.