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Information & Chat => Russian, Ukrainian and FSU Towns & Cities => Topic started by: justadude on September 27, 2019, 08:43:06 AM

Title: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on September 27, 2019, 08:43:06 AM
I read some posts on a FB group about mosquitoes in Odessa. I was told that they are a major problem for some or all of the months from April to September. Apparently most people have mosquito nets on their windows and many stores sell mosquito repellant. What has been your experience there?

How about humidity? Also, what about mosquitoes and humidity in other parts of Ukraine, Belarus or Russia? What are the places with the most comfortable summer weather?

When I was in Kiev for the summer of 2017 mosquitoes were not an issue. Neither were they in Kharkov when I was there for a week that same summer. The weather was a bit humid some days though.


 I know I'm spoiled by the low humidity of Northern California and mosquitoes have rarely been an issue in the different parts of this area where I've lived.

Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: AvHdB on September 27, 2019, 05:22:01 PM
I was about four years ago in Odessa during late July. We stayed quite close to the center and mosquitoes were not an issue. It was warm and humid but I did not notice any large bodies of standing water as we walked about.

For what it is worth Odessa is an entirely different city in Ukraine from say Kharkov or Kiev.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: Texan77 on September 27, 2019, 06:46:27 PM
You might like Ivona Frankivsk in western Ukraine. The summer and the winters is milder than in most of the Ukraine. This is a walking tour of the city.  This was shot with no snow on the ground but it was cold because you can tell by the clothing the people are wearing. The center of the city is blocked off so people can walk in the streets. It is needed as the streets are full of people enjoying the evening out in the summers. The cultural is very different here than in the Russian speaking parts of the country.  I thought it might be something you had an interest in.

Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on September 27, 2019, 09:34:53 PM
You might like Ivona Frankivsk in western Ukraine. The summer and the winters is milder than in most of the Ukraine. This is a walking tour of the city.  This was shot with no snow on the ground but it was cold because you can tell by the clothing the people are wearing. The center of the city is blocked off so people can walk in the streets. It is needed as the streets are full of people enjoying the evening out in the summers. The cultural is very different here than in the Russian speaking parts of the country.  I thought it might be something you had an interest in.

Thank you so much T77. Yes I do have an interest in Ivano-Frankivsk. In fact, I was looking on OLX (one of my favorite pastimes when Eastern Europe daydreaming) for real estate there recently.

I see that it is South of Lvov and Kiev, which would help account for the milder winters. But I don't think the elevation, at 800 feet, according to wikipedia, would be enough to make summers any milder than other cities at similar latitudes.

My reading of the climate charts on wikipedia puts it very close to Lvov in terms of record lows and highs, although that certainly wouldn't tell the whole tale.

Speaking of which, how would you compare the women of IF to others in Ukraine?

By the way, the city looks spotless in that video. Is it like that in most parts? When I was in Lvov there were some pretty trashy (literally) parts outside the center.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on September 27, 2019, 09:40:39 PM
I was about four years ago in Odessa during late July. We stayed quite close to the center and mosquitoes were not an issue. It was warm and humid but I did not notice any large bodies of standing water as we walked about.

For what it is worth Odessa is an entirely different city in Ukraine from say Kharkov or Kiev.


That's good information. It makes a lot of sense. But I don't think the presence of water always leads to lots of mosquitoes. Furthermore, I would think that salt water wouldn't attract them as much, as there really aren't mosquitoes up and down the coast of California. Neither did I experience them near the beach in Tijuana. Nevertheless, there have been mosquitoes here in my Northern California mountain town that I can remember a few times. This last summer there were zero on my property. The last time I remember doing anything about it was around 2003. Weird. Apparently there is a type of Caribou that migrates 1000 miles each year in Alaska to get away from large mosquitoes.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: redroo on September 28, 2019, 07:58:12 AM
I've been living in Odessa on and off for the past 20 yrs. Never had a mosquito problem that stopped any outdoors activities. I have always lived by the sea, ie: Fransousky Blde or Gargarin Plaza, near Arkadya.
You get the odd one or two depending on if there's any standing water close by. Never bothered to screen my windows, and they're often open.

Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: Texan77 on September 28, 2019, 09:06:50 AM
I am 70 years old. So there is a different type of girl that is available to me. This is not a good area for me to shop for a girlfriend. The girls here are less interested in old western men. You might do good here.

It was a big adjustment for my girl when I moved her here. This is her favorite city in all the Ukraine as a place she wanted to live. I would have to shoot her to get her to move to Odessa. I offered to buy her a second flat if she move to Lvov and that was a big NO! I am sure other people will see it differently.

When if comes to hot and cold you also have to look at humidity. I am not sure that there is big of a difference between Lvov because the two cities are only 60 miles apart.   
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: cufflinks on September 29, 2019, 09:17:30 AM
The folks in New England USA are awaiting the first hard frost to kill off EEE and WNV infected Mosquitoes and Lyme Disease Ticks.

High Schools canceling night games outdoors during dusk when most bugs the most active as they are not being dried out by the day's sun.

EEE Eastern Equine Encephalitis is a serious disease (Viral Infection) that is lethal in 30% to 50% of Adults infected and as bad or worse in children - seems to go in 7+/- year cycles and if you do survive a EEE infection ongoing brain impairment is an issue.  West Nile Virus - dumped from airline jets flushing toilets at altitude and the viral infections getting thawed falling in local marshes and vectored by various bird species is also an issue.  Lyme Tick Disease has also become associated with a half dozen Tick-borne bacterial infections.

Only malady above with a useful vaccine is Lyme Disease - requires a series of several injections until you are inoculated - highly recced for pets running around in the woods where field mice and birds are a major vector to Wild Deer and Hiking Humans.

I did get this year's Influenza vaccine - told someone I got a Flu shot and he asked where I was flying to?  (Went right over my head until he spelled out Flew Shot  ;-)
 
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: AvHdB on September 29, 2019, 09:32:12 AM
The folks in New England USA are awaiting the first hard frost to kill off EEE and WNV infected Mosquitoes and Lyme Disease Ticks.

Deer Ticks, that are responsible for Lyme Disease do not die from cold/frost. They overwinter in the fallen foliage on the forest floor.

The most annoying of insects at this time of the year is the Yellow Jacket bees, they are aggressive and nasty knowing there coming demise is at hand. While I am uncertain I suspect there sting is more venomous at this time of the year.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: AvHdB on September 29, 2019, 09:56:16 AM
You might like Ivona Frankivsk in western Ukraine. The summer and the winters is milder than in most of the Ukraine. This is a walking tour of the city.  This was shot with no snow on the ground but it was cold because you can tell by the clothing the people are wearing. The center of the city is blocked off so people can walk in the streets. It is needed as the streets are full of people enjoying the evening out in the summers. The cultural is very different here than in the Russian speaking parts of the country.  I thought it might be something you had an interest in.

Ivano-Frankivsk is indeed an interesting and beautiful city. More or less the gateway to the Carpathian Region. Because of the renewed development of the Carpathians and the presence of several Universities the city has a pleasant feeling.

I believe the moderator Chris knows the city also quite well.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on September 29, 2019, 07:47:38 PM
The folks in New England USA are awaiting the first hard frost to kill off EEE and WNV infected Mosquitoes and Lyme Disease Ticks.

High Schools canceling night games outdoors during dusk when most bugs the most active as they are not being dried out by the day's sun.

EEE Eastern Equine Encephalitis is a serious disease (Viral Infection) that is lethal in 30% to 50% of Adults infected and as bad or worse in children - seems to go in 7+/- year cycles and if you do survive a EEE infection ongoing brain impairment is an issue.  West Nile Virus - dumped from airline jets flushing toilets at altitude and the viral infections getting thawed falling in local marshes and vectored by various bird species is also an issue.  Lyme Tick Disease has also become associated with a half dozen Tick-borne bacterial infections.

Only malady above with a useful vaccine is Lyme Disease - requires a series of several injections until you are inoculated - highly recced for pets running around in the woods where field mice and birds are a major vector to Wild Deer and Hiking Humans.

I did get this year's Influenza vaccine - told someone I got a Flu shot and he asked where I was flying to?  (Went right over my head until he spelled out Flew Shot  ;-)

haha you speak with authority on the issue. Are you in that sort of business?  I hate mosquitoes mostly because they are a nuisance but now I have reasons to actually fear them, so thanks!
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: cufflinks on October 01, 2019, 01:20:44 PM
The folks in New England USA are awaiting the first hard frost to kill off EEE and WNV infected Mosquitoes and Lyme Disease Ticks.

High Schools canceling night games outdoors during dusk when most bugs the most active as they are not being dried out by the day's sun.

EEE Eastern Equine Encephalitis is a serious disease (Viral Infection) that is lethal in 30% to 50% of Adults infected and as bad or worse in children - seems to go in 7+/- year cycles and if you do survive a EEE infection ongoing brain impairment is an issue.  West Nile Virus - dumped from airline jets flushing toilets at altitude and the viral infections getting thawed falling in local marshes and vectored by various bird species is also an issue.  Lyme Tick Disease has also become associated with a half dozen Tick-borne bacterial infections.

Only malady above with a useful vaccine is Lyme Disease - requires a series of several injections until you are inoculated - highly recced for pets running around in the woods where field mice and birds are a major vector to Wild Deer and Hiking Humans.

I did get this year's Influenza vaccine - told someone I got a Flu shot and he asked where I was flying to?  (Went right over my head until he spelled out Flew Shot  ;-)

haha you speak with authority on the issue. Are you in that sort of business?  I hate mosquitoes mostly because they are a nuisance but now I have reasons to actually fear them, so thanks!

No just can not avoid the topic with all of the news media reports and medical expert interviews... true Deer ticks winter over in the leaf litter however are rarely active when there are several days of below-freezing weather which is why I like New England Ice Fishing season - no freaking bugs.

OBTW Latest CDC Reports to all North American hunters especially Deer Hunters (Also Elk and Moose) - be sure to use proper anti-biologics protections when Field Dressing Animals that you hunt including surgical Gloves and Masks with meat sealed in heavy-duty plastics to prevent the spread of TUBERCULOSIS.

How is it that the USA is going at light speed from a Modern Tech society back to bloody Bubonic and Tuberculosis medieval conditions.

Will have to be sure to stock up on anti-biologics and go full NRA when the DemCommie Antifa BLM SHTF Civil War begins.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on October 05, 2019, 05:59:22 PM
I've been living in Odessa on and off for the past 20 yrs. Never had a mosquito problem that stopped any outdoors activities. I have always lived by the sea, ie: Fransousky Blde or Gargarin Plaza, near Arkadya.
You get the odd one or two depending on if there's any standing water close by. Never bothered to screen my windows, and they're often open.
Quite interesting Redroo. Thank you for the fist hand account. There were 4 people on the Odessa FB group I joined who said mosquitoes are an issue. One person said that mosquito netting on windows and wearing repellant was a way of life and that many retail stores cater to this need. Do you think it is worse in some areas? Also, how often do you sleep with your Air Conditioner on at night? I have found that the percentage of dwellings with AC in an area are a decent indicator of how uncomfortable it is in the summer.

I build custom cars and would want to spend a fair amount of time in my garage with the door open. Would hot/humid weather prohibit this very often?
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: msmoby on October 06, 2019, 01:00:10 AM
Also, not experience mossies being an issue in Odessa, but I haven't been there since 2005

If you want to avoid a summer of hell, avoid camping in villages  / rural areas of Siberia .. 
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: redroo on October 06, 2019, 04:25:05 AM
OK, well disclaimer.....although Australian, I love cool evenings/nights. I use aircon a lot because "solid" brick buildings heat up and take ages to cool down. I keep the inside temp below 22c at night. When it is cooler in Odessa I am quite happy to have the windows open, and mine are un-screened. As mentioned, I live either along  Fransuzky Blde, or on Gargarin Plateau. I have chosen to live without a car in Odessa, as I find local transport easy enough or get Ubers etc.
Love your hobbie/living around cars. How are you thinking to work that in Odessa? Most "garages" are sold separate to old apartments, and are very old, small/single place and made of steel. New apartments have underground parking spaces in the block.
Are you looking to buy a Home rather than apartment to have working space? if so you will be travelling a fair distance out of town, and the traffic is manic (plus the drivers are maniacs)
There are older, small, commercial buildings around to rent with ramps/pits. Not sure I would trust any old Ukrainian built hoist. Modern ones probably come in from Poland and are much better.
Get yourself a girlfriend who's brother loves modifying cars, he'll set you right. The girls only care if it's new and expensive!
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: AvHdB on October 06, 2019, 09:06:20 AM
OK, well disclaimer.....although Australian, I love cool evenings/nights. I use aircon a lot because "solid" brick buildings heat up and take ages to cool down. I keep the inside temp below 22c at night. When it is cooler in Odessa I am quite happy to have the windows open, and mine are un-screened. As mentioned, I live either along  Fransuzky Blde, or on Gargarin Plateau. I have chosen to live without a car in Odessa, as I find local transport easy enough or get Ubers etc.
Love your hobbie/living around cars. How are you thinking to work that in Odessa? Most "garages" are sold separate to old apartments, and are very old, small/single place and made of steel. New apartments have underground parking spaces in the block.
Are you looking to buy a Home rather than apartment to have working space? if so you will be travelling a fair distance out of town, and the traffic is manic (plus the drivers are maniacs)
There are older, small, commercial buildings around to rent with ramps/pits. Not sure I would trust any old Ukrainian built hoist. Modern ones probably come in from Poland and are much better.
Get yourself a girlfriend who's brother loves modifying cars, he'll set you right. The girls only care if it's new and expensive!

There is allot of truth in what is written above, :thumbsup:

My suspicion is if you rent a free standing, usually rickety garage/shed your bigger problem than mosquitoes will be those who want to 'borrow' your tools. If you can find a home that is walled off and has a free standing garage built or attached to the home you will be more secure.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: andrewfi on October 06, 2019, 10:04:30 AM
Mossies, unless those in Ukraine are very different, are very mucha location-based issue. The little buggers don't travel far and they have specific tastes for their living spaces. So, two people can have very different experiences in what might seem to be the same place.

If you live in a dry area with little or no standing water then mossies just won't be an issue. If there's a load of standing water - ditches, ponds, lakes and your home is at or near ground level then your experience will be very different.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: B.B. on October 06, 2019, 03:10:11 PM
I've spent a lot of time in Ukraine, including Odessa.  If you are in the city proper, mosquitoes will be a non-issue.

B/B
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on October 06, 2019, 08:18:22 PM
OK, well disclaimer.....although Australian, I love cool evenings/nights. I use aircon a lot because "solid" brick buildings heat up and take ages to cool down. I keep the inside temp below 22c at night. When it is cooler in Odessa I am quite happy to have the windows open, and mine are un-screened. As mentioned, I live either along  Fransuzky Blde, or on Gargarin Plateau. I have chosen to live without a car in Odessa, as I find local transport easy enough or get Ubers etc.
Love your hobbie/living around cars. How are you thinking to work that in Odessa? Most "garages" are sold separate to old apartments, and are very old, small/single place and made of steel. New apartments have underground parking spaces in the block.
Are you looking to buy a Home rather than apartment to have working space? if so you will be travelling a fair distance out of town, and the traffic is manic (plus the drivers are maniacs)
There are older, small, commercial buildings around to rent with ramps/pits. Not sure I would trust any old Ukrainian built hoist. Modern ones probably come in from Poland and are much better.
Get yourself a girlfriend who's brother loves modifying cars, he'll set you right. The girls only care if it's new and expensive!

Thanks again, and for the update about being Aussie. I would think you'd handle warm temperatures better than me. As far as humidity goes, is that much of an issue in Australia? I picture it as being very dry, especially in the outback. What little I think I know I've learned by watching the Australia based Netflix series "Pine Gap".

I have tossed around the idea of renting commercial space to practice my hobby. But on the top of my shopping list right now are what on OLX are referred to as "cottages" in English. It would be a townhouse where I come from. Units share left and right walls but from the ground to the roof is all one dwelling. I've seen many of these with a garage. It also appeals to me to have a ground level because I have two little dogs, and I believe strongly in the doggie door system. I know many apartment dwellers manage to have dogs, but it doesn't appeal to me. And yes, there is the issue of location. Living without a car is not an option for me, but I also like to be able to ride my bicycle and/or walk to a coffee shop or two. I suppose cottages  or other types of houses with garages are located outside of town generally?

Honestly Odessa isn't on the top of my list at the moment. I'm thinking the summers are prohibitively uncomfortable. I'll be visiting a couple other cities further North first and foremost but I will go to Odessa.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on October 06, 2019, 08:19:20 PM
I've spent a lot of time in Ukraine, including Odessa.  If you are in the city proper, mosquitoes will be a non-issue.

B/B

Thanks for that input
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on October 06, 2019, 08:22:21 PM
Also, not experience mossies being an issue in Odessa, but I haven't been there since 2005

If you want to avoid a summer of hell, avoid camping in villages  / rural areas of Siberia ..

Is Siberia really bad Mosquito-wise? Maybe from all the melting snow?

I wonder if it's like Alaska in that respect. I've heard the mosquitoes are hellish there.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: AvHdB on October 06, 2019, 09:16:38 PM
Also, not experience mossies being an issue in Odessa, but I haven't been there since 2005

If you want to avoid a summer of hell, avoid camping in villages  / rural areas of Siberia ..

Is Siberia really bad Mosquito-wise? Maybe from all the melting snow?

I wonder if it's like Alaska in that respect. I've heard the mosquitoes are hellish there.

Yes

From I. Frazier's book 'Travels in Siberia'; I have been in mosquito swarms in beaver meadows in northern Michigan, in boreal wetlands in Canada, and near Alaska’s Yukon River. Western Siberia has more. On calm and sultry evenings as we busied ourselves around the camp, mosquitoes came at us as if shot from a fire hose. Usually mosquitoes cluster in a cloud around their targets, but as Volodya made dinner I observed a thick and proximate cloud surrounding him head to toe, and then a whole other sort of candidate swarm around that inner swarm, and then more in all directions, minutely enlivening the sky.

With such astronomical numbers, Siberian mosquitoes have learned to diversify. There are the majority, of course, who just bite you anywhere. Those are your general-practitioner mosquitoes, or G.P.s. Then, you have your specialists—your eye, ear, nose, and throat mosquitoes. Eye mosquitoes fly directly at the eyeball and crash-land there. The reason for this tactic is a mystery. The ear mosquito  goes into the ear canal and then slams itself deafeningly back and forth—part of a larger psyops strategy, maybe. Nose and throat mosquitoes wait for their moment, then surf into those passages as far as they can go on the indrawn breath of air. Even deep inside they keep flying as long as possible and emit a desperate buzzing, as if radioing for backup.

Nothing short of a good breeze keeps Siberian mosquitoes down. They laugh at organic-based repellents. Strong repellent with deet is disagreeable to them, but they work around it. Thick smoke can be effective, but you have to stand right in it. In past times, native peoples and Russians wove fine netting of the long hairs in a horse’s tail and wore the nets throughout the summer. Members of a tribe called the Tungus carried smoke pots with them wherever they went, while another native people, the Voguls, retreated into smoke-filled huts for the summer months and became dormant, doing most of their hunting and  travelling in the wintertime. The sheer volume of mosquitoes might cause an observer not to mention the gnats, flies, and tiny biting insects (known as “no-see-’ums” in America); there are plenty of all those as well. Sometimes in the evenings, I imagined I could hear the great insect totality tuning up all around, a continent-wide humming.


Enough said?
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: Manny on October 07, 2019, 02:19:54 PM
One reason I stopped spending so much time in Estonia was the mozzies. In the brief summer thay have, they come out the size of tractors and all aim for me. Once I was in the hospital with a swollen arm as big as my leg.  (:)

I had the same in Russia by the Volga at the family dacha. Necking antihistamines and ibuprofen to take down the swellings.

I slather myself in deet spray (from the UK), buy room smellies, burning things, etc., put nets up, and by morning I am still bit to hell. Wifey gets almost no bites at all. They just like me.

I never found them much of an issue in China till I walked through an oriental garden (with pools) one evening. By the next morning I was peppered with bites.

You have no worries if I'm nearby; they'll all find me and not you.  :ROFL:
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on October 13, 2019, 08:18:59 PM
Also, not experience mossies being an issue in Odessa, but I haven't been there since 2005

If you want to avoid a summer of hell, avoid camping in villages  / rural areas of Siberia ..

Is Siberia really bad Mosquito-wise? Maybe from all the melting snow?

I wonder if it's like Alaska in that respect. I've heard the mosquitoes are hellish there.

Yes

From I. Frazier's book 'Travels in Siberia'; I have been in mosquito swarms in beaver meadows in northern Michigan, in boreal wetlands in Canada, and near Alaska’s Yukon River. Western Siberia has more. On calm and sultry evenings as we busied ourselves around the camp, mosquitoes came at us as if shot from a fire hose. Usually mosquitoes cluster in a cloud around their targets, but as Volodya made dinner I observed a thick and proximate cloud surrounding him head to toe, and then a whole other sort of candidate swarm around that inner swarm, and then more in all directions, minutely enlivening the sky.

With such astronomical numbers, Siberian mosquitoes have learned to diversify. There are the majority, of course, who just bite you anywhere. Those are your general-practitioner mosquitoes, or G.P.s. Then, you have your specialists—your eye, ear, nose, and throat mosquitoes. Eye mosquitoes fly directly at the eyeball and crash-land there. The reason for this tactic is a mystery. The ear mosquito  goes into the ear canal and then slams itself deafeningly back and forth—part of a larger psyops strategy, maybe. Nose and throat mosquitoes wait for their moment, then surf into those passages as far as they can go on the indrawn breath of air. Even deep inside they keep flying as long as possible and emit a desperate buzzing, as if radioing for backup.

Nothing short of a good breeze keeps Siberian mosquitoes down. They laugh at organic-based repellents. Strong repellent with deet is disagreeable to them, but they work around it. Thick smoke can be effective, but you have to stand right in it. In past times, native peoples and Russians wove fine netting of the long hairs in a horse’s tail and wore the nets throughout the summer. Members of a tribe called the Tungus carried smoke pots with them wherever they went, while another native people, the Voguls, retreated into smoke-filled huts for the summer months and became dormant, doing most of their hunting and  travelling in the wintertime. The sheer volume of mosquitoes might cause an observer not to mention the gnats, flies, and tiny biting insects (known as “no-see-’ums” in America); there are plenty of all those as well. Sometimes in the evenings, I imagined I could hear the great insect totality tuning up all around, a continent-wide humming.


Enough said?


Crazy! That's a better reason to avoid Siberia than the winter temps! I have read that in Alaska there is a type of Caribou that migrates 1000 miles each spring to get a way from mosquitoes!
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on October 13, 2019, 08:20:13 PM
One reason I stopped spending so much time in Estonia was the mozzies. In the brief summer thay have, they come out the size of tractors and all aim for me. Once I was in the hospital with a swollen arm as big as my leg.  (:)

I had the same in Russia by the Volga at the family dacha. Necking antihistamines and ibuprofen to take down the swellings.

I slather myself in deet spray (from the UK), buy room smellies, burning things, etc., put nets up, and by morning I am still bit to hell. Wifey gets almost no bites at all. They just like me.

I never found them much of an issue in China till I walked through an oriental garden (with pools) one evening. By the next morning I was peppered with bites.

You have no worries if I'm nearby; they'll all find me and not you.  :ROFL:

Good to know!
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: andrewfi on October 14, 2019, 04:12:55 AM
In writing the following, I am excluding locations where mosquitoes are in huge visible clouds, but, in general, I find that when I move to an area with mosquitoes that initially they are a problem. I get bitten and I itch a lot.

After a couple of weeks, I don't notice them and don't seem to get bitten very much. Also, one does not notice the local folks having great problems with them.

I used to be a big buyer of various creams and potions to reduce the itchy and bumps from bites until I found the best treatment. The main ingredient is also a common material in the various after-bite treatments.

I buy a bottle of household ammonia. Use cotton wool or tissue paper. Moisten the material with the ammonia and rub it into the bite. The ammonia, apparently, has the effect of neutralizing the protein injected by bitey things and removing the itch and bump. This works best if applied just after being bitten because the ammonia can enter the bite before it closes up. You get a brief stinging sensation and a few minutes later - bite is gone. If applied later, it seems to work best after a good scratching session because the skin has been broken slightly by your scratching. It does work without scratching but is not so fast and needs more sessions with the ammonia.

You can make your own version of the pen-type afterbite treatments using alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Open up the sanitizer bottle and ditch about 1/3 to 1/2 the content. Refill the container with neat household ammonia, the job's done. Now you have a less messy, slightly less stinky, afterbite treatment that also sanitizes the bite. The alcohol has a nice cooling effect and the cost is minimal. Sanitizer costs €1 or less and the ammonia is about nothing per liter. Price of a pen-type afterbite treatment is usually in excess of €10.
Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: Steveboy on October 14, 2019, 06:29:04 AM
There are a fair few mosquitos in St Petersburg during the summer, the cat is a fully trained Transnistrian  mosquito killer, so do not get many in the apartment..

As for the rest flying around and bitting always seem to go for the legs.. I do not take any notice of it.. I have the view that is you cannot take a few mosquito bites how the hell would you survive in an apocalyptic situation ? Or what about if you had to make your way through the Jungle ?

Title: Re: Mosquitoes in Odessa and other cities?
Post by: justadude on October 20, 2019, 04:49:30 PM
I have the view that is you cannot take a few mosquito bites how the hell would you survive in an apocalyptic situation ?

haha I try to tell myself that I'm prepared for the apocalypse as well. I think my math teaching experience won't be much help then!