If we did not get diseases from mosquito bites, and if they weren't so itchy, would you gladly give your blood to add pollinators for fruit bearing plants and add food sources for other animals like birds, fish, bats, spiders, lizards and dragonflies?

Here are some scientists feeding mosquitoes in order to study them to stop the spread of disease: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/mosquitoes-researchers-feeding-blood/2020/08/21/25f30252-c608-11ea-a99f-3bbdffb1af38_story.html

Also for an interesting read, look up "Do Dragonflies eat mosquitoes" on the web (the virtual one, not the arachnid's.)

This is for those seeking to get rid of some mosquitoes that are sucking their blood and leaving itchy bumps on their skin.  Let us count the common ways:

1. Basic mode: Use your hands
   1. Chances of catching a mosquito can be improved by having a light background underneath and in front of the body.
      1. Light / White bed-sheet under the person.
      2. Or a big piece of calendar paper
      3. Or a white floor. (Tiles etc) 
   2. ​​​If a mosquito is buzzing around the person, wait until it lands on one's own skin.  Smack it to oblivion before it sucks your blood.
   3. They have eyes to see your hands while flying in mid-air, according to an article online.
2. Use an electronic fly swatter.
   1. These are available for purchase from stores.
   2. Try to get one with a built-in rechargeable battery if it suits one's purpose.  At the time of this post, it would be around $5 each.
   3. When one sees mosquitoes flying around one's body, go and get the electronic fly swatter (if it is not onhand),
   4. Then go back to where you were originally standing,  usually the mosquitoes will still be there if you were not gone too long.  
   5. Press the button and swat at the mosquitoes when you see them.
   6. There should be a satisfying crackling sound.
3. Passive, Automatic modes​ ​
   1. ​Window Screens & Mosquito Net
      1. ​Have windows that have screen barriers that let in cooling wind but not insects.
      2. If you cant have that, get or make your own personal mosquito net.
   2. Electronic insect killer
      1. As much as possible, use these only indoors.  As putting it outdoors might kill beneficial insects.  The UV lights might actually attract insects to your yard.  As well as other animals (lizards, spiders frogs, etc) to feed on those insects.  And you don't want to put these in the rain.
      2. Turn off all lights when not in use leaving the Electronic insect killer UV lights attract all the daytime loving insects (which includes the mosquitoes that carry dengue fever) 
   3. Insect Repellant
      
   • ​​​​Don't spray them on your skin where chemicals will be absorbed.  Spray it on the place where you are going to be.  (Clothes, bed, etc.)

We don't really want to kill all mosquitoes, we just want to keep them from biting us, and if possible stay outside where they belong, where they can be a beneficial part of the ecosystem.  We also don't want to kill off other beneficial organisms and insects. (e.g. bees, butterflies, dragonflies...).

There's a recent article circulating about Bill Gates giving substantial funds to make male mosquitoes that mate and then produce offspring that do not survive (fake news? or partly fake news? or real news?  --  Readers can research and post in the comments below.)

A younger version of this writer would rejoice at this news, thinking: eliminate all blood-sucking mosquitoes.  But to paraphrase a saying, mosquitoes do not kill people, diseases kill people.  Mosquitoes can be a food source to many other organisms.  Dead mosquitoes also serve as minuscule fertilizer to the soil.  As a human if we ever think we are on top of the food chain, we should remember the mosquito and be humbled down a notch.

So maybe it's back to the drawing board to see how to remove malaria, zika and dengue from the equation.  Possible results to this train of thought would be:

• make safe vaccines and vaccinate everyone at risk
• use the mosquitoes to vaccinate everyone at risk with safe vaccines (there are some negative ramifications to this, but we need to aim not for failure but for success.  -- the "do not aim for failure" bit is from the Storks animated movie, as well as other inspirational books)
• or make the mosquitoes immune from becoming carriers of diseases
• what if mosquitoes are already vaccinating us from some diseases we have not even heard of?

So that ends this post.  So much to think about regarding that small insect buzzing in one's ear