I understand that the tiny Asian Tiger mosquito can lay it’s eggs in a drop of water on a leaf. That being said, is there any way, without using pesticides to rid of them?
Also, is there anything that will repel them? I have tried Deet, and all of the natural repellents that I can find. Nothing works so far.
from Linda: “Aedes albopictus (“Asian Tiger Mosquito”) is about the same size as other mosquitoes, so if the writer is being bitten by something smaller than your usual mosquito, it may be something else. It’s unlikely they can lay their eggs in that little amount of water. Typically, they find standing water (which is why standing water should be dumped regularly) and lay eggs at a spot just above the level of the water, on the side of the container. As per the CDC resource below, they aren’t known to go very far from where they are hatched, so if one can eliminate breeding habitat, that will help reduce numbers of adults.
DEET should work if used correctly. The writer could also try insecticide-impregnated clothing, sold by places like Cabela’s (not an endorsement).
How common is are mutations that provide kdr? If in an environment without pesticides, will pesticide resistant genes be selected against, or just not selected for?
Thanks for your question, Scott!
Linda writes: “It is thought that kdr, like other beneficial (as far as resistance goes) mutations, occur naturally at low or very low frequencies in a population. Insecticides are not thought to be mutagenic, but instead act as a selective agent, where the relatively few individuals of the population that have kdr would be pretty much all that’s left to reestablish the population after insecticides are applied. Since they are resistant, they have an advantage over other mosquitoes that migrate in, or were missed when the insecticide was applied.
It is also thought that there is some kind of cost to having a resistance mutation, which translates into those individuals leaving fewer offspring than non-kdr individuals. The situation works in a kdr mutant’s favor as long as insecticides are being applied. Once that selective pressure is removed (and there have been a few studies that have shown this in Culex), the frequency of the kdr mutation in the population goes down.
So in an environment without pesticides, one would expect pesticide resistant genes to dwindle. This isn’t because they are being selected against, but the cost outweighs the benefit, so the frequency goes down in the population. “
Walkabout 
I understand that the tiny Asian Tiger mosquito can lay it’s eggs in a drop of water on a leaf. That being said, is there any way, without using pesticides to rid of them?
Also, is there anything that will repel them? I have tried Deet, and all of the natural repellents that I can find. Nothing works so far.
from Linda: “Aedes albopictus (“Asian Tiger Mosquito”) is about the same size as other mosquitoes, so if the writer is being bitten by something smaller than your usual mosquito, it may be something else. It’s unlikely they can lay their eggs in that little amount of water. Typically, they find standing water (which is why standing water should be dumped regularly) and lay eggs at a spot just above the level of the water, on the side of the container. As per the CDC resource below, they aren’t known to go very far from where they are hatched, so if one can eliminate breeding habitat, that will help reduce numbers of adults.
DEET should work if used correctly. The writer could also try insecticide-impregnated clothing, sold by places like Cabela’s (not an endorsement).
Here’s a link to some CDC info: http://www.cdc.gov/dengue/resources/30Jan2012/albopictusfactsheet.pdf
Ae. albopictus is a medically important mosquito, as it can carry the viruses that cause dengue and chikungunya.”
How common is are mutations that provide kdr? If in an environment without pesticides, will pesticide resistant genes be selected against, or just not selected for?
Thanks for your question, Scott!
Linda writes: “It is thought that kdr, like other beneficial (as far as resistance goes) mutations, occur naturally at low or very low frequencies in a population. Insecticides are not thought to be mutagenic, but instead act as a selective agent, where the relatively few individuals of the population that have kdr would be pretty much all that’s left to reestablish the population after insecticides are applied. Since they are resistant, they have an advantage over other mosquitoes that migrate in, or were missed when the insecticide was applied.
It is also thought that there is some kind of cost to having a resistance mutation, which translates into those individuals leaving fewer offspring than non-kdr individuals. The situation works in a kdr mutant’s favor as long as insecticides are being applied. Once that selective pressure is removed (and there have been a few studies that have shown this in Culex), the frequency of the kdr mutation in the population goes down.
So in an environment without pesticides, one would expect pesticide resistant genes to dwindle. This isn’t because they are being selected against, but the cost outweighs the benefit, so the frequency goes down in the population. “