Should we wipe Mosquitos off the face of the earth?

[Mindful]

Mosquitos transfer diseases that kill millions of humans every year. Would you think we shouldn't wipe cancer out if we had the chance? Cancer could be described as a living thing.

What I don't understand about cancer. It commits suicide by killing its host.

Mosquitos, after one suck and slurp, fly off to the next one.

 

[yiostheoy]

Mosquitos transfer diseases that kill millions of humans every year. Would you think we shouldn't wipe cancer out if we had the chance? Cancer could be described as a living thing.

What I don't understand about cancer. It commits suicide by killing its host.

Mosquitos, after one suck and slurp, fly off to the next one.

Cancer is irrational.

Mosquitoes are smart.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Even before the Zika virus, mosquitoes were the deadliest creatures on the planet. But gene modification means these blood suckers’ days might be numbered. Is it dangerous to talk about ‘editing nature’, or should we consider eradicating them for good?

Should we wipe mosquitoes off the face of the Earth?

humanity has always modified our environment. I don't see the reason why not.

We should play God?

We've been doing so for a long time. Everytime we modify a animal like a dog or cat we're playing god. Everytime we make a vaccine to beat disease and viruses we're playing god.

doing away with diseases spread by mosquitos would be yet another in a long line of doing just that.

 

[yiostheoy]

We had bats too. Didn't stop the nightly buzzing visitations though.

I love bats.

The first time I ever saw them was in the late evening hours at TwentyNine Palms CA.

If you listen carefully enough you can almost hear them chirping.

 

[yiostheoy]

Well then if we could kill off the species that carry disease and replace them with reintroduced benign species that would be a major accomplishment.

This is my killer instinct kicking in again of course.

But I still wonder if we need the virulent mosquitoes to help us control the population of the Earth.

The Malthusian predictions of uncontrolled skyrocketing growth accompanied ultimately by widespread famine and starvation are not pretty either.

mosquitoes hardly kill anyone. they just give you recurring viral diseases and keep you up at night, and dis-permit you from going out of your tent to pee.

So that's how you live.

I had the bedroom windows meshed. Couldn't stand that buzzing round my head at midnight.

I have a huge mosquito net that covers my entire bed.

Those little buggers cannot get to me anymore.

 

[GLASNOST]

Should we wipe Mosquitos off the face of the earth?

That depends upon the method with which to 'wipe them out'. When I was a boy, I use to ride my bike in & out of the clouds of smoke behind the DDT truck. No one told me it was dangerous. Later, when I was in Vietnam, I was exposed to Agent Orange. No one told me that was dangerous either.

 

[Mindful]

Mosquitos transfer diseases that kill millions of humans every year. Would you think we shouldn't wipe cancer out if we had the chance? Cancer could be described as a living thing.

What I don't understand about cancer. It commits suicide by killing its host.

Mosquitos, after one suck and slurp, fly off to the next one.

Cancer is irrational.

Mosquitoes are smart.

You're anthropomorphizing mosquitos?

 

[Mindful]

Well then if we could kill off the species that carry disease and replace them with reintroduced benign species that would be a major accomplishment.

This is my killer instinct kicking in again of course.

But I still wonder if we need the virulent mosquitoes to help us control the population of the Earth.

The Malthusian predictions of uncontrolled skyrocketing growth accompanied ultimately by widespread famine and starvation are not pretty either.

mosquitoes hardly kill anyone. they just give you recurring viral diseases and keep you up at night, and dis-permit you from going out of your tent to pee.

So that's how you live.

I had the bedroom windows meshed. Couldn't stand that buzzing round my head at midnight.

I have a huge mosquito net that covers my entire bed.

Those little buggers cannot get to me anymore.

Still couldn't stand the buzzings.

 

[Vastator]

No way! Humanity still lacks the wisdom to see such a thing through to its logical conclusion. We would regret it, and lament, "oh what have we done!?"

 

[irosie91]

God must have had some good reason for creating mosquitoes.

By God I mean the Deist, Philosophy God, not necessarily any of the Theist, organized religion God(s).

I know that fish eat mosquitoes. So do frogs.

We would be depriving the fish and frogs of their food supply if we annihilated mosquitoes.

The mosquitoes do however kill more humans than any other animal does including man himself.

Various species die out all the time and the Earth seems to survive though.

And mosquitoes killing people may also serve as a population control.

Back in my motorcycle days I have eaten my share of mosquitoes in the early morning and late evening when they come out. They don't have much of a taste, so you would need to add salt and pepper. The fish and frogs must not care then.

My instinct would be to kill them, sure. But I am trained to kill things. It is a natural bias that I have. All thanks to Uncle Sam.

Only a fraction of mosquito species carry disease. It seems that the success in prevention such as vaccines holds the greatest promise.

so true huggy-----but some of those specific sterilize the females (or the males) techniques---if they can be made SPECIES specific might work out well -----for those damn aegypti bugs in malaria endemic places------uhm-----and of course for whom ever carries zika-----and some of those damned encephalitis viruses-----maybe----. I doubt that DDT is going to be tolerated. DDT got a bad name

 

[irosie91]

No way! Humanity still lacks the wisdom to see such a thing through to its logical conclusion. We would regret it, and lament, "oh what have we done!?"

so true-----but very very carefully

 

[Skull Pilot]

Mosquitos transfer diseases that kill millions of humans every year. Would you think we shouldn't wipe cancer out if we had the chance? Cancer could be described as a living thing.

Hey Mr I love science do you know what would happen to ecosystems all over the planet if we wiped out every mosquito?

 

[irosie91]

No, they are part of the ability to raise crops through cross pollination..

we don't need mosquitos----remember MENDEL? he used a small camel hair paint brush (I think----I left high school many years ago)

 

[Moonglow]

No, they are part of the ability to raise crops through cross pollination..

Did you read the whole article?

They are also part of the food chain. For bats especially.

I didn't need to read the article to know what value mosquitoes have in the environment...I done did already knowed....Yuck...

 

[Moonglow]

No, they are part of the ability to raise crops through cross pollination..

we don't need mosquitos----remember MENDEL? he used a small camel hair paint brush (I think----I left high school many years ago)

That would be a job for migrant labor, making certain food sources so high, you couldn't afford them...

 

[Mindful]

No, they are part of the ability to raise crops through cross pollination..

Did you read the whole article?

They are also part of the food chain. For bats especially.

I didn't need to read the article to know what value mosquitoes have in the environment...I done did already knowed....Yuck...

Please yourself.

If your attention span isn't up to it.

 

[Moonglow]

No, they are part of the ability to raise crops through cross pollination..

Did you read the whole article?

They are also part of the food chain. For bats especially.

I didn't need to read the article to know what value mosquitoes have in the environment...I done did already knowed....Yuck...

Please yourself.

If your attention span isn't up to it.

This info was covered starting in 6th grade, in environmental science, where were you?

 

[Mindful]

No, they are part of the ability to raise crops through cross pollination..

Did you read the whole article?

They are also part of the food chain. For bats especially.

I didn't need to read the article to know what value mosquitoes have in the environment...I done did already knowed....Yuck...

Please yourself.

If your attention span isn't up to it.

This info was covered starting in 6th grade, in environmental science, where were you?

I don't know what 6th grade means.

And if you know it all, why are you here?

 

[RodISHI]

We had bats too. Didn't stop the nightly buzzing visitations though.

I love bats.

The first time I ever saw them was in the late evening hours at TwentyNine Palms CA.

If you listen carefully enough you can almost hear them chirping.

You have never had one get into your bedroom at night and dive bomb into your hair.

Up close they are cute lil' critters and great outside for bug control.

There are a lot more it seems in CA. than in the midwest.

 

[Old Rocks]

Mosquitos transfer diseases that kill millions of humans every year. Would you think we shouldn't wipe cancer out if we had the chance? Cancer could be described as a living thing.

In the Arctic, the mosquito is the agent of pollinization. Wiping them out would be an ecological disaster. Rather, do something that would render the mosquito that carries the particular disease unable to carry that disease. A challenge for bioengineering.