Mosquito Bites – The Truth about Stabbing, Spitting and Sucking

Love bites—and so do mosquitoes. Or do they really? Truth be told: We think mosquitoes bite us, but bite is actually not the right word. Mosquitoes rather kind of stab, spit, and suck us to draw a blood meal. Before we learn the truth about stabbing, spitting, and sucking about mosquito bites, here’s a trivia: Did you know that not all mosquitoes bite us?

As any experienced mosquito control expert will tell you, it’s only the female mosquitoes of some species that bite us. Male mosquitoes of all species feed on nectar. And even the females that eat blood meal doesn’t always feed on blood. Most of the time they feed on nectar. It’s only before laying eggs that female mosquitoes of some species hunt for blood, human or animal. This they do because blood contains nutrients that are essential for egg development.

Truth About Mosquito Bites

As said above, mosquito don’t bite us, not in any literal sense of the word. Attached to the mouth of female mosquitoes is a long tube much like a straw, known as proboscis. Female mosquitoes use this proboscis to stab into your skin.

The proboscis contains a special saliva, which female mosquitoes use when they feed on blood. After a female mosquito has stabbed into your skin, it tries to locate a blood vessel. When it finds it, it releases or spits this special saliva into your body. The mosquito saliva contains an anti-coagulant, which in turn ensures that the blood doesn’t clot, so that the female mosquito can quickly suck up the blood.

Why Do Mosquito Bites Itch?

While often we don’t realize instantly when a mosquito has bitten us, our immune system is more alert. The immune system detects mosquito saliva as soon as it is released into your body. Upon detecting mosquito saliva, the immune system causes the body to secrete a certain neurotransmitter, called histamine, in abundance.

Now this special neurotransmitter travels all the way to site of mosquito bite and causes the blood vessels in that part to swell, and this is how we see a reddish bump on the site of mosquito bite.

But that’s not all. Swelling of blood vessels causes irritation in nerves around the bite site. This nerve irritation is what we feel as an itching sensation.

Don’t Take Mosquito Bites Lightly

Mosquito bites is not something that you should brush off lightly. Mosquitoes cause many diseases, some of which are very dangerous. For in the U.S., some mosquitoes transmit West Nile Virus when they bite. In certain other parts of the globe, especially in south east Asia, mosquito bites can lead to dengue and zika.

Therefore, it is necessary that you take adequate precaution against mosquitoes. The first and best way to deal with them is to do it yourself with experienced mosquito trap products to make your house mosquito-free.

However, making your house mosquito-free, while very necessary, may not be enough. Whenever you go outdoors in early morning or in evening, ensure that you are wearing long clothing and using a mosquito repellent. This is because mosquitoes are very active at these times of the day.