It is a lost war. Driving away a mosquito. Just one can drive you crazy
Many are a menace. Even when a mosquito is not infecting you, it is working hard to annoy you.
I have had my share of run-ins with them. As I sit back in my chair on a lazy Sunday evening to message my friends, the mosquito sets her sights on me. I suppose I am a big juicy target. Five minutes is all I get before the attack begins. A bite on the legs. I move them. One on the elbow. I shake my arm. A bite on my neck. I drive it away with my hand. Soon I am shaking different parts of my body to her biting rythm. It is a dance, no less. This happens semi-consciously if you are a veteran. Suddenly my hand slaps my neck. One is dead. She had inserted her prombosis too far into me and was unable to escape. I wipe my hand in satisfaction. But the victory is shortlived. Another one takes her place. The whole exercise repeats. Sometimes she will buzz near my ears, driving me crazy. So I am doing two jobs at one time. One is whatever I am doing. The other is keeping the bites to the minimum. I have found that mosquito repellent creams, mats etc. are no good, notwithstanding all the wonderful advertisements. But other people tell me they are quite effective. Perhaps the mosquitoes in my area are a toughened variety. The only effective defence, I have found, is the electric bat. This bat, a cross between a tennis and a badminton racquet, literally shocks the mosquito to death. The light and sound are a bonus, perhaps even satisfying.
Often I have taken a mosquito as a passenger in my car. It gets in uninvited when I open the door to get in. The number depends on how long the door was open. If I happen to leave a window open overnight, the entire colony would be inside the next morning. Driving under these conditions can be challenging. I get bitten all over. I can use only one hand in defence. The legs cannot be shaken, much less moved. Of course I have to concentrate on the road. Opening all the windows drives out all the mosquitoes but a few. Now the fun starts. The mosquito goes around buzzing. It reaches the open window and changes direction. Back it comes inside. How it senses the boundary between the car and the outside amazes me. But everytime it unerringly turns back. I am sure border issues would be resolved if mosquitoes were to police the borders. I decide the mosquito needs some help. So I try and push it out with my hand or try to blow it out. I try this when I am waiting at a signal. Other drivers give me a strange look. I guess they think I am crazy to be waving my hands and blowing at nothing. I also run the risk of women taking umbrage at my actions. Victory at last. The mosquito flies away. I immediately raise my windows. But before the glass is fully raised, the chap comes in again. He has no intention of leaving my car. After many more tries (at signals only as it would be dangerous to do all this while driving), I finally manage to drive him out.
Then I reflect. I had picked him up at home and dropped him off a few kilometres away. Will he find his way back ? Will he find new friends or a new family ? Will he remain alone for the rest of his life ? Will he survive ? My concern for him grows as the distance from him increases. If only there were some means of communicating with the mosquito, I would learn so much from him.
