Posted by
solomani
17 yrs ago
Hi all,
Over the last few days my 11 month daughter has suffered what seems to be multiple mosquito bites - mainly to her face. Took her to the local doctor and he said that it was mossi bites.
The thing is she sleeps with myself and my wife in a cot next to our bed (and sometimes with us as well). I find it strange that I have no bites while my daughter has so many. Neither have I seen, heard or felt any kind of mosquito. My wife has a few bites off and on but generally has none as well.
We live on the 58th floor by the sea, so there is a constant breeze. I didn't think mossis could get that high?
Either way I have started to shut the windows and have a fan blowing all night. I would have the A/C on all night but my wife cant handle it (dry eyes).
Since I havent seen or heard any of these mossis, could it be something else? Does HK have bed bugs or some such?
Any other suggestions to combat mossis assuming it is mosquitos? Fumigate the room?
Its kind of frustrating as it stops my daughter from sleeping and is clearly itchy for her (and keeps myself and my wife up at night as well).
Thanks in advance.
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We have had the same issue. Mosquito bites affect people in different ways. Some don't get a welt at all, others (like your daughter) get these big red marks. Your wife seems to be in between. It's all in how sensitive a person is. And that can change with time.
58th floor is not really that high for mosquitoes. I mean compared to a hill.
You may have bed bugs or something else too. Fan is good. A/C does not affect them that much in my experience.
What really helped us was getting those little fumigators from the grocery store (put water in and smoke comes out). That really got rid of the biting. Sure, there'll be the occasional bite now but not like before. If you do it in the morning (takes 3 hours), then properly ventilate the room the stuff is 100% gone by the evening. Make sure you open all the cupboards and drawers so the smoke gets everywhere. You may have to repeat every few months.
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Hi axptguy,
Thanks for the info. Is this an actual chemical fumigation or is it one of those incense based type setups (smell repels them as opposed to killing them via chemicals)?
Thanks.
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Chemical fumigation. Death death death.
I can't remember the brand name right now. They are small cylinders wrapped in cellophane. You'll find them in the insecticide section. There's a white and red (universal) and a white and yellow (mites and something). I used one of each at the same time. It says "enough for 300 square feet" so that is more than enough for one room.
Make sure you don't breathe in the stuff. I got a whiff. Yech cough cough cough. ;)
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My daughter is the same - she must have yummy blood. We tried the incense repel plug in, fan, A/C (seperately and all 3 together) mosquito cream, I ended up buying a mosquito net to put over her cot (Ikea has them in the childrens section) which keeps them out. This means I can have the windows open again which increases our comfort in the apartment - no more need for constant A/C. I kow someone else managed to put on flyscreens on her windows but I'm still searching from where she got these. Then we can all be mosquito free.
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I think a mosquito net beats screens any day of the week, at least for sleeping. There's no way some mosquitoes won't make it past the screens. One does open doors after all. A net are much better.
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joga
17 yrs ago
Infants lose more of their body heat from their heads than adults and body heat increases scent that lets the mossie know there is a target. Keeping the child cool could help. Also some people say that if you have high levels of vitamin b you will be bitten less. more vegemite?
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All good advice,
The net is the best idea, no toxins no chemicals and lasts for years, you can also take it on holiday.
Latest research shows mosquitoes respond to smell as well as heat but not to CO2 levels as some thought.
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That's funny cara. But your example could equally well be explained by genetics. Your husband may react more strongly and your son got more of that. In our family my wife and older daughter get the big welts. Our younger one and I get almost nothing.
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Great advice all. I just fumigated the room to make sure it isn't something other than mosquitoes. Will grab a net as well.
Good point on the bed-bugs Cara.
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cara, you blamed food first! But re-reading that I see that it was a joke. My bad. ;)
"Be aware that there are different kinds of mosquitos here: 2 years ago I lived near a small park, mosquitos came into the bathroom and when they bit me, I got HUGE bumps (and very unpleasant). Now I have moved and they are never a problem.,"
At least 2 different kinds, but the second kind is probably black flies. Their bite is similar, and probably more painful.
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I noticed that mosquitos love my wife and hate me. We have come to the conclusion it is the amount of heat she gives off opposed to me. My wife is petite (150 cm) and has excellent circulation- basically she is always warm and tends to sit above the "average" body temperature by .2 to .4 degrees. My wife is always warm to the touch.
I am pretty tall and I guess my circulation isn't as good. I have consistently had a cool body temperature my whole life. I tend to set at just above 36°C and when I have a fever I hit 37~37.5. I am always cool to the touch.
Purely anecdotal evidence but that's my current pet theory. We both eat the same food so its not diet and I expect there is no way mossi could know if person A has sweet blood or not (if there is such a thing from a mossi point of view). I also know read that smell is a factor and they are attracted to sweaty smells. I am much more sweaty than my wife due to nightly gym work and this seems to make no difference to the mossis. The other factor is I am caucasian and my wife is asian. But I dont think that plays a factor.
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at that height and with wind etc it is very unlikely you are getting mosquitos, it is likely you are seeing flea bites. they are small red dots on most people about 4-5mm across and fleas also are choosy about who they bite. they will often target 1 person in a family.
i am not an expert or anything but it is worth thinking about. trying bombing the room with the chemical cans you can buy nearly anywhere, wash all sheets, pillow cases etc with hot water and color safe bleach, spray any carpets with more stuff or remove if you can. wash all surfaces with vinegar and water (safe for little ones and removes chemicals used). don't forget the curtains. you may have to repeat this a few weeks later if you get bites again.
fleas can come in from the outside on pets or even on shoes or clothing. once they are inside it is hard to get rid of them as they lay eggs in carpets etc.
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Great. I stink!
:)
Rasbro,
Thanks for the info. I bombed the room on Monday and tonight will be the first time we will sleep in it. See how we go. The building has a lot of dogs so I wouldn't be surprised if something got dragged in.
If that doesn't work I'll bomb the whole apartment and then wash everything.
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There's not much of a need to wash everything after you bombed it. The stuff leaves pretty much no trace. Not even to my wife's uber-sensitive nose. ;)
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Really axpt? The last time I used the bomb we had to air the place out for a long time. That was some 5 years ago though and in Japan not here. Sounds like the tech has improved.
If the biting continues I will bomb the whole apartment. Thanks for the advice.
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solomani, sorry if I was unclear. Of course the room has to be aired out for an hour or two. I meant that after that there was no trace.
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Tulip
17 yrs ago
It wasn't a mosquito, it was this small black thing that leaps like a tick or dog fleas. The bites are ore itchy than mosquito. I often see it on my son's skin and I thought it was just some dirt but before I even manage to touch it jumps out and disappears. I manage to catch it one time though it was full of blood. Fumigating is a good idea but make sure you get a moskie net.
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some people are more prone to moz than others, i heard they are attracted by the CO2 or scent people give to locate a target, moz repellants 'cover'/distract the smell to avoid moz.
there are sure bugs in hkg, esp in this wet weather and if you are by the sea it is even more so, maybe you should change bedding and wash floor frequently to make sure it is not. and don't use carpets as the humid weather here usually cause bugs in carpets.
and i think you can tell by the bite, for moz bite, it gets bigger after a while and then shrink and is gone in around a day usually, for bug bite, it stay more or less the same size for a few days and can be itchy again.
58th floor might not usually mean 58th floor in hkg, as they usually 'cut' some floor number for feng shui reasons, eg. 4, 14,....etc. also the moz might not grow from ground, it can be say from a saucer of a flower pot on 54th floor balcony.
i have had this annoying problem since we moved by the sea, and with the hill by the other side, so there are quite some natural creatures that fly in frequently come it, it is absolutely annoying when there is even one moz that bite you awake!!!
so we have tried a few effective ways,
we have use a electric repellent, i think the brand is "Raid" you can get it in drugs store, it is odourless and smoke free, there is a glass of chemical come out slowly stick as you turn it on, it last for about a month each bottle, one is good for a small room, depending on the size of your place, you might need two for living room or a bigger bedroom. i have used it, it worked very well for me each night.
there are also physical barrier, ie net,
- of course bed/cot net, if you just check that there is no moz that gets in before you sleep, you are 100% safe there will be no moz.
- now we use the net for the window, a white net is stick by the window frame, so no moz can get in, it is quite good as we don't like AC too much and much prefer the breeze.
you can get those from some Japan Home store, you just stick it on your window yourself, it is very easy. or you can buy some in fabric store, like from sham shui po area, and cut and stick yourself, it is the same. or you can get some professional one that is made by wire or plastic. i have asked some store in sham shui po, it is about $400.
i personally think, it is better to use the physical barrier than using chemical, because it seems now there are more and more research that show chemical cause harm. since it is likely a year round battle (as we don't really have winter anymore) the culmulative effects of using chemical might not be a idea, ESPECIALLY you are with a baby. better to be safe, fresh air is better for everyone.
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BananaKingdom,
Where abouts in Sham Shui Po did you go when asking about the wire screens for your windows? Do you know the cantonese word for them? As a westerner I find it a lot easier asking when I have the cantonese word for it especially in Sham Shui Po. It's a great area for finding loads of stuff but it definately helps if you know cantonese (which I don't!)
thanks
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&&&
17 yrs ago
Make sure you have NO PLANTS inside that bedroom. Mosq. love to hide around the plant.
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Just an update I ended up doing the following:
Fumigated the room.
At dusk sealed all the windows in the apartment.
Deployed fans to every room.
Ran the A/C all night.
No one has been bitten by mossis (or anything else) in the past week. Since my wife doesn't like the A/C on all night (dry eyes) we started to leave the windows open at night from this week but had the fans running. And we also got a net for our daughter. So far so good.
Speaking to the doctor apparently my daughter had an allergic reaction to the mosquito bites. So in reality she "only" got bitten 3 times in one night. However those 3 bites turned into about 15 chicken pox like saws around and near the bites. Apparently some babies are super-sensitive to the bites and have a varicella like symptoms as a reaction. Though they didn't seem itchy and they have all dried up and mostly healed now.
I am still not 100% confident its mossis. But with the help of the posters here whatever it was seems to have been eliminated or driven away. So thanks all.
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Great news solomani.
BTW you can put "Anthisan" cream (find at the grocery store and pharmacies) on the bites. Gets rid of the itching and reduces the swelling/redness fast.
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great to hear your baby daughter is free from the bites now, i know to well how annoying it is to be bitten!! there are also some moz repellant stickers that you get stick on your baby's clothing or on her trolley to repel moz when you take her out, they are quite effective and last for a day, and it is better than spray as it doesn't come into contact with the delicate baby skin.
to Toastie,
they are called, 蚊網 in chinese, literally moz net, there are a few types you can consider,
i. frabic type
you can get from Japan Home, or buy some fabric shops in the fabric area in sham shui po. i bought some from there and also some fastening tape, you stick it on the window frame and then stick the fabric. you can open/close window by opening a corner and then stick it back. the japan home ones are good enough, each pack is good for about 2 windows, just cos i have many windows at home and i prefer to have wider fastening tape for a stronger hold (the japan home one is 0.5'), so i bought from sham shui po.
ii. wire or hard pastic one
these are more long lasting, there are the rolled down/up type or the frame board type, they install a frame on your window frame, i have asked a couple of shops, i remember one is on cheung sha wan road, a shop that does aluminium window, gate..etc. price is pretty good, i think around $400 per window.
if you are a foreigner and worried you might be ripped off, i think it is best you get a cantonese person to go ask for you without your present, and you 'pop up' after your friend told you the price and you want to place order. :)
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