Vectors and agents

Funny how I don't think I got any mosquito bites earlier this summer. And I don't recall any from last summer either. Yet now that we've received a mailer from the Department of Health about West Nile Virus I'm absolutely covered with them. And of course, now there are always at least a few mosquitos lurking about the house.

Itchy itchy itchy. Mosquitos love me. They always have. Out of everyone in my family, I'm the tastiest. Jenny's the yuckiest, in terms of mosquito taste. They'll only bite her if there's no other choice. It's horrible when the 2 of us hike together. The mosquitos encounter her first, since she's invariably in the front. They get one whiff of her, and then decide to wait and see what that next thing plodding up the trail is. So she collects them all, and then directs them all to me. It's awful for both of us. For me because I'm attacked by mosquitos and super itchy, for her because I'm a horrible whiner =P.

Apparently California and Arizona are the West Nile hotspots this year. And there's been at least one case in Sacramento so far, so my county is in the "danger zone". Hence the Health Department postcard... So I checked out West Nile Virus on WebMD just now. I'm not too worried. It says that most cases are mild. In the worse (but still not usually lethal) instances it causes encephalitis. That doesn't seem like too much cause of concern either. I mean, even with brain swelling, there probably wouldn't be anything to distinguish me from a normal grad student, right? =D

Worse for me is just the mosquito bites. I have no patience (especially for personal discomfort), and a patent inability to ignore the bites so that they'll stop itching. Cortizone cream helps to some extent. But there's no defence like a good offence, right? So I'm doing a cost-benefit analysis on introducing hordes of spiders to the house to eat the mosquitos.

Hmmmm... What're your thoughts on biocontrol?