Concerned citizens in Houston, Texas, are reporting "apocalyptic" swarms of aggressive mosquitos ravaging the skin of anyone out in the evening.
In a Reddit post on r/houston, a concerned pet owner said they were swarmed by abnormally aggressive mosquitoes while walking their dog. "I received more than five bites in the few minutes I was outside!" they said.
Users further down the thread respond with similar experiences, with one claiming their nightly jogs have left them with over 50 bites: "my arms and legs are destroyed."
Mosquitos are a menace to humans wherever they flourish. They are a nuisance that not only creates irritation on the skin at the moment of contact but can transmit viral disease.
As a result, mosquito control efforts have concerned communities worldwide for centuries. In the United States, various methods of control have been put forward by the medical and ecological scientific communities. Over time, Americans have tried everything from terraforming and the application of oil to the liberal spraying of dangerous insecticides.
Recent realizations about increasingly aggressive and insecticide-resistant mosquitoes are only the latest development in a long and ongoing history.
Mosquito infestation is a problem primarily because of the human health impact. The West Nile virus, malaria, and Zika are just the most infamous three of many viral diseases the blood-sucking insects carry. Even some ostensibly less harmful diseases spread by mosquitoes have been found to have long-term health effects that can damage a person's quality of life in later years.
However, some health impacts of mosquito infestation come from the human response to them. One of the most common tools used to control mosquito populations in the 1970s and '80s was DDT. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, that chemical is now classified as a probable carcinogen.
In addition to damaging human health, insecticides can be deeply harmful to the environment. DDT was also linked to significant declines in the population of a variety of wildlife, most notably birds of prey. Insecticides have also been known to cause significant damage to fauna.
Luckily, there are more sustainable alternatives. DIY mosquito dunks have worked wonders for folks looking to create a pest-free space, and certain plants have also been known to deter the parasitic insects.
Users in the thread were also perplexed by the mosquito problem, and many offered solutions.
One commented, "They are absolutely apocalyptic right now… They're f****** enormous, too."
"Time to patrol your property and look for standing water," said another.
Finally, a user came up with a popular solution, saying, "put some deep woods on before you head out," they wrote. "I take my shirt off and spray it as well."
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