Let’s all agree on this: mosquitoes suck! The family Culicidae contains more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes! Nearly everywhere in the world is inhabited by these bloodsucking beasts. The world’s deadliest animal transmits several deadly diseases such as malaria, West Nile Virus, Zika virus, yellow fever, dengue fever, and more. Although only the female mosquitoes bite, this doesn’t mean that the insect doesn’t cause a huge problem. If we work on gradually killing off all of the mosquitoes, (it won’t happen quickly), we can eventually get rid of the annoying itchy bites and fatal diseases that mosquitoes give to humans.

                It really is awful how many people are affected by mosquitoes every year. Based on the WHO’s estimations, there are hundreds of millions of cases of malaria every year. Also, a child dies from malaria every 30 seconds. In 2015 alone, mosquitoes caused approximately 830,000 deaths, which was even more than human-caused deaths. Other sources report that over 1 million deaths each year are a result of mosquito-borne illnesses.

                Most people who live in an area where there are mosquitoes, (which is pretty much everywhere), have experienced mosquito bites at some point or other in their lifetime. The itchy, sometimes painful red bumps can seemingly appear out of nowhere and cause so much exasperation that you want to claw your skin right off. Also, there is the concern about the many diseases that mosquitoes can carry. And, bug spray does not always work. Anybody get what I’m saying? When your whole body is covered in mosquito bites, it is simply miserable. It would be much better if people did not have to deal with mosquito bites anymore.

                Due to the immense numbers of mosquitoes living in the world, it would be impossible to eradicate them all at once. However, if we just started to gradually get rid of them now, the number of mosquitoes in the wild might significantly decrease in a matter of several years. All one has to do to help with this important cause is try to kill as many mosquitoes as they can! This can be done by putting up mosquito traps around your property, especially in the summer/ during mosquito season. Also, eliminate as much stagnate water as possible. This is where mosquitoes breed, so if we get rid of the places mosquitoes can reproduce, we can get rid of more mosquitoes. Another amazing way to help speed up the extinction of mosquitoes is to donate to certain research organizations that deal with mosquitoes. Some facilities have been working on genetically modifying male mosquitoes to make them sterile, and then releasing them back into the wild. Just make sure to sign this petition first!

                You may be thinking, “how will this cause benefit society?” Well, if mosquitoes were wiped off the face of the earth, mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, West Nile Virus, and Zika virus will start to disappear. Also, no longer will one have to deal with the discomfort of mosquito bites. Mosquitoes will not be the deadliest animal on earth anymore! Get excited, because remember, mosquitoes suck!