Many people find that after turning on the air conditioner, the mosquitoes disappear after a while, why is that? Can air conditioning kill mosquitoes? In fact, air conditioning can only limit mosquitoes, not kill them.
How does air conditioning limit mosquitoes?
First, it’s the temperature. When turning on the air conditioner in the house, the temperature is usually lower than 25°C. When the temperature drops below 25°C, mosquitoes become less active because their bloodsucking needs decrease. Instead of looking for a “prey” to feed on, they will seek a “hibernation” place, waiting for the temperature to become suitable before becoming active again.
Studies have shown that mosquitoes are particularly sensitive to temperature. If the temperature is lower than 15°C, mosquitoes completely lose their ability to move and can die if they stay in an environment with this temperature for a long time.
The only country in the world without mosquitoes is Iceland and the continent without mosquitoes is Antarctica. Both of these places are too cold for mosquitoes to survive. In that freezing environment, mosquitoes will die within a few minutes.
When the temperature is too high, mosquitoes can’t survive either. Specifically, if the ambient temperature exceeds 36°C, mosquitoes will no longer be able to adapt to the environment. This also explains why mosquitoes appear more often during the transitional seasons.
Second, turning on the air conditioner greatly affects the humidity in the room. The humidity from 60% to 80% is the preferred environment for mosquitoes. When the humidity is below 52%, mosquitoes stop feeding and searching for blood, and look for more suitable places to thrive.
Both cold and hot air make the air dry. After turning on the air conditioner for 1 hour, the humidity in the room will decrease by 4%, and if it is continuously on all night, the humidity in the room will decrease by 15%-20%.
The normal air humidity in a room is about 55%-60%. When the air conditioner is on for more than 1 hour, mosquitoes in the room will fly out because they cannot adapt to the dry air environment.
Whenever we turn on the air conditioner, we close the windows tightly, which can also prevent mosquitoes from flying into the room.
In addition, mosquitoes have poor eyesight, so they rely on their sense of smell to find targets. This means that the more odors our bodies emit, the more likely we are to become targets for mosquitoes.
When the air conditioner is on, the conditioned air blows away the smells on our bodies. Without the body odor, mosquitoes may not be able to locate us, and sometimes we are even “invisible” right in front of them.
Mosquitoes still rely on sensing carbon dioxide in the air to find their “prey”. However, the air conditioner blows the carbon dioxide sideways, making it difficult for mosquitoes to accurately determine from which direction the carbon dioxide is coming. This causes mosquitoes to make wrong predictions and not find the host to feed on.
Mosquitoes usually do not bite humans in air-conditioned environments. They are most likely hiding in corners of the house where the air conditioning cannot reach, waiting for the room temperature to cool down before reappearing or simply leaving the room. That’s why turning on the air conditioner can only limit mosquito activity, but cannot exterminate them.
Here are some ways to repel and kill mosquitoes when not using the air conditioner:
– Essential oils: The main ingredients in essential oils are peppermint oil, camphor oil, etc., which have the ability to effectively repel mosquitoes. In addition, essential oils also contain nepetalactone, a compound that causes mosquitoes to become dizzy and lose balance when smelling it. Therefore, you can open a bottle of essential oil and place it in a corner of the room to effectively repel mosquitoes.
– Dishwashing liquid: Mix water with dishwashing liquid and place it in places with many mosquitoes such as under the bed, under dishes, etc. The scent of the dishwashing liquid will attract mosquitoes to come close and fall into it, making it unable to fly into the house.
– Citrus peels: Citrus peels contain a lot of essential oils and a very pleasant scent, but mosquitoes particularly hate this odor. Therefore, you can dry citrus peels, then burn them. This can effectively repel mosquitoes. In addition, you can also burn dried wormwood leaves, which have a similar effect.
– Plant mosquito-repelling plants: You can plant some types of plants that have the ability to repel mosquitoes, such as mint, lemongrass, and basil. Mosquitoes hate the scent emitted by these plants, so they will not dare to approach your house.
According to Thoi bao van hoc nghe thuat
