Can you pop mosquito flexing

We request your wisdom to investigate a story fact or fiction regarding exploding mosquitoes. Many years ago I was told that when a mosquito is engaged in dinner one should flex or tighten the muscle in the general vicinity.

This would trap the hapless female, along with her proboscis, causing her to overfill and explode. Recently I read an article on the same subject, with the only exception being one should pull taut the human skin around the offending wench, which would also trap her, causing her the same fate as fable number one. Any insight from the Straight Dope would be appreciated. First thing we did was review the scientific literature. Unfortunately most of the article was about how mosquitoes may be attracted to your body by the same odor found in Limburger cheese, whereas exploding mosquitoes, a topic that truly elevates the human spirit, gets kissed off in 3.

I quote:. Stuck in the blood vessel, unable to pull out, its anticoagulants working overtime to keep its blood meal coming, the mosquito sucks until it pops. Maybe it works only for small boys. What kind of baloney is that? Our job as journalists is to ascertain the facts!

Other things that might be attractive to mosquitoes: Perfume, smelly feet, Limburger cheese and -- sadly for summer barbecues -- beer. Skin So Soft bath oil repels mosquitoes. Even Avon conceded that Skin So Soft lotion is not a bug repellent. A host of other Avon products, however, get good reviews in an EPA list of bug repellents. My bug zapper will keep me from getting bit. A study showed that the zappers - formally known as electrical discharge insect control systems -- killed 4 to 6 percent of mosquitoes.

That still leaves at least 94 percent to be attracted to your beer and blood. Also useless : Lemon Fresh Joy, Listerine and limes studded with cloves. Citronella has a very strong smell which helps mask our own odours that attract mosquitoes.

But if you've got a big backyard and there's a breeze, forget it - citronella anything isn't going to help you. How many times have you heard someone say "Mosquitoes love me While mosquitoes do seem to bite some blood types more than others , it has nothing to do with the perceived sweetness of our blood. Mosquitoes are attracted to the CO2 and lactic acids we produce , and gravitate towards us because of it. The more of these you produce, the more likely you are to be a target.

Since bees sometimes die after they sting, some people assume that mosquitoes are subject to the same fate. But alas; mosquitoes bite, not sting. Instead of dying, the female mosquito does quite the opposite.

Post-bite, off she goes to lay her eggs, birthing even more blood-sucking mosquitoes for you to avoid. Malaria is still the most deadly mosquito-borne infection, and thankfully isn't present in North America. But even though we have a much colder climate than Africa or South America, here in Canada we're still at risk of contracting other infections. There were cases last year , and the numbers have been fluctuating greatly over the last few decades.

There's a common misconception that the longer a mosquito bites you - or the more blood they draw - the bigger the welt.

Within the scientific community there is a general consensus that there is indeed a way possible to cause a mosquito to burst.

Tests conducted in in the mid to late 90s revealed that the only way to make a mosquito pop requires the severing of its ventral nerve cord. In simpler terms, when the ventral nerve cord is severed, a mosquito has no sense of being full.