Travel Health Guide to Mosquitoes

Not only do they give irritating bites and keep you awake at night, these bastards transmit malaria and dengue fever. Wear long trousers and shirts to give them less of a target and cover your head at night with a cloth. Nasty insecticide sprays work but won’t get you laid; an alternative is to apply lemon grass oil or, in extremis, oil and tobacco juice.

A victim http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulbell/

Don’t scratch bites.

If the mosquitoes leave the traveller wondering what kind of malicious creation he lives in, remember the Native American tale: all the animals were gathered long ago to discuss the future of the new mammal – humans.

They’re going to be trouble, the pigs said. Let’s kill them now, the cows suggested. A unanimous vote was required to wipe out mankind but the mosquito dissented: I don’t know, it said, I reckon these humans have their good points.

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