The mosquito is the world's deadliest animal. Spreading diseases like malaria, dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, Zika, chikungunya, and lymphatic filariasis, the mosquito kills more people than any other creature in the world.
Mosquitoes hate the smell of lavender, citronella, clove, peppermint, basil, cedarwood, eucalyptus, peppermint, lemongrass and rosemary. They also hate smells such as smoke, for further insight, see our exploration on, does smoke keep mosquitoes away.
Only female mosquitoes drink blood, which is how they spread deadly diseases like dengue fever and malaria. Males mosquitoes are harmless, mostly feeding on nectar, but our new research confirms they are just as annoying as female mosquitoes.
With the summer of 2024 ahead of us, the warmer weather can lead to a higher occurrence of mosquito and tick activity. On top of that, in many regions, due to the mild winter this year, tick populations are already showing up in greater numbers than earlier in the season.
But the deadliest animal in the world, in terms of how many people it kills every year, is by far the mosquito.
The mosquito is the world's deadliest animal. Spreading diseases like malaria, dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, Zika, chikungunya, and lymphatic filariasis, the mosquito kills more people than any other creature in the world.
DEET is a reliable and highly effective insect repellent. The chemical has been in public use since 1957. The repellent is sold under numerous brand names and comes in lotion, spray and many other forms. Concentrations of DEET range from about 5% all the way up to 100%.
Many birds will eat mosquitoes. The more important among these are purple martins, swallows, waterfowl (geese, terns, ducks) and migratory songbirds. Bird predators usually eat both the adult and aquatic stages of mosquitoes.
Blood Types Mosquitoes Love Most
Type B: Type B placed second in popularity. Type A: Type A Blood Type apparently tastes the worst to mosquitoes. The study found that those with Blood Type A are 50% less likely to receive a mosquito bite than those with Type O.
There is simply no evidence taking vitamin B will offer any significant protection from mosquito bites. In reality, if there was even moderate scientific evidence that taking a vitamin supplement could prevent mosquito bites, our supermarket shelves would be full of “mosquito repellent pills”.
More Heat and Moisture: The prime reason for mosquitoes to bite our ankles and feet is that these are comparatively warmer areas of our body and they are also more hydrated. Heat and moisture are the two main things mosquitoes look for, hence they attack these body parts.
3M Ultrathon Insect Repellent Lotion
Another top-selling mosquito repellent lotion is Ultrathon Insect Repellent Lotion from 3M. This lotion contains about 34% DEET to repel not only mosquitoes, but biting flies, chiggers, deer flies, ticks, gnats, and fleas.
Bug Zappers – A bug zapper is powered by electricity and uses heat and carbon dioxide to attract mosquitoes. When the mosquito or another flying pest comes close to the device, it is electrocuted, killing it instantly.
Gambusia Affinis
As far as natural predators go I think it can be said without hesitation that the mosquitofish is by far the most efficient natural predator of mosquitoes.
Foods with sweet basil, sage, and rosemary
One study on mosquitoes and human scent found that mosquitoes were turned off by someone with high concentrations of the scent of eucalyptol on their skin. Eucalyptol is an aromatic compound found in sweet basil, sage, rosemary, and cardamom.
Mosquitos are by far the deadliest creature in the world when it comes to annual human deaths, causing around one million deaths per year, compared to 100,000 deaths from snakes and 250 from lions. Perhaps surpringly, dogs are the third deadliest animal to humans.
A study in Nature found that a compound in deodorants (isopropyl tetradecanoate) repelled mosquitoes by preventing them from landing on the surface coated in deodorant. In fact, there was a 56% decrease in the number of mosquito landings.
Male mosquitoes will live only 6 or 7 days on average, feeding primarily on plant nectar, and do not take blood meals. Females with an adequate food supply can live up to 5 months or longer, with the average female life span being about 6 weeks.
While it might seem merely annoying, the mosquito is actually responsible for more deaths than every insect on this list so far combined. They alone are responsible for over one million deaths worldwide yearly, making them the single deadliest animal in the world.
In terms of the number of humans killed every year, mosquitos by far hold the record, being responsible for between 725,000 and 1,000,000 deaths annually. That is not to say these tiny insects set out to kill, however.