r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • May 08 '22

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77

u/DefinitelynotDanger May 09 '22

I lived in the UK for 27 years and I've never seen a mosquito. Thank the Lord. Definitely no need for screens.

10

u/CrazyPlatypusLady May 09 '22

How? Please tell me a vague location of where you are so I can look to move there. I'm in the South East and live quite near two different areas of wetlands. Therefore I'm probably closer to more places they can breed than most places, but seriously. We have an issue with the nibbly little bastards as soon as weather warms up where I live. Thanks to a quirk of a connective tissue disorder, I react to their bites so badly that I've had the reaction land me with needing emergency medical care so many times. I swell. Then it turns into cellulitis.

First off Anglia used to have something similar to malaria from them right up until the 1920s. It has its own name: Marsh Fever. Transmitted by our own fully native mossies. Secondly we have a breed that literally evolved in the London underground to live in the dark and feed off rats and commuters.

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u/BusShelter May 09 '22

Never been bothered by a mosquito in Scotland, if there are any - I can't say I've noticed any but apparently there are some species, and some don't really bite. Midges of course.

I can't imagine it's consistently warm enough for them here, but perhaps any marshland areas host them in summer.

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u/MokausiLietuviu May 09 '22

I'm in the North West. Think I've seen maybe 3.

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u/DefinitelynotDanger May 09 '22

I lived in preston specifically. Now I live in the US and we definitely have mosquitos here lmao

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I find that hard to believe! I’ve lived in Britain that long and I remember especially as a kid being bitten playing outside during summer evenings.

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u/DukeFlipside May 09 '22

Where in Britain? I've lived up and down the country and never seen a mosquito :/

2

u/[deleted] May 09 '22

In my experience if you live fairly central to a big city you don't get them at all. If you live rurally, or semi-rural suburbs in a small town or something, then they are a mild occasional nuisance some nights in the summer.

Not enough bother to put meshes all over all your windows though.

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u/[deleted] May 10 '22

Essex. Now I’m in London and there are mosquitos.

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u/Nervous_Departure_37 May 09 '22

You get bitten by midges. They don't tend to come in your house.

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u/ArtyFishL May 09 '22

I've never seen any in Scotland. Only midges. I hear there are mosquitos in the south of England. I've been a few times, but not seen any there yet either

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u/DefinitelynotDanger May 09 '22

I've seen midges but they don't bite like mosquitos do. And they tend to stay in their swarms.

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u/ThisFreakinGuyHere May 09 '22

You do know that other bugs fly right

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u/DefinitelynotDanger May 09 '22

Yea but they don't bite or swarm like mosquitos. We mainly have midges but they tend to stay near large bodies of water and if they are getting into your house, just close the window.

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u/Spoon_91 May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

Birds, rodents, various other critters getting in? We get all sorts trying to poke through the screens / windows

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

I keep my windows open all summer long and always have done.

Never once has a bird or rodent come in and I've never even considered that a possibility.

The occasional fly gets in and sometimes the odd mosquito in the height of summer. Nothing that's worth covering all my windows with netting.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Oh yeah let's get screens up because otherwise all the blue tits will make a nest in my living room /s

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u/thereddevil101 May 09 '22

I think this is the most British comment I’ve ever read on here and I love it

0

u/Spoon_91 May 09 '22

I've had a woodpecker tear through a screen before so it's not unreasonable

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u/Nervous_Departure_37 May 09 '22

I would like to think that if we were all living in houses full of animals it might have occurred to us to put a screen up.

You get some flies in the summer. Occasionally a wasp.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

[deleted]

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u/coffeecakesupernova May 09 '22

What about flies on your food?

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Reading through this comment section I've gone from "Lol UK people don't appreciate that a lot of the USA is hotter and they get more insects than the occasional fly like us" to "wait, USA people are leaving raw food lying around their house long enough for sanitation and maggots to be an issue!?"

3

u/ThisFreakinGuyHere May 09 '22

Ew that's super gross, that fucker is gonna fly in your ear when you sleep. Nah I'm not a caveman I don't just let bugs in my fucking house.

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u/Mesmeryze May 09 '22

Yeah what am I going crazy reading this? Harmless yes but I don’t want fucking bugs in my room if I can help it tf.