S’pore netizen claims family member bitten over 20 times by mosquitoes, netizens share similar experiences

Reddit user allegedly faces ‘bad’ mosquito situation, asks if others are affected

A Reddit user has raised concerns after claiming their family members were bitten multiple times by mosquitoes in their home.

The original poster (OP) alleged that one of their family member had been bitten over 20 times, while an elderly family member had been bitten on the eyelid, causing it to swell.

Mosquitoes continue biting despite preventive measures

The OP, who wishes to remain anonymous, further claims that they killed four mosquitoes within a 20-min span.

The mosquitoes also had a “longer, sharper-looking mouthpart than usual.”

They explained that despite taking preventive measures, such as using mosquito coils and gel repellents, the problem persisted.

“Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing something similar in their area, or if this could be coming from nearby sources?”, the OP queried.

Netizens concur and compare experiences

Most netizens were in agreement with the OP, with users across various locations in Singapore reporting increasing mosquito activity.

Others pointed out that the mosquito bites were smaller in nature, and unlike the usual “bumps”.

A user also shared their unique method to chase mosquitoes away.

OP discovers patterns from online debate

Speaking to MS News, the OP shared that they noticed how similar experiences were shared across different parts of Singapore within just a few days.

According to the OP, patterns began to appear consistently, including:

• Reports across multiple regions, as opposed to isolated incidents
• Higher rate of activity indoors than outdoors
• Biting in daytime and nighttime
• Some describe larger mosquitoes, while others notice smaller bite patterns
• Common mosquito repellents, such as coils and basic sprays, being quite inconsistent

“In terms of timing, many mentioned that this felt recent, with a noticeable increase [in the presence of mosquitoes] over the past few days or weeks,” they added.

Reasons for this occurrence were also debated by netizens.

Some suggested that it could be due to weather conditions, environmental factors or different mosquito types.

However, the OP pointed out that there were no conclusive answers based on their observations.

The OP further mentioned that they reported the matter to the National Environment Agency (NEA), given the “number of similar experiences being shared”.

Wolbachia mosquitoes released in more areas

On 13 March, NEA announced an expansion to the ongoing Project Wolbachia.

Source: Undark

This will complete NEA’s target of covering 50% of all households in Singapore, and will take place from April to October.

Places that will be part of the upgrade include Bukit Panjang, Little India, Pioneer, Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio.

The strategy was first implemented as a population control measure in 2016, where male mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria mate with female Aedes mosquitoes, causing the resulting eggs laid to not hatch.

However, NEA also highlighted that Project Wolbachia does not affect other mosquito species, which is why residents may still experience mosquito bites even in Project Wolbachia release sites.

Also read: 2 Zika cases confirmed in Woodlands, NEA advises residents to monitor for mosquito bites 

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Featured image adapted from PongMoji on Canva and TRAVELARIUM on Canva