Mosquitos in cargo hold
May 14, 2015, 11:41 pm
#16
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: MSP
Programs: None that I am proud of anymore
Posts: 571
NO you got that wrong the mosquito is state bird of MINNESOTA !
Some are as big as our other state bird the LOON.
When the Red Cross has a blood drive they call in the mosquito squad
as one bite equals a pint of blood ready for transfusion to the patient.
We don't have all those medical clinics in our state without a location
reason.
But granted on a land cruise tour last year in Alaska our accommodations
overnighted at McKinley Village outside of Denali National Park and the
mosquitos came at us like entire air force of spitfires - Fortunately
one slap of the hand killed a dozen of the gnat size buggers in fell swoop !
Remember of some of the Pan-Am flights of the days gone by when the
aircraft left the gate the FA would bomb the cabin with aerosol sprays
of DDT sure to kill anything hiding in any crevice of the aircraft. No hitchhikers
allowed !
Some are as big as our other state bird the LOON.
When the Red Cross has a blood drive they call in the mosquito squad
as one bite equals a pint of blood ready for transfusion to the patient.
We don't have all those medical clinics in our state without a location
reason.
But granted on a land cruise tour last year in Alaska our accommodations
overnighted at McKinley Village outside of Denali National Park and the
mosquitos came at us like entire air force of spitfires - Fortunately
one slap of the hand killed a dozen of the gnat size buggers in fell swoop !
Remember of some of the Pan-Am flights of the days gone by when the
aircraft left the gate the FA would bomb the cabin with aerosol sprays
of DDT sure to kill anything hiding in any crevice of the aircraft. No hitchhikers
allowed !
May 14, 2015, 11:59 pm
#17
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Northern Nevada
Programs: DL,EK
Posts: 1,652
Wondering how BOM compares to EBB. When I was there about 10 years ago, there were no windows in one section and the place (right on Lake Victoria) was buzzing with tens of thousands of mosquitoes. We had a 6-hour delay in the evening and everyone was getting eaten alive. It was almost as bad as transiting through CDG. 
May 15, 2015, 12:08 am
#18
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: LAS HNL
Programs: DL DM, 5.7 MM, UA 3.1 MM, MARRIOTT PLATINUM, AVIS FIRST, Amex Black Card
Posts: 4,479
Available at Harbor Freight Tools for $3.99 (on sale) or free with a coupon. Look in Sunday Newspapers or many magazines for the free coupon. I dare someone to stick their tongue on one of these. I think it is powered by 3-4 D batteries.
ZAP!
May 15, 2015, 7:37 am
#19
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,368
In my experience, the spray that matters is the one LEAVING India... and it takes about 30 seconds upon arrival in Mumbai to understand why! I flew through the sparkling new CSA terminal within two weeks of its opening on DL, and the terminal was absolutely infested with mosquitoes. It was the worst we encountered anywhere in Mumbai - although given the location of the airport surrounded by some of the worst housing conditions in the city, it wasn't surprising.
The airport staff were all toting bug zappers - the electrified tennis racket looking things - to try to get the mosquito infestation under control. The most memorable part of that trip: while we were sitting in the lounge, one woman in particular was approaching her job with enthusiasm - passengers were even joining in the fun by pointing out bugs for her to zap.
The part that made it memorable: around the perimeter of the lounge were 5+ shiny new LCD TVs not yet in use. Bug zapper girl happened to chase one of the mosquitoes behind a TV with her tool, only to discover it made a wildly satisfying ZAPzapzapZap! noise - as the electricity from the racket completed a circuit with all the electronics in the TV.
Thinking she'd found the source where all the mosquitoes were spawning from, she eagerly proceeded to scrub every square inch of everything electronic in the lounge with the bug zapper...
Some poor warranty repair guy at Sony analyzing the product failures resulting from that must have been VERY confused as to how their product got caught in an epic lightning storm...
Moral of the story - standing water doesn't necessarily have to be directly in the airplane for aviation to be affected. If the surrounding conditions around the airport are poorly maintained enough, the infestation can spread... I have the DL boarding pass I used as a fly swatter in the club sprinkled with mosquito carnage to prove it.
(I hope that the CSA airport authority has gotten the mosquito problem under control since the airport opened - perhaps those who've visited more recently can share their experiences...)
The airport staff were all toting bug zappers - the electrified tennis racket looking things - to try to get the mosquito infestation under control. The most memorable part of that trip: while we were sitting in the lounge, one woman in particular was approaching her job with enthusiasm - passengers were even joining in the fun by pointing out bugs for her to zap.
The part that made it memorable: around the perimeter of the lounge were 5+ shiny new LCD TVs not yet in use. Bug zapper girl happened to chase one of the mosquitoes behind a TV with her tool, only to discover it made a wildly satisfying ZAPzapzapZap! noise - as the electricity from the racket completed a circuit with all the electronics in the TV.
Thinking she'd found the source where all the mosquitoes were spawning from, she eagerly proceeded to scrub every square inch of everything electronic in the lounge with the bug zapper...
Some poor warranty repair guy at Sony analyzing the product failures resulting from that must have been VERY confused as to how their product got caught in an epic lightning storm...
Moral of the story - standing water doesn't necessarily have to be directly in the airplane for aviation to be affected. If the surrounding conditions around the airport are poorly maintained enough, the infestation can spread... I have the DL boarding pass I used as a fly swatter in the club sprinkled with mosquito carnage to prove it.
(I hope that the CSA airport authority has gotten the mosquito problem under control since the airport opened - perhaps those who've visited more recently can share their experiences...)
May 15, 2015, 7:55 am
#20
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: MSN
Programs: AA, BAEC Gold
Posts: 3,921
Wondering how BOM compares to EBB. When I was there about 10 years ago, there were no windows in one section and the place (right on Lake Victoria) was buzzing with tens of thousands of mosquitoes. We had a 6-hour delay in the evening and everyone was getting eaten alive. It was almost as bad as transiting through CDG.
May 15, 2015, 8:26 am
#21
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: USA
Programs: DL Gold / AA Gold
Posts: 609
I bought one from India that is rechargeable. Failed up big time, it was 220V.
But those things are fun to use. Gone berserk with all the zaps.
May 16, 2015, 9:39 am
#22
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Northern Nevada
Programs: DL,EK
Posts: 1,652
True - Kampala was ok - we saw a few mosquitoes (June) but not anything like the swarms on Lake Victoria.
