Mosquitoes problem in S'pore
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There is no point of the NEA to do routine checks of mosquitoes around S'pore housing estates, because all of them are bred in SAF outfield trainig grounds. If you ever enter the thick vegetations in outfield training, every square foot you can find mosquitoes. Actually there's no sandfly in these areas, and soldiers often thought that when their skin itch but hearing no buzzing sound, it must be sandflies. Wrong. Just on a lamp and you can see those 'wild' mosquitoes biting through your uniforms at night.
There are 3 types of mozzies in outfield:
1. Black with white stripes. Their bites will heal pretty fast, within 6 hours.
2. All black. Their bites are slightly longer to heal, about 1 to 2 days, and will be gone. Not a problem.
3. Brown to black brown slim 'silent flying' type. This is the famous 'commando mozzies' which cause the 'boxing gloves' effect. They are not as noisy but they are wild and extremely savage. They don't hover around but sting instantly the moment they sense heat of blood flow on your skin, like a bee. Bite takes about a week to heal completely. Few people know that they are the cause of fever during outfields. Thier bites are mistaken for sandflies. Anyway, they are huge and slim and not as noisy as other types.
In some areas there're so much mozzies at night that you can find a swarm of 20 hovering around you. Take a look at the ponds and streams nearby and you find larva-infested water. All soldiers can swear that mosquitoes come from the forest, that is, if they're smart enough to realise it.
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Your type 3 mosquito brings up some memories. haha
I usually train in Tekong and Tekong doesn't have this breed of mosquitoes.
WHen I transferred unit and trained in LCK area.. my men suddenly came up to me during breakfast after the first night...
turn out the platoon looked bloated and their fists are just swollen.
I really panicked and thought the platoon just got incapcitated by some weird insect... but turn out to be simply mosquitoes. ahah
But yes, seriously no point NEA knocking down doors and checking mosquitos when training area is full of receptacles that retain water for their breeding.
examples.
1) Disposed mess tins
2) disposed out ration boxes
3) tires
4) jerry cans
5) insulators
6) expended smoke grenades
7) flower pots from when the area was a Kampong.
Toilet bowls from kampong era -
NSC was a mozzi fest.
I always made sure that my guards have mozzi repellent or smoke coils.
In fact, I'd rather have a roster with smokers than one without. -
live with it...
in most traiing area, u will find mossie... worst i've came across was reclaimed land area in tekong. the mossie attack in battalion level... -
Back in my camp, we had mosquito attacks every single night. You could go to bed and wake up with multiple bites the next morning. I know of a couple of cases of dengue among the men as a result.
So one day, during a CO talk, we feedbacked this to our CO and asked that he hire an exterminator or something to fog the camp. His response?
'Oh, if we fog the camp, we will not only kill the mosquitoes, we will be killing all the other insects as well. Then this will destroy the food supply of the frogs which will then destroy other predators up the food chain. We will spray oil in all stagnant pools of water, but otherwise fogging is not an option....'
We were all like, 'WTF?!?!'
I suppose it's to be expected that frogs get more welfare than us. The risk of us getting dengue pales in comparison to the risk of the frogs going hungry.
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I didn't know the SAF worships the Environment Impact Assessment at all.Originally posted by fudgester:Back in my camp, we had mosquito attacks every single night. You could go to bed and wake up with multiple bites the next morning. I know of a couple of cases of dengue among the men as a result.
So one day, during a CO talk, we feedbacked this to our CO and asked that he hire an exterminator or something to fog the camp. His response?
'Oh, if we fog the camp, we will not only kill the mosquitoes, we will be killing all the other insects as well. Then this will destroy the food supply of the frogs which will then destroy other predators up the food chain. We will spray oil in all stagnant pools of water, but otherwise fogging is not an option....'
We were all like, 'WTF?!?!'
I suppose it's to be expected that frogs get more welfare than us. The risk of us getting dengue pales in comparison to the risk of the frogs going hungry. 
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I agree that the fogging of the camp would create collateral damage to the insect population besides mozzies... but to say that it would kill off all the frogs and its predators as a result is taking it a bit too far. After all, an army camp isn't a natural environment for such species to be living in.Originally posted by LazerLordz:I didn't know the SAF worships the Environment Impact Assessment at all.
And call me harsh, but I ain't weeping for a few dead frogs - not when we have men down with dengue. -
but surprisingly at the height of the dengue epidemic, there were no reports of soldiers infecting dengue because they got bitten by mosquitoes at the training areas.
guess dengue mosquitoes also avoid training areas - like us humans do.
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ur CO must be a biology studentOriginally posted by fudgester:Back in my camp, we had mosquito attacks every single night. You could go to bed and wake up with multiple bites the next morning. I know of a couple of cases of dengue among the men as a result.
So one day, during a CO talk, we feedbacked this to our CO and asked that he hire an exterminator or something to fog the camp. His response?
'Oh, if we fog the camp, we will not only kill the mosquitoes, we will be killing all the other insects as well. Then this will destroy the food supply of the frogs which will then destroy other predators up the food chain. We will spray oil in all stagnant pools of water, but otherwise fogging is not an option....'
We were all like, 'WTF?!?!'
I suppose it's to be expected that frogs get more welfare than us. The risk of us getting dengue pales in comparison to the risk of the frogs going hungry. -
no mozzies = not training ground...
mozzies = training ground... -
no.. his CO is a frog-leg lover.Originally posted by ctstalin:ur CO must be a biology student -
i agree with his CO. no point screwing up the environment anymore just for the selfish wishes of a few humans.
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Originally posted by nismoS132:i agree with his CO. no point screwing up the environment anymore just for the selfish wishes of a few humans.
ermmm... okay...
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i am interested to know how commando mozzies bites look like..
coz i dunno whether i got them lor...
whole body so itchy
and worse still i also kena sandfly bites..which are even worse than mozzie bites coz they take ages to heal and its so tempting to scratch them!
apparently OFF! insect repellent doesnt work outfield...i heard my fren say that it attracts sandflies eve nmore...is that true?
maybe thats why i got those sandfly bites..
any suggestions besides mozzie coil for outfield? are mozzie patches effective? -
SAF don't seem to care about Dengue...
They are more scared of Malaria.
it is during the height of that dengue nonsense only then in Tekong they ask the recruits to dip the Number 4 in that T-solution. -
Last time I was staying in Sembawang Camp(prior to moving to Changi Naval Base). Every night prior to sleeping we must light the Mosquito Coil. 2 put outside our balcony, 2 inside the room. Even though the smell wasnt very pleasant, no choice. Only way 2 keep the mosquito out
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mosquito coil.....hmmm...not as effective as the orange OFF that really works wonders when you spray and immerse yourself in its mist.......the spray of course........spray some on your clothes.....neck.........and it works wonders........
if mosquitoes are a problem.......a strong blowing fan works as well too.........imagine the mosquitoes can't fly and land on your skin because the wind is blowing too strong........ -
i hate blood sucking insect.
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One way is to use portable electric lamp, and swing it around, electrocuting any flying insects flying past. Anyway, I wonder why is there not a single frog in training grounds?! I haven't seen one yet! It is so strange, if there are frogs there should be fewer mozzies around.
Another way is pray you reach your last outfield before you ORD BTW does anyone what kind of creatures eat mosquitoes or their larva? -
Frogs eat mosquitoes.Originally posted by Fire Star:One way is to use portable electric lamp, and swing it around, electrocuting any flying insects flying past. Anyway, I wonder why is there not a single frog in training grounds?! I haven't seen one yet! It is so strange, if there are frogs there should be fewer mozzies around.
Another way is pray you reach your last outfield before you ORD BTW does anyone what kind of creatures eat mosquitoes or their larva?
Fish eat larvae. -
For me i usually use the SAF mosquito repellent... a few hours before any outfield
I will spread it on my uniform but when u sweat u will feel the heat afteall
i rather avoid getting bitten...and most to most have a few bites on my hand
after the outfield. -
i got bitten in on the lip during my jungle trainings back in my NS days. My lip got so big i could see it with my eyes when i look down.
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haha , i think i got de big lip 3 or 4 times in de army , when i woke up in de morning , after which i bought a standing fan , and place infront of my bed , nv got bike again , but sometimes , my bedsheet got blood stains.
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oh com'on, this mosquito problem only surface of recent or what?? it has been around and will be around as long as Singapore is in the tropical region. Forested area of course will have mosquito lah, together with the insects, plants and trees. You want NEA to conduct checks in the forests?!? what a joke!
i dunno. seems like dengue mosquitos are only apparent in built-up area. i don't remember anyone getting dengue from my NS stint during the late 90s. there were exercises held in forested areas, as usual, everyone will kenna bitten by mosquito. but none got dengue.