Don’t wear yellow or green clothes when you go out! Otherwise…

Recently, I always encounter some people walking on the street

Black, flat little bugs

Image source: Weibo user @熊娜娜

Image source: Weibo user @有点用没点用

These little bugs

Often sticks to clothes and masks

Sometimes it even flies into the eyes

Many netizens also said that they have encountered

There are especially many on the grass and under the banyan trees!

Who exactly are these little bugs?

Why “frequent visits”?

It turns out its name is

Let’s get to know these “little neighbors”

The most common "thrips" on small-leaved banyan trees

Anyone wearing this color should be careful!

Previously, Shenzhen Municipal Centers for Disease Control had issued a reminder:

Thrips usually live on small-leaved banyan trees. There are a lot of small-leaved banyan trees in Shenzhen, so this kind of insect is very common and is an agricultural pest!

Thrips is a general term for the order Thysanoptera of the class Insecta. The larvae are white, yellow, or orange, and the adults are yellow, brown, or black; they feed on plant sap or fungi. They are tiny, with a body length of 0.5-2mm, rarely exceeding 7mm.

Insects in this family are widely distributed throughout the world. Their diet is complex, mainly herbivorous, fungivorous and predatory, of which herbivorous accounts for more than half. They are one of the important economic pests.

Image source: Shenzhen Health Commission

Why do flying insects that were originally on the trees fly into our homes?

Sometimes even clothes drying on the balcony are affected.

Experts explained that this is because there are too many thrips on the trees, and the thrips will migrate. In addition, the thrips have a certain phototaxis. At night, when the lights in citizens' homes are turned on, the thrips will fly over.

They also particularly like colorful clothes, especially yellow and green.

This insect is so common and there are so many of them.

Some netizens even said that it would bite people!

Is this true? How can we prevent it?

Come and find out

Thrips will die quickly if they attach to an object.

Generally, they do not bite and are harmless to humans.

Regarding the question of whether the fig thrips will cause harm when entering the house, the relevant staff of the Institute of Biological Resources Application of Guangdong Academy of Sciences once introduced:

"The fig thrips that appear on residents' balconies usually come from small-leaved fig trees planted near the houses and fly to the balconies with the wind. However, fig thrips only parasitize on young leaves and will die quickly if attached to objects, so citizens do not need to worry.

As for the problem reported by netizens that after thrips crawl on the skin, there will be a faint itching symptom, and they will also fly to the area around the eyes in the wind, causing a tingling sensation, Han Shichou said that fig thrips generally do not bite people and are harmless to humans. The itching symptoms may be because a very small number of citizens are allergic to the acidic substances secreted by fig thrips.

Human eyes are relatively sensitive, so citizens who encounter such situations are advised not to rub their eyes, but to wash them with water.

This annoying "little neighbor"

How can I avoid it or reduce it?

Remember these 4 tips

Some people may suffer from allergies due to small insects crawling on their bodies. Remember to just shake them off instead of slapping them.

When small flying insects accidentally enter your eyes, it is recommended not to rub your eyes, just wash them off with water.

Try to avoid wearing yellow-green clothing.

Green plants on the balcony can be controlled by hanging yellow sticky insect boards 10 cm above the plants, spraying soapy water, and pruning brown "dumpling-shaped" galls.

Image source: Shenzhen Health Commission

Although thrips are harmless to humans

But summer is also the season when many mosquitoes appear.

These insects also need to be guarded against

Mites

Blood-sucking mites mainly parasitize rats and poultry. The current humid weather is more suitable for the breeding of mites. Mites usually bite people from the trunk, which appears as small red dots. Although this situation is less common in cities, we still need to pay attention to environmental hygiene, personal hygiene, and do a good job of rodent control.

Tsutsugamushi

In summer, there is a kind of insect that is hard to see with the naked eye in the grass of parks and in the fields. Its name is scrub typhus. Tsutsugamushi bites only once in its life, when it is in the larval stage, either biting the host animal (rat) or "biting people". After being bitten by a scrub typhus carrying Orientia tsutsugamushi, the patient will suffer from scrub typhus. In severe cases, there will be complications such as encephalitis, meningitis, myocarditis, septic shock, and even death.

The peak period of scrub typhus in the south is from June to August, but because the scrub typhus in Shenzhen is in a warm environment all year round, there are many cases of scrub typhus that can overcome the cold autumn and winter attacks, so everyone should pay attention to protect themselves!

Ticks

Ticks are active in the summer, usually in places with dense vegetation such as grass, bushes, and forests. Some ticks hide in the hair of people or animals. Compared with adults, children who like to play in the woods and grass are more likely to become targets of ticks. If the tick bites firmly or burrows too deep, it is recommended to consult a doctor directly.

The biggest characteristic of ticks is that they will burrow into the skin and suck blood. When sucking blood, they may inject toxins into the human body, causing "tick paralysis" and in rare cases even death.

mosquito

At this time of year, due to rainfall, water accumulation is likely to breed mosquitoes. Be careful of mosquito bites and prevent dengue fever. Children, pregnant women, the elderly, and obese people are more likely to be infected. If these people begin to have mild symptoms, it is recommended that they seek medical attention immediately.

Experts remind that dengue fever is actually transmitted through a single channel, relying entirely on the bites of Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, and not directly from person to person. After sucking the infected blood of an infected person, the virus replicates in the body, and the next time it bites a person, it will transmit the virus to a healthy person. The most terrifying thing is that infected mosquitoes can spread the virus throughout their lives and can pass the virus to their offspring through eggs.

Experts suggest that citizens should pay attention to clearing stagnant water in their homes to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in the water. At the same time, they should keep their homes ventilated and dry, and install screen doors and windows, hang mosquito nets, and use insecticide aerosols to repel mosquitoes.

These mosquitoes are small

But some of them are quite lethal.

Be careful and don't fall into the trap!

Source: Science Popularization China WeChat Official Account