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Summer in Sweden is one of the most beautiful things a person can experience. Sometimes it is also the worst. And for that we can thank mosquitoes. There you are peacefully walking in the woods, picking blueberries and chanterelles, and then, buzz, buzz, suddenly they are everywhere, biting your neck and hands as soon as you stop waving like a possessed person.
Or they appear at the most pleasant time of the evening. When family and friends sit under the apple trees, the grill is fired up and the wine is poured, the buzz of the air begins. The spray hits the face and suddenly the table no longer smells of strawberries, summer grass and honey glaze, but of Anticimex. Someone brings out a bucket of smoking mosquito coils and keeps them out of the way. Others start swinging electric bug-killing rackets for speed like middle managers addicted to cricket. In the best case, there’s a friend, a father or a grandfather who was a regular at Clas Ohlson or Biltema and in time acquired a more exclusive mosquito-killing machine. It costs about $10,000 and guarantees a life without mosquitoes.
The desperation people have for getting rid of mosquitoes is almost limitless. Wondering about mosquitoes ruins social gatherings and keeps you up all summer night after summer night. Either because it’s so itchy that you’re going crazy. Or because you happen to be the parent of a child who is covered in bites from head to toe and cries all night long because of mosquito bites.
At the same time, desperation is often also the basis for being deceived. And being deceived. Especially the ugly fish behind the so-called mosquito patches have understood this. Those who market the products through social media through well-known influencers such as Jonna Lundell, Therese Lindgren and Margaux Dietz. B-list stars on Instagram claim that small colorful stickers, so-called “happy patches”, can repel mosquitoes and ticks. By applying stickers on ankles, arms and shoulders, the whole body is supposed to be protected all day.
Of course not. In fact, there is no scientific evidence that these patches work as promised. Furthermore, they contain substances that can cause skin problems and people have to go to the doctor after walking around with mosquito patches. And they are illegal.
“There are no mosquito repellent patches approved in Sweden and it is illegal to sell insecticides that have not been approved by the Chemical Inspectorate,” said Jenny Karlsson from the agency. (Evening Times, 10/7).
Everyone knows that mosquitoes are disgusting. But the question is whether the situation is even worse for the unscrupulous charlatans who exploit people’s quest for a mosquito-free existence and the greedy and stupid influencers who don’t seem to care what they are actually getting paid to promote. Some of them don’t even have the sense to apologize and keep their distance when contacted and provide correct information about the products they are trying to sell to their followers.
People, no matter how much they hate mosquitoes, have to realize that there is no magic Band-Aid solution. Unfortunately, a mosquito-free summer is still a dream for most people. At least as long as we don’t decide to spend the most beautiful season indoors with the doors and windows closed. But that doesn’t work. Then you’re missing out on all the beauty.
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