Inspired by this article, and getting bitten by mosquitoes since then, and some of the more interesting species-targeting work being done, I've been thinking about this topic.
There is a very major positive impact that mosquito elimination would have: we'd stop trying to suppress mosquitoes. We'd stop spraying for mosquitoes. We'd be more lax about standing water. Standing water is treated like something awful, and while it can get a bit smelly and obnoxious, that's because standing water is an interesting host for lots of life, and besides mosquitoes that life is mostly fine. Add in tick elimination and we could let many more urban areas go fully wild. More people would spend more time outside, and I think that would itself be a major ecological factor, as it would positively affect our attitude about the outdoors.
There's a couple obnoxious insects, but nothing compares to the mosquito. Eliminate mosquitoes and suddenly the human race can come to peace with bugs. That would be hugely ecologically positive.
Apparently it is my blood type or something, but I am constantly getting eaten alive by mosquitos. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania where they are common, so it was really annoying.
The science behind getting bit more or less depends on your ability to process cholesterol, your production of certain acids, and how much carbon dioxide you emit. Unfortunately, its mostly tied to genetics, so you and me are both screwed.
Slightly average body temperature, probably. I tend to get bitten a lot more than the people around me and run about half a degree above the 98.6 average normally. Good news is - the more you get bit, the less time the itch lasts for as you develop a bit of tolerance to it.
I thought about adding the qualifier "outdoor bugs" – indoor bugs are often problematic, but their elimination or suppression doesn't have much affect on the natural ecology.
There is a very major positive impact that mosquito elimination would have: we'd stop trying to suppress mosquitoes. We'd stop spraying for mosquitoes. We'd be more lax about standing water. Standing water is treated like something awful, and while it can get a bit smelly and obnoxious, that's because standing water is an interesting host for lots of life, and besides mosquitoes that life is mostly fine. Add in tick elimination and we could let many more urban areas go fully wild. More people would spend more time outside, and I think that would itself be a major ecological factor, as it would positively affect our attitude about the outdoors.
There's a couple obnoxious insects, but nothing compares to the mosquito. Eliminate mosquitoes and suddenly the human race can come to peace with bugs. That would be hugely ecologically positive.