Meh, the global ecosystem is fucked anyway. Might as well trim out the especially annoying bits and enjoy some relative comfort on our way to extinction. If doing so accelerates our downfall a bit, that’s a fair trade.
I say it’s worth the risk.
This, we can’t have only the bad parts of mass extinction
Just a guess… they’re probably a food source low in the chain. Disrupt the food chain and we’re screwed.
https://www.britannica.com/story/what-purposes-do-mosquitoes-serve-in-ecosystems
“But bitey”
If we could we’d try to kill algae and plankton for turning the oceans green and ruining our pictures. We’re not a smart group, us.
Kid named Malaria:
I think they researched this and found that literally no creature completely rely on mosquitos, and that if they were wiped out the power vaccum would be replaced by other small flying insects that are within the diets of the creatures that would otherwise eat mosquitoes. So yeah, there really isn’t anything stopping us from wiping them out. I say do it, and just keep some in a lab just in case if fucks stuff up. Or maybe more reasonably just modify them so they can’t suck human blood or pierce human skin, which I’m pretty sure we’re also already capable of.
Or maybe dont eradicate them? They’ve been here for millions of years why do we feel like their existence is worthless because they bother us, I say, prevent them from carrying diseases instead…
I’d say it’s more than just a bother. You’re spot on about preventing them from carrying and transmitting disease.
Though I’m perfectly okay not having bot flies around anymore… Another insect that could be considered a bother but we mostly destroyed their population.
If you haven’t seen Puss in Boots 2, do yourself a big favor and go see it.
The mosquito we see around us are invasive species that we humans brought along as we migrate across the continent. Make sense if their extinction bring neglectable impact to the local ecosystem. They aren’t supposed to be there to begin with.
PLEASE do cockroaches next. I refuse to believe those monstrosities are capable of good, even tangentially.
If cockroaches went extinct, there would actually be some pretty significant effects on ecosystems. They’re not just pests; they play a crucial role as decomposers. Cockroaches help break down dead organic matter—stuff like leaves, wood, and even dead animals. Without them, you’d start to see a buildup of this kind of waste, and the whole process of nutrient recycling would slow down. This matters because a lot of plants rely on nutrients that get released when organic material decomposes. If that process stalls, it could disrupt plant growth and soil health.
Plus, cockroaches are food for a ton of animals—birds, reptiles, small mammals, and other insects all rely on them. If they disappeared, it would mess with food chains, potentially leading to population drops in species that depend on them. And let’s not forget, cockroaches are also tied into the microbial world. They carry microorganisms that help break down certain materials, so their extinction could mess with those processes too.
So yeah, it’s easy to think the world would be better without them because they’re gross, but in reality, ecosystems would take a pretty big hit if cockroaches went extinct overnight.
Thanks for this. As much as I hate them, my daughter and I were recently trying to find whether they serve any purpose besides occasionally ruining my life.
Yeah tbh cockroaches get a pass, mosquitoes are an existential threat to our species.
I saw three in the past hour. Two while I was in the shower, and one in the kitchen. I will do anything to have these fuckers extinct
Humans have already caused so many species to go extinct.
Doing it on purpose for self defense seems less bad to me than indiscriminately because we want to be more comfortable but maybe that’s a meaningless distinction.
As if human care about future consequences.
What about house flies? Can we kill those too?
Mosquitos are pollinators. And in some parts of the world that have extreme seasons that can’t sustain bees, they seem rather important to the ecosystem.
Instead of eradicating them, genetically engineering away the numbing in their saliva that causes the allergic reaction in humans could be a solution.
I’ll trade a couple weeks of itchy bites for a briefly painful bite any day.
Sure, humans would kill them instantly on feeling the bite, but most animals are not capable of that. Their populations would be fine.
You think people want to extinguish mosquitoes because they bite is annoying?!
Mosquitos feed on apex predators and feed the nearly bottom of the food chain. Imo they’re up there with salmon in terms of nutrient transfer, absolutely would cause chaos at all levels if they were eliminated.
Uninformed take. First of, we are working on killing off only a few, malaria carrying Mosquito species in certain regions. Whatever niche they leave will be filled by another, possibly native species of Mosquito.
2nd, nutrient transfer my butt, they carry like 1ml and that’s mostly water. You definitely transfer more nutrients by having some ants in your compost bin.
Things add up. Total biomass of mosquitos is 5 million tons.
Also mosquitos are pollinators.
