Living the Domincan Life - Viviendo La Vida Dominicana: Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes will be one of your worst enemies besides the heat when you get here. Dominicans joke that when an American or foreigner gets here, the mosquitoes smell fresh blood and attack! This, I'm sad to say, is very true. I've gotten bit so many times that it's inspired me to research why they come after us.
"One of the first things that adult mosquitoes do is seek a mate, mate and then feed. Male mosquitoes have short mouth parts and feed on plant nectar. In contrast, female mosquitoes have a long proboscis that they use to bite animals and humans and feed on their blood (the blood provides proteins that the females need to lay eggs). After they feed, females lay their eggs (they need a blood meal each time they lay them).
Only female mosquitoes bite. They are attracted by several things, including heat (infrared light), light, perspiration, body odor, lactic acid, and carbon dioxide. The female lands on your skin and sticks her proboscis into you (the proboscis is very sharp and thin, so you may not feel it going in). After she has bitten you, some saliva remains in the wound. Her saliva has proteins called anticoagulants that prevent your blood from clotting. The proteins from the saliva evoke an immune response from your body, the area swells, and you itch. Eventually, the swelling goes away, but the itch remains until your immune cells break down the saliva proteins. If she is disturbed, she will fly away. Otherwise, she will remain until she has a full abdomen. If you were to cut the sensory nerve to her abdomen, she would keep sucking until she burst." *Research mainly from "How Stuff Works: How Mosquitoes Work" By: Criag Freudenrich, Ph.D. Click here for web link *
As for ways to prevent getting bit, the most practical method is to buy OFF! Deep Woods Repellent. I've bought this item every time I travel here but seeing as though I am going to live here for school, I decided I would forget the repellent and just take the bites as they come. I'm making a sacrifice so that I can get used to life here! Plus, every time I spray myself down with repellent, the one part of skin I miss is the part they attack so I never win. I've tried to ask around for Dominican remedies for mosquito bites but, people are so used to it here that they don't really have one. I've just heard about putting some menthol (or Vick's vapor rub (Dominicans call it "vi-va-po-ru")) on the bite and ice cubes. You can also use a swatter (the ones that look like a pancake flipper or a tennis racket) and if you visit the campos (mountainside) you will see mosquito lamps in a few houses. You will also notice that some houses, not only in the campo, have their own "mosquitero" in each bedroom. Dominicans say it like "moquitero", without the "s". A moquitero is a net that flows over your bed so that the mosquitoes don't bite you at night.
For now, I'm just going to deal with it and learn how to kill the mosquitoes the Dominican way. It's almost like they have a 6th sense for mosquitoes and either smack them and kill them or, center the mosquito in the air and clap the mosquito to its death with their palms (Hand/Palm, Clap, Kill!). This is definitely a trait you are born with but one that I will soon obtain. Wish me luck!