Mosquito Alert - Avoid Mosquito Bites Using Mosquito Repellents And A Mosquito Trap

Welcome to summer...barbecues, burgers and bites! Are you the person who get’s eaten alive by mosquitoes? According to University of Florida researchers, mosquitoes have preferences, so if you think mosquitoes like you way better than they like other people, you're probably right.

There’s plenty of advice around about how to keep safe from mosquitoes. Spray your yard with garlic or vegetable oil. Clean out your rain gutters. Get rid of old tires.

But what if your gutters are clear and downspouts bone dry…and it’s your neighbor that has a small plantation growing in his rain gutters? While you can’t bubble-wrap your yard to protect it from next door’s mosquitoes there are plenty of other ways of making your yard a ‘no-fly’ zone.

There are a number of approaches you can take to avoid mosquito bites from the simple to the sophisticated:

First, don’t advertise that you’re a free meal to mosquitoes. Mosquitoes care about getting some protein (your blood) via your flesh, especially if you’re the mosquito magnet [] type!

Dress Code
For a start, mosquitoes have well documented color preferences, so wear light colors as opposed to dark and make it as tough for them as you can.

• Wear long sleeves and long pants whenever possible
• Wear shoes and socks instead of sandals
• Wear a hat to keep mosquito bites off the warm, top part of your head

That’s simple enough – however the mosquitoes are now going to go for any exposed skin; ears, neck, wrists! If you must have bare legs and arms, beware as they’ll happily munch there, so you’re going to need some added ‘personal protection’.

The USDA developed DEET in the l940s for use by the military; and it was registered for public use in l957. Since then it’s been used billions of times with fewer than 50 reported cases of serious side effects and is still considered the most effective repellent on the market. However recent studies suggest that mosquitoes can now inherit tolerance to DEET. According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (May 2010), the trait that makes some mosquitoes tolerate one of the most effective repellents available is dominant and can be passed on to more than 50% of offspring in a single generation.

Fortunately there are DEET-free alternatives. In 2005, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) began recommending Picaridin as an alternative repellent. Proven to be as effective as DEET, it has been used worldwide since 1998. Light, clean and virtually odorless it has been recommended by the World Health Organization for use in malaria stricken countries.

Savvy folks have been planting geraniums in their window boxes for generations, using the natural properties of the flowers to repel bugs. Today, hard data exists that proves that the use of geraniums is more than a tradition. According to University of Florida researchers, geraniol, a powerful ingredient extracted from geranium oil through a unique refining process, does indeed provide a natural and extremely effective insect repellent. Sold under the BugBand brand, there is a range of products including sprays, wipes and wristbands and candles.

You can also use repellents containing soybean oil, citronella or lemon/eucalyptus formulations. But they don’t last as long as DEET so have to be reapplied more frequently.

Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) is a plant-based repellent registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In two recent scientific publications, when oil of lemon eucalyptus was tested against mosquitoes found in the U.S. it provided protection similar to repellents with low concentrations of DEET.

Citronella is another well-known natural mosquito repellent and in addition to lotions and sprays, the oils from the plant are extracted and used to make candles. Unlike a number of mosquito devices which are designed to attract then kill mosquitoes, Citronella Candles keep mosquitoes away. Place them in close proximity, on your patio, balcony or deck….just make sure to put the citronella candle upwind of you.

Candles are also pretty portable. So if you’re on the move, off to the beach or a picnic in the park, just pop one in the car (or if small enough) into your pocket or purse.

A University of Guelph study on the effectiveness of citronella candles found that subjects positioned near a citronella candle had 42.3% less bites. Based on these results, they advised that citronella candles shouldn't be used as a stand-alone repellent, although they may help in combination with topical repellents.

However, while repellents do provide excellent personal protection, they don’t actually kill mosquitoes.

The sound of mosquitoes grilling away on a bug zapper is wonderful to some, and distressing to others. Of course, it’s important to remember that your bug zapper will attract all kinds of insects, usually more beneficial ones, as well as nuisance pests.

Many other alternatives such as large-scale spraying can be temporarily effective, but they take a terrible toll on insect populations that keep our environment in balance.

There is one solution that doesn’t have an environmental downside: Mega-Catch™ mosquito traps. You can trap literally thousands of mosquitoes in these mosquito machines without harming the environment, your children, or your pets. These remarkable traps are an affordable and effective solution for getting rid of mosquitoes on a large scale, for a long period of time.

Combining these tips with other sensible mosquito control strategies around your home, plus a mosquito trap or two should provide the best overall protection.

[1] Are You a Mosquito Magnet?
Experts try to crack the code behind why mosquitoes like some people more than others. WebMd Feature By Elizabeth Heubeck