One of the best ways to keep mosquitos from getting
the bite on you is to avoid being the main attraction at
your local mosquito theme park in the first place.
Understanding a bit about mosquito behavior can help
avoid calling unecessary attention to yourself.
Mosquitos identify their targets by sight, heat and smell.
Avoid physically active movement (exercise, ball games,
yard work, etc.) during peak mosquito hours to keep them
from noticing you from a distance.
Peak mosquito times tend to be right around dusk and dawn.
Reduce outside lights in the evening hours (use yellow bulbs,
if possible).
Wear light colors during the daytime -- dark clothing during
daylight hours actually attracts the little buggers. According
to one report, mosquitos prefer blue and green so you're
better off wearing yellows, reds and oranges.
Mosquitos are attracted to perspiration, heat, carbon dioxide,
and lactic acid. All of these are produced after exercising,
so avoid outdoor exercise during peak mosquito hours (at
dawn and dusk). Our bodies also release lactic acid after
eating certain foods, so avoiding outdoor dining during those
hours is helpful, as well. Commonly believed mosquito-
attracting foods include bananas (or other potassium-rich
food items), and salty foods.
Avoid perfumes when outside. Using hand creams and
lotions with a sweet scent can also increase your risk
of attracting mosquitos, so go for the unscented varieties
during mosquito season. Try using unscented soaps
when showering, too. Even though they're rinsed off,
the scent remains on your skin and attracts bugs.
Keeping a barrier between yourself and mosquitos is
a simple and natural way to avoid bites. Be sure to
wear long sleeves and long pants when outdoors at
dusk, or in areas with an especially high concentration
of mosquitos (woods, swamps, hiking trails). And use
screens in all your home's doors and windows during
summer months.
Several gardeners assured me that planting marigolds,
scented geraniums (rub the leaves on your skin too),
rosemary, catnip, peppermint, spearmint, daisies,
verbena, spike lavender (not the sweet French variety),
basil, thyme, garlic, allspice, cedar, and lemon grass
around the yard naturally repells insects. Decorating
with eucalyptus is also rumored to be helpful. You can
make your own insect-repelling sachets by drying the
flowers and leaves from the above plants and placing
them into small, hand-sewn cotton bags.
Eliminate Their Breeding Grounds
The first step in avoiding the bite is to eliminate the local
mosquito population at its source. Mosquitos use stagnant
water for their breeding grounds, so drain any collections
of stagnant water found in your yard, neighborhood or
workplace.
Also keep your eye out for these sources of standing
water: Discarded tires, roof gutters clogged with leaves
or other debris, rain barrels, wading pools, drainage
ditches, paint buckets, tin cans, paper cups or other
discarded trash, trash containers, infrequently used
yard equipment, plant containers, bird baths, broken
toys, pet water bowls, and holes in tree stumps.
If your kids want to play in their wading pool, be sure to
dump the water out at least once a week and turn the
pool upside down when not in use so rain doesn't collect
in it. And if you want to keep your birdbath and pet's
uioutdoor watering bowl, be sure to clean out the water
at least two times each week. If you have an outdoor
fish pond with goldfish or amphibians, the mosquito
larva will be eaten by the fish so you won't need to
drain the fish pond.
For tips on natural and homemade mosquito repellents,
send a blank email to:
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
--Deborah Taylor-Hough (free-lance writer, wife and mother of three)
is the editor of the
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and
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email newsletters. She's also the author of the bestselling
book, Frozen
Assets: how to cook for a day and eat for a month, and A
Simple Choice: a practical guide for saving your time, money
and sanity. Be sure to visit Debi online at "A Frugal, Simple Life":
http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
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