How to Avoid Mosquitoes This Memorial Day
April Daniels Hussar,SELF magazine
Picnics, barbecues and other summery soirees -- so much to look forward to this weekend! But as you take the festivities outdoors, make sure that you're not one of the tasty menu items.
Of course, we're talking about those ultra-annoying party-crashers: mosquitoes! According to Joseph Conlon, a medical entomologist and the technical advisor to the American Mosquito Control Association, mosquito bites, for the most part, are just that -- annoying. But he says, especially in certain parts of the country, they can be more dangerous. "Being infected with a mosquito-borne disease is definitely an issue, even in the United States, as West Nile virus has taught us," he says. Yikes! Here are Conlon's top tips for staying bite-free this weekend:
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1. Time it right. If possible, schedule your activities to avoid the times when mosquitoes are most active, usually dawn and dusk.
2. Choose your outfit wisely. Dress in light colored, loose-fitting clothing. Close-weave is the best to prevent biting, but layered loose-weave works almost as well. Good excuse to buy a cute new tunic!
3. Turn on the (bug) lights! If you have a deck, says Conlon, light it using General Electric yellow Bug Lights. "These lights are not repellant, per se," he says, "but they do not attract mosquitoes like incandescent white lights."
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4. Keep it breezy! Keeping a deck or porch mosquito-free is quite easy, according to Conlon. "Strategically placed floor fans providing a breeze across the area of concern will serve to keep the mosquitoes at bay," he says. "Mosquitoes are weak fliers, and will not be able to navigate properly against or within the airstream." There is no set formula for how large a fan or how many you'll need -- it's simply a matter of experimenting until you obtain the desired effect. By the way, citronella candles have a mild repellent effect, he says, but do not offer significantly more protection than other candles producing smoke.
5. Use repellents. According to Joseph, DEET remains the standard by which all other repellents are judged; it's effective against mosquitoes, biting flies, chiggers, fleas and ticks. But make sure you apply it correctly! If it's not working, says Joseph it's probably because your misapplied it -- or need to reapply. When it comes to choosing a brand, look for one that has 30% DEET (but ask your pediatrician about the best one for your child; most recommend no more that 10% DEET, according to Joseph, and not for babies under two months old).
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Two of Joseph's other recommendations: Cutter Advanced, which contains an ingredient called picaridin, which, he says says, is odorless, has a pleasant feel and doesn't plasticize like DEET. For a natural product, try oil of lemon-eucalyptus, sold as Repel.
Now, you might have heard about products marketed as mosquito traps. According to Joseph, these devices will trap and kill measurable numbers of mosquitoes. But, he says, whether it would produce a noticeable reduction in the mosquito population would depend on a variety of factors, including how sensitive you are how many mosquitoes there are, and even wind velocity.
In other words, you can trap and kill a bunch of mosquitoes, but there are plenty more where they came from, so you'll still need to follow the advice above!
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