Mosquito Repellent
Mosquitos Cause Disease
Mosquitos are hard to control. In many parts of the world, they have run rampant and caused the deaths of thousands of people. They are so small and yet must be respected. They transmit disease by taking blood from one organism and transmitting it to another. That is how West Nile Virus works. A mosquito may bite an infected bird and then a person.
Mosquitos also transmit malaria, encephalitis, dengue fever, rift valley fever, and yellow fever. According to the CDC, there are approximately 350-500 million cases of Malaria worldwide. Over one million of these people die and most are young children in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2008, there were roughly 1,300 reported cases of US travelers that got Malaria. Currently, GlaxoSmithKline is working on a vaccine to reduce malaria deaths in Africa. The vaccine looks promising and is in the third stage of testing. I once saw a job opening for the vaccine testing. You could get paid to go and let thousands of mosquitos bite you. Does that sound like a fun job?
All of the other diseases, excluding Malaria, caused by mosquitos are, fortunately, small in number. In any case, it is important to take preventative action against mosquitos.
CDC Approved Mosquito Repellents
The CDC (centers for disease control) recommend using products that have been registered with the EPA (environmental protection agency). The reason is to make sure that the products are safe and can be handled appropriately. The products that are registered are:
1- Deet: Deet is probably the most used product on the market. It is the active ingredient in Deep Woods Off. You will typically spray deet on your skin in an aerosol form. What Deet does is to mask you odor and the chemical octenol, in perspiration, that mosquitos are attracted too.
2- Picaridin: Picaridin is a product developed by Bayer corporation. It is an odorless and irritant free product that repels mosquitos. Picaridin is not widely used.
3- Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus: Lemon eucalyptus is known to be the most effective of the natural mosquito repellents. It is similar to Deet in lower concentrations (less than 10%). Historically, Deet was kept at around 10%, but now the ingredient is as high as 25%-30% of the total solution.
4- IR3535: IR3535 is mostly used in Europe. In the US, the main product that uses IR3535 is a bath oil called Skin So Soft made by Avon. The lotion works pretty well at repelling mosquitos. Avon claims that their product can eliminate mosquitos for up to eight hours. However, customers have reported that it isn't as effective as they would like.
Mosquito Traps for Control
Instead of trying to repel the mosquito, you can also create traps for them. The traps emit carbon dioxide and octenol as attractants. The mosquito trap will also have a fan device that also attracts them and sucks them into a bag, when they get close.
The mosquito traps definitely catch a lot of mosquitos. The idea is that if the mosquitos have something more attractive nearby that they will leave you alone. And, the idea that the mosquitos are getting eliminated is that mosquito numbers will go down.
There are various types of traps. Some traps use different types of attractants. Some traps run on propane and others are run on batteries or are electrical power. You should do a little checking around before purchasing a mosquito trap.
Unique Mosquito Control Products
The fact that most people use Deet is probably as much to do with poor planning as everything else. When the mosquitos are eating you alive, it is so easy to run down to the store and get some Off. You know it is going to work.
The blazing fact that remains is that a lot of people don't like to spray Off onto their entire body. And, if you have ever got it into your eyes, you know how much it stings. If you have tasted it, well, it does taste awful and that should be avoided for sure.
As a rescue to the homeowner, there are a lot of unique mosquito control products available. You can purchase chairs that have a natural repellent in the material. You can even get nice looking mosquito repellent clothing for fishing trips. There are solar lights now that emit natural odor derivatives that repel mosquitos. You can get a hat with a mosquito net. You can get a mosquito net to go over your outdoor patio umbrella. You can purchase citronella candles to ward off the mosquitos. There is even a new product called a mosquito repellent silicone arm band. It is one of those simple silicone bracelets that people wear. You might have seem them for bike racer Lance Armstrong. These silicone bracelets are treated with citronella and other chemicals. You can wear one on each hand to keep mosquitos away. Some of these silicone mosquito arm band repellents read, “Please don't bite me.” The bottom line is to think ahead with a plan of action. It is a good idea to try and come up with ways to deter mosquitos without having to drench yourself in chemicals.
Prevention and Elimination of Mosquitos
The most important way to prevent mosquitos is to keep stagnant water away from your yard. Old tires are known to help millions of mosquitos breed. If you find such an item, make sure you eliminate it and to clean it so that the eggs can be disposed of.
Another good idea is to use a fogger. A professional fogger machine (not an aerosol can) can be used to spray all the foliage in the yard. The fogger is a good way to keep mosquitos and lots of other bugs down. Foggers work well because the micro droplets are so small that they can cover extremely well.
Once of the best ways of prevention is to simply plant the right things in the area. Some plants are naturally a deterrent to mosquitos. If you plant some Lemon Thai Grass, you can simply cut some of it off when there are a lot of mosquitos. The mosquitos will go away and you can rub some of the grass oil on you and they will for sure stay away.
An easier and more beatiful technique, for prevention, is to plant Marigolds and Chrysanthemums. These beautiful flowers are naturally repelling to mosquitos. These flowers can grow just about anywhere.
Catnip is about 10 times more effective than Deet, but there aren't any many formulaions for sale. It is currently under research. Some herbal stores will have some repellent with a bit of catnip in it that will work quite well.
Citronella grass is one of the first items used to ward off mosquitos. You can plant some citronella grass in your yard to keep mosquitos away.
If you live in a city, they will most likely spray the area for mosquitos in the early spring. The goal is to just knock down their numbers so that there aren't zillions of them everywhere.
Final Thought
Mosquitos are often an afterthought. They may ruin an outdoor dinner or complicate a camping trip. The problem is that mosquitos are often an afterthought. If you take some simple precautions and have some good products available then you won't be caught by surprise and it can make your life much more comfortable. Do you know the number one reason that some women don't like camping? You guessed it. It is the bugs.
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