Keep Uninvited Mosquitoes Away from Your Outdoor Plans
by Laura Platino

It’s time to hit the beach, head camping or even get married. Unfortunately, it’s also prime season for mosquitoes. Nothing’s more irritating than red, itchy, scabby insect bites all over your limbs, but applying repellents — most which contain the chemical DEET — has become less fashionable as society’s concern for toxins in products continues to grow.

The United States Army concocted the substance in reaction to buggy jungle experiences during World War II that proved nasty and harmful to soldiers. After it was tested as a pesticide on farms and then used in Vietnam, DEET became available for consumer use in 1957.

Despite the Environmental Protection Agency’s insistence that DEET is safe for skin, many natural health circles and supporters of an organic lifestyle have turned to alternative protection against pesky bugs. If absorbing a pesticide into your skin scares you or if DEET actually does irritate your skin, give these mosquito-fighting tactics a try:

White and Thick. Mosquitoes are attracted to dark clothing and seemingly shady foliage, so wear white or light-colored shirts and pants (try to avoid camouflage). Many mosquitoes will bite through thin, tight-fighting clothing, so throw on a big sweatshirt or a pair of jeans.

Essential Oils. Eucalyptus, cedarwood, tea tree and geranium essential oils naturally repel mosquitoes and other insects. To make an effective diluted spray, experiment with the percentages and ratios of all these oils mixed with a carrier oil (olive, sunflower, jojoba or grape seed).

Garden Girl. Mosquitoes hate the smell of marigolds and also stay clear of rosemary. Brighten up your backyard and your spice rack while you keep pests away.

Don’t Sweat It. Chemicals in perspiration and the simple increase in humidity around your body when you sweat will make you a target for mosquitoes. Don’t sit around after a hot run and rinse off every now and then at the beach. Working out also releases lactic acid from our bodies, which mosquitoes love. (Eating salty foods emits the same chemical.)

The Drier the Better. Offering a chance for reproduction and breeding, even small amounts of water will appeal to blood-suckers. Stay clear of ponds, puddles and moist plants that are havens for mosquitoes.

Breathe Easy. One way mosquitoes navigate the air to find prey is by tracking carbon dioxide as well as other gases humans and animals exhale. Since ceasing to breathe isn’t really an option, try loosely tying a bandana around your mouth.

Mosquitoes have some pretty sensitive and advanced methods for hunting their prey and are quite relentless once they find you. In addition to being extremely annoying, many breeds of mosquitoes are carriers for diseases such as West Nile virus, dengue fever, and malaria. In tropical climates and sub-Saharan Africa, malaria kills millions of people each year. Whether in your backyard or traveling in Argentina, if you can avoid being bitten, you will definitely lessen your chances for contracting mosquito-borne illness — and those irritating red marks.

photo by zaser’s photography

cedar, deet, environment, eucalyptus, insect, lactic acid, marigolds, mosquito, rosemary Hide