This Blog was posted for you By Your San Antonio Pest Control Services – Jenkins Pest and Lawn
Are Mosquitos Keeping You Inside Your House
Is the fear of mosquito bites keeping you inside this season? Are you leery of slathering dangerous chemicals all over your body just for a few hours of protection against the blood-thirsty creatures? Have you found so called mosquito traps to be less effective than promised?
Most store-bought bug sprays contain N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, or DEET to combat mosquitoes. This chemical can irritate and cause skin reactions. Extremely rare cases of seizures and death have been attributed to DEET as well. Clearly, there has got to be a better way to manage mosquitoes than to apply dangerous poisons to your body.
How to get rid of mosquitoes naturally
The first step of mosquito management is to make yourself as unattractive to them as possible. Mosquitoes are attracted to a few specific characteristics in a host.
Carbon dioxide. Mosquitoes hunt their prey through the CO2 that we all expel when breathing.
Body heat. Mosquitoes have sophisticated sensors that track body heat and gases.
Color. Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors.
Moisture. Mosquitoes absolutely love anything wet. Moisture not only attracts them to food sources, but also to breeding areas.
There are other traits that mosquitoes prefer, but these are the main attractions. The first step in mosquito control is to manage these items as well as you can.
Of course, we cannot stop breathing or control our body heat just to get rid of mosquitoes. We can, however, trick them into seeking those traits elsewhere. A fire puts out carbon dioxide and heat. Even burning a candle can be a great assistance in the war against mosquito bites. More on this website @ https://jenkinspest.com
Color is probably the easiest to control. If you’re going into an area that may have mosquitoes, wear light clothing to make yourself as unattractive as possible. It is also advisable that you wear long pants and long sleeves when weather allows it. In particularly mosquito-filled areas, rely upon clothing that fits close to your skin to prevent mosquitoes from crawling up pant legs or through sleeves.
Moisture is the main concern in mosquito control. Not only the moisture that we expel when we breathe, which alerts them to a host, but because they require it to reproduce successfully. Just like expelling gases and heat, we cannot control the moisture that we expel with our every breath. However, we can manage the moisture around our homes or farm buildings by cleaning up any stagnant water that might be attractive to a female mosquito looking for a place to lay her eggs.
Following the steps outlined above should severely limit mosquito populations, but mosquito-prone areas may require more aggressive actions.
A mosquito net keeps not only a mosquito, but other flying insects out as well. The net can be placed over beds to protect while sleeping indoors or you can purchase a tent made of mosquito netting for camping. Mosquito nets have been used since prehistoric times to protect against a variety of insects. The nets can be made from cotton, polyester, polyethylene, or nylon. They are generally very lightweight and provide excellent protection against mosquitoes. The use of flies traps will not be very much help in this regard.
A mosquito trap is another way to protect without harmful pesticides. These devices come in a variety of sizes and prices, depending upon need. They are placed between the mosquito source and where people gather. Once the trap is set, it will release a combination of odors and/or lights to lure mosquitoes inside. The traps then capture the mosquito and force them into bags, basins, or sticky boards to die.
Another way to combat mosquitoes and getting rid of flies is through the use of homemade mosquito repellent and organic fly control. Many people swear that Listerine is a great repellent. Although there have been no scientific studies to confirm or disprove their claims, Listerine features eucalyptol, a derivative of eucalyptus oil, which is commonly used in insect repellents. The amount of eucalyptol in Listerine, however, is not very high. A better answer may be to make your own insect repellent at home. Following is a recipe that has been used since medieval times to protect against mosquitoes and other biting bugs.
Vinegar of the Four Thieves Insect Repellent:
1 quart bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp. each of dried mint, lavender, rosemary, and thyme.
Quart-sized (or larger) glass jar with airtight lid
Put the vinegar and dried herbs into large glass jar.
Seal tightly and store on counter. Shake well each day for 2-3 weeks.
After 2-3 weeks, strain the herbs out and store in spray bottles, preferably in fridge.
To use on skin, dilute to half with water in a spray bottle and use as needed.
For extra-strong repellent, you may wish to add fresh garlic to the mixture.
As you can see, there’s no reason to call for an exterminator when you can attain easy, inexpensive mosquito management without the use of harsh chemicals or pesticides.