

Sharing mosquito warfare tactics

Growing up in Florida, you develop some expert defense skills with regards to mosquitoes. Here are a few of mine. (With an update!)

Photo of Katie Clark
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While this is obviously not the solution, being as preventive as possible isn't a bad idea — and might be super helpful for those new to mosquito infested areas. Growing up in a county formerly known as Mosquito County, you become an expert in mosquito warfare tactics.

Here's a great post I found on some of the most basic mosquito defense tactics. It all basically comes down to a few things (and unfortunately, nothing is full-proof):

+ wear long sleeves + pants when possible
+ use/wear insect or essential oil repellents when possible
+ remove any standing water when possible (clean out rain gutters, etc.)
+ place/use screens on your home
+ avoid the outdoors (when possible) at peak biting hours (sunset to sunrise). UPDATE from a friend at the NIH (thanks Julie!). Apparently the mosquito most likely to transmit Zika (the Aedes) actually bites during the day as much or more than any other time, which means we all have to be careful during daylight hours this summer in addition to the usual dawn/dusk. More here:


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Photo of Mariane Ketchum

Hi Katie,
Thank you for sharing this.
A addition from me. Stay away from dark places because mosquitoes like dark place.

Best, Mariane

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