Encephalitis, West Nile and Zika Oh My! How to avoid being bitten by Asian Tiger Mosquitos
Lately, there’s been a swarm of little daytime mosquito pests, in our area, plaguing lawns and gardens in this humid and damp climate. After falling victim to many venomous bites, this editor felt the need to identify these daytime biters, known as Asian Tiger Mosquitos. It will take a few nights, under 40 degrees, to kill off these blood suckers, naturally. With at least another month of warm evenings, we thought we’d do some digging into how to protect yourself and your family from itchy bites and potential viruses like West Nile, Encephalitis and Zika.
Skin repellant: Choose a skin repellent lotion with either Picaridin or Deet as one of the main ingredients. Products like Sawyer Picaridin and Natrapel 8 Hour, each contain 20 percent picaridin have been proven to last for up to 8 hours, effectively. Deet, invented by the US Army to repel mosquitos should be used in heavy woodland areas. Off! Deepwoods VIII, contains 25% Deet and lasted us a full day outdoors, bite free.
Avoid: Holistic or Organic sprays with ingredients like cinnamon and lemongrass oils. While they may provide relief for an hour or so, these products are not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, which evaluates skin-based repellants for safety and effectiveness.
MosquitoNO bracelet: This little silicone band smells lovely and did keep the bugs away from our arm. Unfortunately, the rest of us got bitten, every so often. These could be helpful for kids when outdoors at recess or at a ball game, in short periods of time. However, we still recommend applying the skin repellents over the bracelet.
Citronella plants smell delightful and can keep small spaces (a few feet) free from these pesky biters. We planted herbs (rosemary, lemon balm and citronella) in a tree trunk planter which kept that one small area free from the Asian Tiger Mosquitos. However, aside from accommodating bats in your backyard, the only real way to prevent these infiltrating suckers is through prevention.
Mosquito eggs hatch in water. You can reduce the spread by dumping week old bird baths, fill puddles with Bacillus thuringensis, a mosquito disease spore also known as Mosquito dunks and avoid over watering your lawn.
Whatever method you chose, we highly recommend you avoid purchasing expensive ultrasonic devices. They do nothing for your bug problem!