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The
Scream of Rockets, the Bursting of Shells, the
Whine of... Mosquitoes!
You've got everything
you need for a great day in the park on the
4th -- blanket and lawn chairs to sit on, sunscreen,
picnic basket (full), watermelon (cold),
plenty of ice and drinks in the cooler.
What else could you possibly need?
Insect
repellent, for one thing. When
dusk falls and you're waiting for the fireworks
to begin, mosquitoes will be waiting for you.
Mosquitoes can turn your pleasant evening into
a torture session faster than you can say, "ouch!"
Slapping them doesn't help, since by the time
you feel them, they've already bitten you. So,
to protect yourself, make it a habit to use
whatever technology you can to keep them away.
Why
do they bite?
To put it bluntly,
they want to drink your blood. Actually,
only the females do. The males are more
mild-mannered (and much larger) and live on
plant juices. But females need the protein
they get from biting people or animals in order
to produce eggs -- up to 100 are produced from
each "meal." Since
a female mosquito will eat as many as a dozen
meals before dying, she's laying 1200 eggs to
replace herself! She lays
the eggs, and they just hang around waiting
for a good rain shower or a puddle or other
water source to come their way. Then,
they hatch, and emerge ravenously hungry --
usually in your back yard, right?
You
can keep mosquito populations down by eliminating
any sources of standing water around your home,
like bird baths that aren't emptied daily, buckets,
puddles, or any other collection point.
You'll never eliminate them all, but it's a
start.
Why
do they seem to like ME?
Everybody feels especially
singled-out by these nasty creatures, so you're
not alone. In
fact, as long as you're breathing, you're a
target. Mosquitoes are
attracted to the carbon dioxide you breath out!
They are also drawn to heat, sweat and scented
soaps. Your body makes heat, and in July
it's pretty impossible not to sweat. But
you can use unscented soap if you know you're
going to be outside.
How
do repellents really work?
Well, they're not really
repelling. Some
insect sprays and lotions work by making you
taste SO BAD that mosquitoes don't want to bite
you. They'll still land
on you, and think about biting, but one taste
and they're on their way.
The
best sprays actually make you invisible to the
mosquitoes, from a scent standpoint.
The chemical does something to the smell receptors
in the mosquito's miniscule brain and makes
it impossible for it to smell your carbon dioxide.
You'll still see them and hear them (why
DO they find it necessary to make such an obnoxious
sound?) but they won't bite you.
What
works to keep them away?
If you were a hippopotamus
or an elephant, you'd just find a nice mud bog
and roll around in it. The coating of
mud keeps the bugs from being able to get to
their skin. Pretty smart!
You can do the same
thing, but with less mess. Just
wear loose-fitting long sleeves, long pants
and a hat that covers your head and neck.
A mosquito net over the hat, and you're ready
to take on the jungle. This works great
in cooler weather, but for the summer... let's
look at a few other ideas.
- DEET
-- The ingredient in insect repellent that
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends
is actually called N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide.
(Thank goodness they also call it DEET!)
It is the most effective chemical, and was
originally developed for the U.S. Army.
Now you'll find it (by the longer name) in
the better sprays and lotions. The
higher the percentage of DEET in the mixture,
the longer it will last as a repellent on
your skin and clothes -- from
1.5 hours for 4.75%, to 5 hours for 23.8%.
- Citronella
lamps, candles or wrist-bands.
For the lamps and candles, you have to stay
near them for them to be effective.
- Cigar
smoke keeps away mosquitoes
(as well as any annoying neighbors, but also
your loved ones, so go easy.)
- More than 28 million
BugButtons
were been sold in 2000 alone, so there must
be something to them. You pin them on
with a safety pin, and they're supposed to
last up to 60 hours. Ingredients include
lemongrass, geraniums, and citronella oil.
- Electric
bug zappers don't really work well on mosquitoes.
For one thing, they're not as attracted to
the blue light as other bugs. After
all, the light doesn't breathe or have blood.
- Another
loser in the Consumer Reports test lab
(despite claims of aficionados over the years)
was Skin-So-Soft. The
mosquitoes ignored it, but not the people
wearing it.
Is
all this necessary?
Unfortunately, these
days the list of diseases that can easily be
transported and generously given away by mosquitoes
is growing. It used to be just malaria-type
diseases in the tropics. Today, West
Nile Virus is becoming a growing concern, and
malaria cases have been reported as far north
as Michigan.
One
last thought...
Insect repellents are
sprays and/or lotions that contain a combination
of chemicals. That
means that if they get on your clothing
(and who doesn't spray bug spray over their
clothes?) they can
have an effect on the color and fibers.
Here are a few tips:
- Put on sunscreen
and bug lotion or spray before you
dress, if possible. Let it
dry, and then dress.
- Wash any
garments that are home-washable as soon as
possible after treating them with
bug repellent.
- If you get
repellent on better garments, bring
them to us as soon as possible for professional
cleaning, and let us know they have repellent
on them, as well as any other known spills
or stains, so we can care for them properly.
Have
a safe and happy 4th of July! |
