How to Keep Mosquitos Away During the Summer

Mosquitos are some of the most annoying insects you’ll encounter. How can you keep mosquitos away during summer? Let’s find out.

Some things work, and others don’t when it comes to repelling mosquitos. These blood suckers are problematic and leave bites that lead to small bumps and rashes on some people. These insects are extremely dangerous to your pets because they carry heartworm and can give your animals this dangerous parasite.

What can you do about the mosquitos? Here are seven ways to keep these nasty bugs away.

Choose a good insect repellent

One of the best ways to keep these pests away is to use a good insect repellent with a high concentration of DEET. You can also use a repellent with picaridin or lemon eucalyptus oil to protect yourself from mosquitoes. Apply this repellent regularly and reapply as needed to ensure you stay protected all day. You must keep your skin covered with repellent if you want to keep the mosquitos away. It might not smell very good, but it will protect you.

Know when the mosquitos are most active

Most mosquitoes are active throughout the latter part of the day, typically from late afternoon until early evening. This is when you must be the most vigilant with your family’s protection. Knowing when these bugs are most active is an important step when you want to keep mosquitos away during the summer. That doesn’t mean you won’t get bitten at other times of the day, but these bugs are certainly the most active later in the day until it gets dark outside.

Beer drinkers are targets

You can’t eat foods that keep mosquitos away, and you can’t avoid them in general either. Some studies show that drinking beer does make you more of a target for these nasty bugs. If you want to indulge in a few beers on your patio, it’s a good idea to put on some repellent or have a few citronella candles nearby. Beer can make you more of a target for these bugs, and you don’t want that. Put on your bug spray first, and then head out to the patio.

Bug zappers don’t work

You might hear the zap zap of your bug zapper and its blue light. This is a welcome sign that bugs are dying in the light, which is blue in color and meant to kill several insects. Unfortunately, this is not an effective way to keep mosquitos away during the summer. Mosquitos aren’t attracted to the blue light and will stay away from the bug zapper. This means you’re only killing moths and other bugs that are attracted to lights.

Put your shoes on

It might be preferable to walk around in flip flops or bare feet, but your smelly feet might be exactly what attracts mosquitos to you. Studies show that the same bacteria that gives Limburger cheese its stinky aroma is also found between our toes. Mosquitos are strangely attracted to this aroma and will come to your feet for a taste unless you choose to wear shoes rather than thongs or go barefoot when outside. You could also spray some mosquito repellant on your feet, ensuring it gets between your toes.

Get rid of the standing water

Have you ever noticed that mosquitos are more active around standing water than anywhere else? When rain fills some of your backyard containers or your water features are turned off, these are the perfect breeding areas for these awful bugs. When you want to keep mosquitos away during the summer, you’ll need to make sure you don’t have any standing water in your yard. This means checking outdoor areas after the rain to make sure you don’t have any standing water.

Turn on an outdoor fan

Mosquitos don’t do well when the air is moving. This is why you won’t get bitten often when it’s windy outside. The moving air disrupts the flight of these bugs and causes them to go where the air isn’t moving as much. Turning on a fan does more than give you a nice breeze to enjoy when outside; it also gives you the movement required to keep these bugs away. You’ll be glad to have the air movement when you want to keep these terrible bugs away.

These are only a few of the ways you can keep mosquitos away during the summer. By employing some of these tactics, you’ll enjoy a bug-free summer without bites and bumps from mosquitos.