Protecting yourself from the flying nightmare
By now, let's assume you don't want to get sick from mosquitoes. You don't want to give blood to the phylum arthropoda. And you don't even want to hear their signature whining in your ear. What to do?

The Why Files asked Don Barnard for advice on staying unbitten. Barnard ought to know about skeeters: he's the research leader at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Mosquito and Fly Research Unit in Gainesville, Fla.

Here's his advice, combined with some other wisdom from veteran mosquito targets.

Time of day | Mosquitoes tend to be out at dawn and dusk, and you may be able to avoid getting bitten by staying inside when they're outside. Why dawn and dusk? Because the little lovelies could suffer a disastrous drying out during mid-day, and because animals -- their potential prey -- tend to be active at dawn and dusk.

The heavy-duty approach | It's surprisingly comfortable, and in mode with the latest fashion imperative, the camo look. "They can whine, but they can't bite," says The Why Files writer Dave Tenenbaum, demonstrating a classic "open-handed northwoods swat."

If you want to see Dave hit himself in a QuickTime movie (2.3MB) Click here. Video by Enrique Rueda.

Time of year | Try to go out before or after the peak mosquito season.

Wind | There's nothing like a stiff breeze to keep mosquitoes down. Even just moving to a windy bluff can restore your sanity on a mosquito-mangled camping trip.

Repellents | DEET is the standard of the industry, but you don't need to swim in the stuff for it to be effective. "We generally recommend 30 percent DEET or less," says Barnard, "applied according to label directions." And if you can't figure out what the label means, take heart. The Environmental Protection Agency is working on plans for better labels.

Don't drink DEET, don't slather on more than you need, and be especially careful with young children. Here's information on the toxicology of DEET.

Repellents, the sequel | If you don't like the idea of smearing so much DEET on your skin, there's a time-released, micro-encapsulated version that supposedly prevents it from entering your skin.

Repellents (the fashion statement) | For travel to heavily infested areas, one option is to soak your clothing in permethrin, an insecticide made for the purpose. One treatment will last for several washings. "It's a good combination," says Barnard. "We can get hours of complete protection from that."

Bug zappers | They kill a lot of insects, if you can stand the incessant "Zink" of electro-fried arthropods. But critics say zappers fry more beneficial insects than harmful ones (remember: humans aren't the only species that like mosquitoes dead: certain insects eat them).

The ecological approach | Put up a bat-house (the bat-lovers at Bat Conservation International will sell you one, or a house for purple martins. These winged wonders supposedly gobble hundreds of mosquitoes each hour, and they're not only non-toxic, but they're fun to watch (all power to the mosquito-eaters.)

What if mosquitoes would just stop biting? Fat chance. But there are some scientists who think they may be able to "invent" mosquitoes that can't carry disease.

There are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 documents. (Glossary | Bibliography)