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Insect & Mosquito Repellents

Prevention Tips
The best bug repellent is prevention, not a chemical spray. Here are a few ways to keep bugs away from both you and your yard:

• Wear long sleeves, long pants, closed shoes and socks in areas with high mosquito or tick populations.
• For added protection against ticks, tuck pants into socks and shirts into pants.
• Wear light colors. There is some evidence that mosquitoes are more attracted to dark colors than light colors, and light colors make any ticks that might crawl on you more visible.
• Avoid being outside when the bugs are worst, generally dusk to dawn.
• When walking in tick-infested areas, stick to the center of the path and avoid brushing against grasses, where ticks wait to hop a ride.
• Check for ticks at the end of each day, paying careful attention to your head and warm spots such as underarms, behind the knees and between the toes.

Tick Removal
If you find a tick, the American Lyme Disease Foundation recommends the following steps:

• Use a pair of pointed precision tweezers to grasp the tick by the head or mouthparts right where they enter the skin. Do not grasp the tick by the body.
• Without jerking, pull firmly and steadily directly outward. Do not twist the tick out or apply petroleum jelly, a hot match, alcohol or any other irritant to the tick in an attempt to get it to back out.
• Place the tick in a vial or jar of alcohol to kill it. (Keep the tick for a few weeks; that makes it easier for doctors to identify any potential sickness.)
• Clean the bite wound with disinfectant.

At Home

• Eliminate all pools of stagnant water, even the tiniest ones: saucers under plants, garbage cans and lids, spare tires or tire swings, clogged gutters, birdbaths, and rain puddles.
• If you have a decorative pond, stock it with mosquito- and larvae-eating fish like Gambusia.
• Keep grasses short around your house, as mosquitoes and ticks often rest in tall grasses, and such areas are more likely to collect water.
• Ticks can be carried on the bodies of various animals, from large deer to tiny mice. It's difficult to eliminate them completely, but you can clear brush and other wild bushes from the edge of your yard to eliminate plants that may attract tick-carrying animals.
• Install window screens if your home lacks them and ensure that those already in place are free of holes and tightly connected to window frames.
• Lit candles containing citronella have been shown to reduce mosquito bites for people nearby. Even the smoke from plain candles has some protective effect against mosquitoes (though less than citronella ones).
• Get involved with your Mosquito Control District or local Department of Health to find out how they're controlling insect populations in your area.

Using DEET Safely
If you happen to be vacationing in an area where malaria or other serious insect-borne diseases pose a real threat, the CDC recommends using DEET- (mainly because it has been the most studied chemical) or picaridin-based products. If you do opt for DEET, apply it with caution:

• Do not apply to children's hands or face, to reduce potential contact with eyes or ingestion.
  
• Do not apply on cuts, wounds or sunburned skin.
  
• Apply as little as possible, to exposed skin only.
  
• Be conservative about reapplication, following label directions regarding length of effectiveness.
  
• Never use under clothing.
  
• Wash product off with soap and water when coming indoors.

A final note: Avoid products that combine sunscreen with insect repellent. Sunscreen should be applied copiously and often, whereas insect repellents should only be reapplied as needed.