An Easy Way to Keep Mosquitoes at Bay

If you’re keeping track of the West Nile cases reported in and around Davis this summer, you’re probably worried about spending much time outdoors in the evening. This is too bad, because our balmy summer evenings are one of the perks of living in Davis.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to keep the mosquitoes from biting your toes (ankles, arms, scalp, face, etc. Ew, now I’m creeping myself out.). According to Lifehacker.com those annoying little buggers are weak flyers, and are totally confounded by something as simple as a fan. Ceiling fan, standing fan, doesn’t matter. It might as well be a tornado to them.

According to the American Mosquito Control Association (yes, it actually exists!), a large fan on your deck would work because mosquitoes are weak fliers.

The New York Times also reports that a fan’s breeze “disperses the human emanations that allow female mosquitoes [the gender that bites us] to zero in on us.” Entomologists from Michigan State University found that fan-generated wind greatly reduces mosquitoes and they recommend we use it in our backyards to protect ourselves and our pets.

You can probably even get one on sale right now as we slide into the post-Independence Day second half of summer.

Need more info? Click on the link above.