Protect your family from mosquitoes
Mosquitoes have been sucking blood for at least 46 million years. Depending on where you live, they can range from a nuisance to a deadly creature. Help protect your family from disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes can be deadly and are responsible for spreading a host of diseases including Zika, malaria,dengue,chikungunya, yellow fever, and West Nile Virus.
To help people around the world avoid mosquitoes that may carry these diseases, our researchers at the SC Johnson Institute of Insect Science for Family Health (IISFH) study thousands of mosquitoes every day.1 You can help protect your family by following the simple precautions below.
Cover up with clothing
Clothes can be your first line of defense against mosquitoes. Long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and anything that covers up the body can protect you and your family from mosquito bites. Go with loose-fitting clothes as mosquitoes can sometimes bite through tight-fitting materials.
Create Barriers for Mosquitoes
When your family is indoors, ensure that mosquitoes can’t easily enter your home. Keep doors and windows closed, and repair any cracks that could let mosquitoes in. If you keep windows open for natural ventilation, use screens. You can also use mosquito netting; placing it around beds and baby strollers.
Tip from Our Bug Experts
Our entomologists at theIISFHrecommend using personal repellents that contain EPA-approved active ingredients like DEET or Picaridin to help avoid mosquito bites. Products with these ingredients are designed specifically to create a vapor barrier on the skin’s surface that helps keep these pesky creatures from landing on or biting us.2
Eliminate Standing Water
A mosquito only needs a single teaspoon of stagnant water to lay their eggs, an amount that can be collected in an old tire, child’s pool, bird bath, and even a bottle cap.
Because of this, it is vital to be vigilant in eliminating standing water in and around the home. Remove leaves and any debris that may have collected in your gutters and other drainage systems, so water flows out freely and doesn’t stand still.
Shield Your Sporting Activities
Even the act of breathing can attract mosquitoes since mosquitoes are attracted to the carbon dioxide we breathe. Also, during exercise, we give off two mosquito attractants – body heat and lactic acid (a substance your body emits when you perspire).
When you’re active or exercising outdoors, take additional precautions to keep mosquitoes from biting, such as:
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Wearing long-sleeved workout gear to cover any exposed skin
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Ensuring your outdoor workouts aren’t near places with high mosquito populations, such as areas that are heavily wooded, overgrown with vegetation, or have standing water
