Recently Read Article About Repelling Mosquitos

Since I cancelled my subscription some time back to my local newspaper and have little patience with my local or national TV news, I've come to rely more...for better or for worse...on my MSN newsfeed that pops up on my computer screen upon activation.  Sometimes they have helpful articles about different topics they picked up off other sites: the one I just read about ways to repel mosquitos is good example.  It was a Prevention magazine piece written by Korin Miller and Markham Heid and listed a few ideas that might be of use.  In Gainesville we're bordered on the south by a vast wetlands area called Payne's Prairie...it's the size of our fair city and is a prime breeding zone for those horrible, obnoxious insects that really begin to plague us around this time of the year.  Right now, it would be more appropriate to rename this area Lake Alachua, which it used to be called a century ago before the waters receded considerably.  When the wind is blowing in from the south...a common occurrence this time of year, it blows all those nasty little buggers breeding there over to the city, regardless how careful folks here are to avoid any sources of standing water around themselves (this was one of the article's suggestions).  So like it or not, mosquitos are a fact of life that we folks in Gainesville have to deal with.  Miller and Heid emphasized that with the advent of the dangerous mosquito-borne West Nile and Zika viruses, repelling them is advised for everyone.  Some ideas from the article:

Try to stay out in breezes (or use electric fans to stir up the air).

Avoid the outdoors during dusk and dawn when mosquitos are the most active.

Use DEET (rub on the skin, not spray).  This is the active agent common to many effective mosquito repellents sold in stores, with the concentration affecting the time span of its effectiveness.

Stay cool and avoid sweating...mosquitos are attracted to the hormones within perspiration.

Wear tight or lightly-colored clothes.

Avoid things like exercise, alcohol, or spicy foods that tend to increase metabolic rate and consequently carbon dioxide production...mosquitos go for CO2 in a big way.

Get plants like citronella, lavender, lemongrass, marigolds, and basil that repel mosquitos.

Get your yard sprayed for mosquitos.

Avoid scented products.

I appreciate all the above suggestions by Korin Miller and Markham Heid, although to me exercise is often a major component of going outside, and twilight running is preferable to running in the heat of the day...especially one like today when the temperature is topping 100. Of course, the act of running itself automatically sets up a breeze around me, so that's good...as long as I remain in motion, that is.  But if I'm going to just sit out there in the shade...or maybe do a little evening stargazing...I definitely plan to start slapping on some of that repellent...