Summer is mosquito season. If you like to be outdoors or keep your windows open on hot nights, you should be aware of how to protect yourself. Mosquitoes are not only annoying, but they can also be dangerous and carry serious illnesses. Mosquitoes are called vectors that can transmit viruses or parasites to their host during a blood meal.
Mosquito-borne illnesses can include malaria, dengue fever, Zika, West Nile fever, or chikungunya fever. There is no vaccine against these diseases, only medications to try to prevent or alleviate symptoms.
With nearly half of the world’s population at risk of at least one of these diseases, and the spread increasing with global warming and globalization, it is critical to raise awareness about the risk of mosquito-borne diseases and how to protect against them.
Vector control measures and prevention of mosquito bites
Firstly, it is important that houses, gardens and living spaces are not attractive to mosquitoes. This means eliminating potential places with standing water (such as puddles, rain barrels or gutters) to limit the growth of new generations of mosquitoes.
Second, you can avoid being outdoors during peak hours: dusk and dawn. Even so, when you are outdoors, it is recommended to wear clothing that limits skin exposure to mosquitoes. As mosquitoes prefer dark areas, make sure your clothes are light. Also, it should be loose on the skin and not tight. Otherwise, mosquitoes can bite the fabrics.
Finally, if you want to be more proactive in protecting yourself and your family from mosquitoes, you can use skin repellents when you’re out and sprays or electrical appliances when you’re at home. Skin repellents can be applied to repel mosquitoes and ward off bites when you are outdoors.
Sprays can be used for instant action when you need to get rid of that buzzing mosquito that keeps you up at night. And electrical appliances are a great solution for killing the ones you see and the ones you don’t, so you don’t have to spend all night looking for them. Learn more about these indoor and outdoor solutions on our product pages and… declare your life mosquito free!