“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” –Dalai Lama XIV
I don’t know why I thought that there were no mosquitos in Europe.
I especially don’t know why I thought there were no mosquitos in Amsterdam, a city that is literally made of landfill and canals.
It is most egregiously frustrating to have a summer of breezy cool nights punctuated by puncture marks and itchy lumps on my skin.
I do have a few tricks I use to deal with these suckers.
Tea Tree Barrier
Mix 4 parts water to 1 part tea tree oil. Spray around the windows, the doors, and the upper walls of the room. They hate that.
Rub yourself with herbs.
The following herbs are anathema to mosquitos. If you have a garden, these are nice plants to have around. Take some of the leaves, crush them in your hand, and rub the essence on the joints of your arms and legs.
- Rose Geranium
- Lemon Thyme
- Cedar
- Lemon Eucalyptus
- Peppermint
- Citronella
- Lavender
- Lemongrass
If you’re not into the herb garden thing, go to the health food store and buy some with some combination of these ingredients. I keep a spray bottle of a local brand, Bzzz Away, in my purse now. I’m armed.
Here’s some other ideas:
Air out your rooms.
Mosquitos like carbon dioxide, so make sure your rooms have free flowing air.
Don’t go to bed sweaty.
Mosquitos are first attracted to carbon dioxide, and then the sweat on the skin. Try to make sure your skin is clean of sweat at bedtime, and that the room is comfortable.
Avoid twilight hours outdoors.
Twilight is when those blood suckers come out. Time to duck inside at twilight.
Avoid standing water.
Mosquitos breed in standing water, so mothers trying to get enough nourishment to grow her eggs are going to hang out around standing water.
So remember…
Running in the heat near standing water at twilight: prepare for feasting beasties!
Have a beautiful, suck-free summer!