Citronella Doesn’t Bother Texas Mosquitoes So Break Out That DEET
Soon we'll move this party outside, and we'll be camping and fishing and playing golf even more than we do now. Mosquito season will be cranking up too, and it turns out those bugs are onto us, and not bothered by some of our methods to get rid of them. But don't fear. There is one thing that does work.
Mosquitoes are mosquitoes, right? There's only one kind? Not exactly.
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension says there are actually 85 species of mosquitoes in Texas. Who knew! And all of them can show up at your backyard barbecue, or your child's baseball game, or on your camping trip this spring. They like water and humidity and warmer weather, and typically start coming out in full force in the spring and they stick around through the summer. And they like your ankles.
If your mama has been telling you to get the mosquito repellent with DEET because that's the only thing that works, she's right. The experts agree with her, and they add that lemon eucalyptus spray also works. But nothing gets on mosquitoes' nerves one hundred percent. The DEET sprays and those with lemon eucalyptus spray are only 60 percent effective.
Citronella candles don't work well at all, according to the study, and therefore neither do our torches or little citronella squirt mechanisms that we string up around the deck. The mosquitoes take a whiff and keep on coming, not bothered at all by that citronella.
Texans like the outdoors, so nothing will keep us inside this spring and summer. Mosquitoes be darned. Just know you've got to grab the DEET spray to protect yourself from West Nile and Zika and just the regular ole itch that the mosquitoes are are so good at creating.
Citronella candles add to the summer atmosphere and they look cool at the backyard barbecue, so we might grab some of those anyway to add to the ambiance. Just know the mosquitoes are onto our citronella tricks.