How to Keep Mosquitoes Away From You
Keep mosquitoes away from you by applying an EPA-registered repellent to exposed skin, wearing loose long sleeves and long pants, using permethrin-treated clothing or gear as labeled, and keeping screens and doors closed. Protect yourself during both day and night because biting time differs by mosquito species. Remove standing water around home each week so fewer adults emerge nearby.
Which Repellents Work?
CDC recommends an EPA-registered skin repellent with an active ingredient such as DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus or PMD, or 2-undecanone. EPA registration means the agency evaluated safety and effectiveness data for the labeled use.
Choose by the active ingredient, protection time on the label, activity, age restrictions, and local mosquito risk. A higher percentage of some ingredients may extend protection time, but it does not mean applying more than directed. Brand name alone is not a useful comparison.
How Do You Apply Repellent Safely?
Read the entire label before use and follow its directions for amount, body areas, and reapplication. Apply only to exposed skin or clothing if the label permits. Do not spray under clothing, onto cuts, irritated skin, eyes, or mouth.
To protect the face, spray the product onto your hands first, then spread it carefully while avoiding eyes and lips. Wash your hands afterward. Use spray outdoors or in a ventilated place, and keep it away from food. Wash treated skin when protection is no longer needed.
What About Children and Pregnancy?
CDC states that EPA-registered repellents are safe and effective for pregnant and breastfeeding people when used as directed. For children, an adult should apply the product to their own hands first, then put it on the child’s exposed skin. Do not apply repellent to a child’s hands because they may touch their eyes or mouth.
Follow the age limits on the specific label. CDC advises against oil of lemon eucalyptus or PMD products for children under 3 years old. For babies too young for a chosen skin product, use protective clothing and mosquito netting over a crib, stroller, or carrier without leaving gaps.
How Do Clothes Reduce Bites?
Wear loose-fitting long sleeves, long pants, socks, and closed shoes. A mosquito may bite through thin fabric held tightly against skin, so fit and weave matter. Tuck or overlap openings when exposure is high.
Factory-treated clothing and gear can provide additional protection. Permethrin is used on clothing, boots, tents, and other labeled gear. Never apply a permethrin clothing-treatment product directly to skin. Allow self-treated items to dry fully and follow the label’s washing and retreatment directions.
Does Time of Day Matter?
Some Aedes mosquitoes bite aggressively during the day, while many Culex mosquitoes are most active from dusk through dawn. Activity can overlap, and shade, weather, indoor entry, and local species change the pattern.
Use local public health notices to understand disease risk, but do not rely on a dusk-only rule. If mosquitoes are active where you are, protection is useful regardless of the clock.
Can a Fan Help?
A strong fan across a small porch or seating area can make landing and upwind host-finding harder for mosquitoes. It is a useful physical addition when the air movement covers the people being protected.
A fan does not travel with you and does not replace registered repellent where mosquito-borne disease is a concern. It also does nothing to stop larvae developing in nearby water.
How Do You Keep Mosquitoes Out of Home?
Repair holes in window and door screens, close doors promptly, and use air conditioning where available. Check garages and entry areas where a door may remain open. Bed nets should be tucked or secured so mosquitoes cannot enter from below.
Once a week, empty and scrub water-holding items such as buckets, plant saucers, toys, small pools, and birdbaths. Cover rain barrels and storage containers tightly or use mesh with openings smaller than an adult mosquito.
Which Popular Methods Are Unreliable?
CDC says the effectiveness of nonregistered natural repellents is not known. A scented bracelet, ultrasonic device, vitamin supplement, or aromatic plant should not replace a registered skin product when bite prevention matters.
Smoke, candles, and spatial repellents may affect a limited area under labeled conditions, but wind and placement change coverage. Check whether a device is labeled for outdoor or indoor use. Never burn or diffuse a product in an enclosed area unless its label specifically allows that use.
Why Do Mosquitoes Find Some People?
Female mosquitoes use carbon dioxide, body odor, heat, movement, and other cues to locate a host. Attraction varies among people and situations, but no person is completely invisible to a hungry mosquito.
Repellents interfere with host-finding or discourage landing; they do not create a force field. For more detail on sensory organs, biting behavior, and activity, read about mosquito characteristics.
