Mosquitoes and ticks are common in Texas, especially during the summer time. Most bug bites are harmless. However, some mosquitoes and ticks spread viruses and bacteria that can make you sick. Therefore, we have put together a few tips on how to protect yourself from mosquitoes and ticks.
How to Protect Yourself from Mosquitoes and Ticks
How to Protect Yourself from Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes bite during the day and night, live indoors and outdoors and search for warm places as temperatures begin to drop. To survive cold temperatures, some will hibernated in enclosed spaces, such as garages, sheds and under (or inside) homes.
Here’s a few tips on how to protect yourself from mosquitoes:
- Avoid going outdoors at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
- Wear long sleeves and pants to leave less of your skin exposed.
- Use an insect repellent every time you go outside, and follow the instructions on the label. The most effective repellents contain DEET, picaridin, IR3535 and certain oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products.
- Drain standing water regularly, including water collecting in empty cans, tires, buckets, clogged rain gutters and saucers under potted plants. Mosquitoes that spread West Nile Virus breed in stagnant water.
- Utilize mosquito dunks in bird baths and other standing water. These kill the mosquito larvae before it matures into biting adults. You can purchase mosquito dunks at hardware stores.
- Use air conditioning or ensure you have screens on all doors and windows to keep mosquitoes from entering your home.
How to Protect Yourself from Ticks
Some ticks prefer heavily wooded sites while others prefer grassy areas and some frequent the space between woods and fields. American dog ticks particularly accumulate along paths and road edges. When ticks are unavoidable, take proper precautions to protect yourself, children and pets routinely.
Here are a few tips on how to protect yourself from ticks:
- Wear light-colored, full-length clothing whenever possible. Also, cover exposed skin surfaces with repellent.
- Tuck pant legs into your socks to keep crawling ticks atop of clothing where they are visible.
- Only use spray-on-clothing repellents containing permethrin (e.g. Permanone®).
- Make sure to perform frequent and thorough examinations of all your clothing and exposed skin for crawling or attached ticks.
- Remove all of your outdoor clothing, sleeping bags and blankets and place them directly into a hot water wash cycle. Or, seal them inside a plastic garbage bag to kill any unattached or hiding ticks.
- Treat pets with topical spot-on products regularly to discourage tick attachment and feeding.
These are just a few tips on how to protect yourself from mosquitoes and ticks in Texas summers. Contact us with the link below for more information!