Mosquito.buzz Blog

Fresh herbs are a staple in every healthy home. They're handy for a bunch of reasons; from adding extra nutrition (and not to mention flavour) to home-cooked meals, or for soothing miscellaneous ailments, a few sprigs of your favourite herb can go a long way.

While most of us are quite keen on herbs (except for almost half the population that despise cilantro), mosquitoes aren't too fond of them.

6 herbs in particular are pretty good in helping deter mosquitoes around the home and backyard. Now, don't get us wrong; they're not going to eliminate mosquitoes completely, but they'll give you a good chance at warding them off.

Even though our furry friends may have a full coat of hair to cover them, they're still at risk of mosquito bites, particularly around the ears and nose. Mosquitoes aren't overly fussy when they're looking for a blood meal, and pets find themselves in a range of situations, just like us. From an irritating yet harmless itch, to a serious, harmful health concern, you just never know what might happen when it comes to mosquito bites.

Let's face it - nobody really like mosquitoes. Although we love the great outdoors, much of our time outside is spent unsuccessfully warding off biting pests.

From cheap as chips to not so much, there's a range of products out there for repelling mosquitoes, and the average Canadian has probably tried most of them.

Here's a quick guide to the types of products you should just scratch off the shopping list.

This month, Florida has begun to see an alarming number of homegrown cases of Zika; that is, non-travel related cases, which were the biggest worry some months ago. So far, Florida is the only US state to have local transmission of the virus.

As of August 24, there are now 43 local cases of Zika infection, with outbreaks occuring in Miami and Miami Beach. The number of travel-related cases in Florida is 523, and 70 of whom are pregnant.

With Florida's warm, humid climate, it's the ideal location for Aedes mosquitoes to thrive and spread the virus. But with so many locally transmitted cases appearing in such a short time, the Department of Health in Florida are understandably worried.

Barbecues, going swimming, basking in the sunshine, watching the sun go down; all these things are what makes the summertime so great. But mosquito bites... not so much.

Female mosquitoes love to feast on us; we provide the necessary nutrients for them to breed even more mosquitoes. While they're going to town on our nutritious blood, they inject saliva into us as an anticoagulant; in other words, their saliva acts as a blood thinner that makes it easier to suck up more of our blood.

That residual spit is the reason we get itchy; coincidently, it's also the reason why mosquitoes are the number 1 killers in the world, since their saliva can sometimes contain diseases. While mosquito borne illnesses are becoming more of a global concern, most of the time you're just left with ugly and incredibly itchy red bumps.

Here are a few ways you can get a bit of temporary relief.

Have you ever been the only one complaining about mosquitoes ravaging your skin? What is it about you that makes those pesky skeeters bypass your buddies and start feasting on your seemingly special skin?

If you think you're a mosquito magnet, you might be on to something. Here's a quick guide to help determine how attractive you are to mosquitoes.

How good is Summer? Especially when you have your own backyard and some crazy friends and family... what's the point of even going out? Your backyard doesn't have cover charges, closing hours or long queues, so why not keep the party going til whenever o'clock?

The American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) have just released their latest fact sheet, this time covering the Zika Virus.

Primarily transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito, West Nile Virus is an arthropod-borne virus that typically shows few or no symptoms in humans, but in rare cases, can be fatal.

Anyone that spends time outdoors is at risk of West Nile, however the risk varies from year to year depending on the amount of rain, how hot it gets, and the current population of mosquitoes. Mosquito populations reach their peak in the summer months, so right now is the time to be protecting yourself against mosquitoes.

Our friends over at the American Mosquito Control Association started this initiative with the ultimate goal of educating the public about mosquitoes, the risks associated with mosquito bites, and the significance of mosquito control providers like the crew here at Mosquito.buzz.