There are plenty of mosquito products we can use to get rid of
these nasty insects. Some of them are effective some are not. I
guess we all one of these mosquito products at home, but have
you ever wondered how they work or are they hazardous for you
health? So lets see what kind of mosquito products are out there
and how safe they are.
Mosquito products could be classified in two categories based on
their purpose. So there are in the first category are the
mosquito products that kill the insects and in the second one
we've got the products that repels mosquitoes. The products
grouped in these two categories there are indoor and outdoor
mosquito products.
To understand how these mosquito products work we must
understand what attracts mosquitoes. So when humans and animals
exhale, they give off CO2 (carbon dioxide) and other scents.
Mosquitoes have sensors that can detect the presence of these
chemicals at a distance of over 100 feet. Once the mosquito
picks up the scent, they will immediately change direction and
fly rapidly toward the intended victim. So the purpose of
mosquito products would be either to attract and kill the insect
or to deceive its senses.
In the fist category of mosquito products would be bug zappers
and mosquito magnets. An electric bug-zapper works by attracting
insects to a central ultraviolet light, surrounded by a lethal
electrical grid so when the mosquito touches that grid gets
burned. The best in this mosquito products category, would be
the old mosquito magnet the most high-tech (and expensive)
weapon in the homeowner's arsenal of mosquito products, made by
American Biophysics Corporation. It uses propane to emit carbon
dioxide, just as people do, which is one of the things that
helps mosquitoes find you. Once mosquitoes are lured to the
device, they are sucked into a trap where they dehydrate and
die. So these would be about all the mosquito products that have
the purpose to lure, trap and kill the mosquitoes.
In the second category of mosquito products are the repellents.
They work by blocking the receptors on mosquitoes antennae for
the: moisture, warmth CO2 (carbon dioxide) and odor produced by
humans that are all attractants for mosquitoes. Even if it is a
spray or an ointment the best repellent is DEET.
DEET (diethyl toluamide) was developed in Orlando in the 1950s
and contains a synthetic chemical repellent. The mosquito
products marketed today contain various concentrations of DEET
some of them even to 100 percent witch is not so good for your
skin. Mosquito products containing 5 percent to 7 percent DEET
keep mosquitoes away for up to 2 1/2 hours.
Citronella, which is also part of this second mosquito products
category, is a volatile, liquid oil derived from dried
cultivated grasses. It works by repelling animals and insects
without harming or killing them. It has a distinctive odor,
which also repels certain animals. Oil of Citronella is
considered so unlikely to cause harmful effects that some
citronella products are exempt from the usual regulation. The
mosquito products containing citronella come in the form of
candles, cartridges, and rub-on products.
These would be the most important mosquito products available on
the market today some of them effective some less effective but
I think that the most important thing is weather they are safe
for you, your family and your loved ones.
About the author:
Raul Gallu is the author of
http://control-home-mosquitos.blogspot.com - a website full
of information for those who got tired of mosquitoes and wanna
do something to get rid of them.
