How Are You Attracting Bugs?

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June 8, 2019

And How You Can Prevent It

Even though we know that nature is home to an estimated 10 quintillion (that’s a lot of zeros) buzzing insects at any one time, it’s still frustrating to inevitably run into bothersome bugs when enjoying your favorite outdoor activities. Whether hiking, enjoying a picnic, or taking your beloved pet for a relaxing stroll, blood-sucking mosquitoes or swarms of bees can quickly turn your outside fun into a miserable time. Unluckily for humans, bugs are often attracted to things that attract us to things too, or things that are out of our control, regardless of how much bug spray we use. Finding a defense that works against invading insects can be difficult, but these science-backed solutions can help keep irritating pests off the guest list to your next outdoor event.

Unfortunately, we can unwittingly attract bugs in dozens of ways, including ways that are often out of our control. This can invite serious problems during the warmer months as insect populations skyrocket, inviting infestations or unpleasant encounters during recreational activities. To safeguard yourself and your home from insect infestation, understanding just how you’re attracting bugs is the first step to making sure these annoying pests will buzz off until the end of the season.

Scented Body Products: Achieving the perfect hairdo with hairspray or spritzing on your favorite fragrance is a quick and easy way to become bug bait, as products with strong floral scents, lactic acids, or alpha hydroxy acids are magnets for mosquitoes and other troublesome insects.
Wearing Certain Colors: To help them find nectar, bees perceive color differently than humans, making them more attracted to certain shades than others. Studies show bees are attracted to purple, violet, and blue colors, as bees see these as ultraviolet lights, undetectable to human eyes.
Blood Type: Though out of your control, studies have shown certain blood types can be more attractive to mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects. Observing blood types A, B, AB, and O, type O was shown to attract mosquitoes at a higher rate, with type A preferred second.
Body Chemicals: The Ammonia and Lactic Acid found in sweat works in a similar way to floral scents. Though this body odor may smell revolting to humans, to insects such as mosquitoes, you smell more like dinner.

Ensuring that you are doing all you can to avoid provoking insects is crucial to not only protecting your summer fun, but also your health. Pests that are attracted to sweat or floral products are often bloodsuckers capable of carrying diseases, such as West Nile Virus, Zika Virus, and other serious illnesses. Unfortunately, there are thousands of at-home remedies that claim success without evidence rooted in science. With fictional remedies such as banana peels, citronella candles and smartphone apps on the internet, how do you determine what is factual and what is fiction? To ensure your safety, employing common sense, using tested home remedies, and insect repelling products are the only evidence backed solutions to make sure your time is spent bug-free.

Make sure exposed skin is covered: By avoiding short-sleeve shirts and shorts, you minimize the amount of bodily chemicals that are being exposed to insects through sweat and blood type.
Avoid Masking Your Scent: Unfortunately, covering the natural body odor that attracts insects with pleasant smelling fragrances can make matters worse. Wearing non-floral products such as unscented deodorant can help keep bugs at bay by reducing the release of chemicals found in sweat without the floral scent.
Utilize Tested Insect Repellents: The CDC recommends using repellents that utilize chemicals that are found in most brand name insect repellents, DEET, oil of lemon eucalyptus, and Picaridin.

Though at home remedies and insect repellents can help protect your barbecue or friendly gathering from bothersome bugs, it’s hard to determine what reliably works and what are myths. To ensure your home or next event is protected against pests without the worry, hire a professional pest control expert like our team at At Ease Pest Solutions. Veteran owned and operated, At East Pest Solutions services the greater Charlotte area for over 225 pests such as mosquitoes, ants, and stinging insects, making sure the job is done right the first time.

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