For several days now, I've been having more restful sleep thanks to the ever reliable mosquito net. As it has been cold in the past few days (and evenings!), using the electric fan to drive away mosquitoes has been counterproductive.
It hasn't always been this way though. It's been a year already since we've managed without window screens. We decided not to have them since we absolutely enjoyed the breeze coming in the second floor bedrooms.
In the recent weeks, mosquitoes seem to raid our bedroom every night. And it's our bedroom they want. The kids' bedrooms never seem to have a mosquito problem.
Could it be because we adults expel much more carbon dioxide via the breath and skin? Supposedly, carbon dioxide attracts mosquitoes.
I've searched supermarkets and the internet and have experimented with some recommendations:
- Homelife Citronella Repellant
This is a wax-based substance inside a container that you keep opened and positioned by the window. Doesn't seem to do a thing other than the wax slowly disappearing (or evaporating).
- Baygon Liquid Mosquito Repeller
This is the type that plugs in an AC outlet. It doesn't emit a sound and it expels a pleasant scent. Although it doesn't smell bad at all, I'm a bit wary of ill effects to our health. I don't think it works all the time because there have been mosquito nights.
- Electric Bug Zapper
This is an AC-powered device with a dim light bulb inside. You hang it by the window and hope that mosquitoes fly into it to get electrocuted. Maybe the unit I bought is too small. But in the time that I've used it, I've managed to zap a grand total of one (1) mosquito.
- Yeast and Sugar Mixture in a cut up Softdrink Bottle
This one I found from the internet supposedly invented by some Taiwanese students. This is easy to do and the mixture is supposedly effective up to two weeks. The bottle has been there for several weeks and I've trapped only a couple of mosquitoes.
- Lemongrass Repellant Spray
This you can prepare by mixing lemongrass extract and ethyl alcohol. It works, but only for a couple of hours or so. When the scent is gone, the mosquitoes come back. Why would I want being awaken by buzzing and biting mosquitoes in the middle of the night just to reapply the spray to shoo them away?
So I've finally had it and resurrected our old mosquito net from the storage. But hey, if you have a suggestion to get rid of mosquitoes, please, do comment!
Go ahead, post your comment below!