While reading through a magazine today, I learned two new tips for minimizing some exposure to mosquito and chigger bites:
Mosquitoes: They are drawn to
constrasts of color such as one might find on a fair-skinned individual wearing a black or other dark clothing (or brightly-colored prints). The Advice?
Wear clothing whose colors blend with your skin tone. I'll have to test this theory out, since I'm generally the "skeeter magnet" among any outdoor group I'm with (that, and ticks -- I'm usually the first to report, "We've got TICKS here, gang" 'cuz I'll find one trying to make itself at home on my ankle or waistband. It's usually occured on our hikes in Arkansas, thankfully, not here in Texas.
Chiggers: To
test for the presence of chiggers, such as before sitting down to that lovely picnic you and your family have planned, do the following --
with a black piece of paper (or, presumably, some other dark, smooth piece of material, like a tshirt),
pass the material vertically through the grass several times and then observe. If there are tiny (VERY tiny) moving specks of orange or red, those are chiggers, and it's time to quickly relocate to someplace else...otherwise, you'll be nursing chigger "bites" in short order!
Any other tips on locating and/or avoiding biting insects? Favorite insect repellents for adults vs. children? The primary tip I've always done with chiggers and ticks alike, though my downfall is I sometimes don't practice my own advice, is to be sure I wear long pants and tuck the pant legs into my socks, wear a long-sleeved shirt (tucked in), with a tight or adjustable wrist. Minimize the avenues the little suckers can use to access your tender skin, in other words. I also prefer Avon's "Skin So Soft" as a repellent, because high concentration DEET wrecks havoc to plastics and inks such as one finds on even high dollar digital cameras (thankfully, I learned that a long time ago with an old camera and cheap digital watch I owned.)
