How To Protect Yourself In The Garden During The Summer

The summer is the season for barbecues, backyard parties, lounging in the garden or bathing in the pool. It is also the time for insects, normally of the flying kind. Flies and mosquitoes can be everything from mildly annoying to downright dangerous. So what can you do to care for yourself in the backyard during the summer?



The first thing to do is start clearing up your garden before the summer begins. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water and it only has to be a half-inch deep. This means that you ought to keep the gutters free from dropped leaves and other blockages.



Blocked gutters and drains are major breeding grounds, but so are all things that can hold rainwater. Flower pots, buckets, old tyres and folds in tarpaulins are others.



Drill holes in pots, containers and old tyres; pull sheets tight, upturn boats and canoes and if you have water features, make certain that there are either guppies or goldfish in there too, because they are famous for feeding on mosquito larvae.



Making a pre-emptive strike on mosquito breeding grounds will drastically reduce the number of mosquitoes in your backyard and thus reduce your liklihood of being given West Nile virus (in the USA). It will also safeguard you against E.coli.



However, your neighbours might not be as particular as yourself, so mosquitoes will still come into your garden. To safeguard yourself from these spray insect repellent containing DEET (>25%) on your clothes and bare skin to avoid mosquito bites.



In the evening, suspend a bug zapper with a blue light and an electrified coil in the environs of where you are sitting. The best ones also use pheromones to attract mosquitoes, particularly octenol.



Some species of mosquitoes hang around animals, so put some natural mosquito repellent on your dogs or do not allow them to lie at your feet.



Do not use DEET on them because they will lick it off and become sick. Use citronella oil, lemon oil or garlic. There are lots of others as well, but they are not as effectual or as long-lasting as DEET.



If you are barbecuing, and who would not be, be cautious of meat, especially chicken and pork. If the meat is frozen, thaw it slowly and store it in the fridge until minutes before you are going to use it.



The risk zone is between 40-140F, when bacteria will grow very quickly and flies will lay eggs in it. If you have to keep the meat out of the fridge, store it 'under water', that is, in a marinade, so that flies can not get at it and it is out of strong sunlight.



Keep food and drinks apart, so that the fridge is not opened so frequently as to allow the temperature to rise above 40F. Use two sets of kitchen tools, one to deal with uncooked meat and fish and one to take cooked meat and fish off the flames otherwise you will contaminate the cooked food.



Use a meat thermometer to verify that the foodstuff is cooked: 160F for meat and 165F for chicken. Discard cooked food not eaten after two hours or after one hour if the ambient temperature is above 90F. If you would like to use marinade up on cooked food, boil it first.



Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on a number of subjects, but is currently concerned with the anopheles mosquito. If you would like to know more just go to our website at Mosquito Bite Swellings.