Bug Off: How to Stop Those Mosquito Bites

July 16, 2009— -- Mosquito outbreaks have been biting communities around the country. Some places, like Florida, haven't been hit this hard in a decade.

Find out how you can avoid the hungry swarms with tips from University of Maryland entomologist Michael Raupp. Check out his tips below.

Anything that can hold water, a wheel barrow, a bird bath or even a Frisbee could have 100 to 200 mosquitoes breeding in it.

Now, as temperatures climb into the 80s and 90s, the generation time for mosquitoes can be cut in half. That means twice as many mosquitoes in the same amount of time.

So, get rid of that standing water, and if you can't, throw in a little thing called a BT Dunk. It obliterates mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes carry serious diseases like the West Nile virus. West Nile has killed more than 1,000 people in the United States since it was first discovered in 1999.

It is particularly serious for some seniors and people with weakened immune systems. Right now, about half a dozen states have human cases of West Nile, and another 10 are showing activity.

DEET has been the gold standard for decades now, and I like a 7 percent solution when using DEET.

But for people who would like an alternative, there are some very effective organic plant-derived compounds out there now. One is Eucalyptus, and the oil of lemon Eucalyptus is used in Repel, a great natural repellent.

A repellent called Bite Blocker uses soy beans as a base. Wild tomatoes are used to make Bio UD, another natural repellent. And Lemons Grass is used to make SUNWAT, another effective repellent.

Keep in mind that they are all effective for different amounts of time, from just over an hour to more than seven hours.