Today, Malaria No More learned that blowing mosquitoes out of town may be as simple as switching on your household fan.

The New York Times reports in this week’s Health column, “Really?” that wind is an effective method for keeping these airborne pests from circling and landing on you, “like a windstorm keeping a plane from descent.” A breezy bedroom also diffuses the concentration of carbon dioxide you exhale, one of the major chemicals that attract mosquitoes.

In a 2003 study, entomologists at Michigan State University used traps set up in a wetland by the C.D.C. to attract mosquitoes. The more carbon dioxide the researchers released into the air, the more mosquitoes arrived at the scene. Medium and high fan-generated winds were the most effective at warding off these bothersome buzzing invaders.

Simple but true. Turning on your fan once a day keeps the mosquitoes away!

Tags: Mosquitoes

Tags: Mosquitoes
Categories:News