4 Colors To Wear In Missouri To Avoid Mosquito Bites

So far, it's been a buggy Missouri summer. There's the cicada thing, which hasn't been too bad. Yet, yikes. Beetles, flys, ticks, moths, worms, they've all been pretty active this summer. You have to think, with all this rain, it's only a matter of time before those pesky mosquitos start to fly around and bite. So is there anything you can do with your wardrobe to NOT attract the little blood-sucking buggers?

Yes, there is. However, first, put yourself in the mosquito's shoes. How does a mosquito figure out where that person is to bite? Smell. Mosquitos smell specific compounds, like CO2, from our breath, stimulating the bug's eyes to look for particular colors and visual patterns associated with a potential host and seek them out.

Outbreak News Today says these results can help researchers design better repellants, traps, and other methods to keep mosquitos at bay.

According to University of Washington researchers, mosquitos will fly toward the colors red, orange, black, and cyan while ignoring other colors, such as green, purple, blue, and white. So yes, you might be less likely to deal with pesky mosquitos when wearing green, purple, blue, and white.

Unfortunately, human skin of any color emits a strong red-orange signal to mosquitos' eyes. So, there is a limit to how much wearing colors mosquitos aren't attracted to will help keep you mosquito bite-free.

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So, what else can you do to combat those pesky mosquitos and enjoy the outdoors? Prevention Magazine has a list of eleven different things that you can do to avoid being bit. Some of the tips are as follows:

• Mosquitos hate any breeze, like anything above 1MPH. A breezy spot or even a plug-in fan pointed at your lower extremities can do wonders to keep mosquitos away.
• If you can avoid being out around dawn and dusk, when mosquitos like to bite, you'll avoid being bit.
• Using mosquito repellent. Surprisingly, Prevention is okay with DEET, and they also have some other suggestions for repellents if DEET doesn't work for you.
• Get rid of standing water around your home.
• Add plants like citronella, lavender, lemongrass, marigolds, and basil to your yard; keep realistic expectations about how many mosquitos they will get rid of.

You can check out Prevention's complete list and get more information on how to stay mosquito-bite-free here.