Now is the perfect time to revel in the outdoors with family and friends. Here in the South, though, many unwelcome winged guests do their best to take part in the festivities. Follow our tips to stop mosquitoes and other pests from spoiling your plans.

Ones To Use
Picaridin is a chemical repellent with a proven track record. Smell-sensitive repellent users will rejoice in the odorless protection, which can be found in products such as Cutter Advanced Sport.
Some questions remain concerning chemical repellents and their effects on your health. Non-chemical repellents give you a safer way to keep bugs at bay.
Botanicals form the base of these repellents. One of the most effective ingredients is lemon eucalyptus oil, which can be found in products such as Repel Plant-Based Insect Repellent. Other active ingredients that can help prevent bites are oil of citronella, lemongrass oil, catnip, and rosemary oil.
Remember, the protection differs by ingredients and by brand and can even depend on which species of mosquito plagues your yard.

Safe Zone
If you’re sick of slathering on preventative potions, get to the root of the problem. Bugs won’t hang around to bite if you take the fun out of it for them. Make sure there is no standing water in your yard. Replace your outdoor lightbulbs with yellow ones to stop swarming at twilight. Plugging in a fan is another way to guarantee hungry bugs don’t become the buzz of your next backyard party.

Healthy Benefits
• Bug-proofing your yard can cut down on your family’s need for pesticides and chemical repellents with unknown side effects.
• Several botanicals scare off more than just mosquitoes--oil of lemon eucalyptus, catnip, and neem tree oil fight ticks and flies as well.

Always check the label before you use repellent on young children. When in doubt, contact your health care provider or the National Pesticide Information Center (www.npic.orst.edu or 1-800-858-7378).

"Bye-Bye Bugs" is from the June 2008 issue of Southern Living.