Say goodbye to uncomfortable, sleepless nights and welcome good sleep with our tips on “how to prevent mosquito bites while sleeping“.
This blog is your best guide, full of useful advice to keep mosquitoes away and help you sleep without being disturbed.
1. How to Prevent Mosquito Bites While Sleeping (14 ways)
1. Avoid Mosquito-Prone Areas
Mosquitoes breed in still water. To reduce their number, get rid of any water that’s standing still and trash, especially when it rains.
This means getting rid of old tires, which are great places for mosquitoes to breed, by making holes in them so water can drain out.
Keep your area clean by throwing away trash like cups and cans. After kids play, empty out their buckets and pools. Remove any water in things like toys, gutters, or plastic covers.
Every week, change the water in bird baths, fountains, and plant trays to stop mosquito babies from growing.
For small, temporary water puddles, fill them with dirt. Also, take care of swimming pools by treating and moving the water around.
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2. Choose Appropriate Attire
Mosquitoes like dark colors like navy, red, and black.
Choose light-colored clothes, especially when you go outside. At night, when mosquitoes are more active, wear long-sleeve shirts, socks, and long pants.
Put your pants inside your socks or shoes to cover your skin.
3. Select Woven Fabrics
Choose clothes made of breathable fabrics with tight stitches, like nylon, cotton, and denim. Mosquitoes find it hard to bite through these materials.
Don’t wear light, thin fabrics like spandex. If you’re in an area with lots of mosquitoes, think about wearing clothes treated with permethrin.
This is a chemical that keeps mosquitoes away and can kill them.
4. Apply Mosquito Repellent
There are many mosquito repellents, like creams and sprays with certain chemicals and plant oils, that work well.
Always check if they irritate your skin, especially for kids and pregnant women. Don’t put them near your eyes or mouth. Apply more on places where your skin is thinner, like your ankles and wrists.
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5. Install Mosquito Nets
Use mosquito nets to keep away from mosquito bites in bed at night.
Make sure the screens on your windows and doors fit right and fix any tears to stop mosquitoes from getting in.
6. Secure Your Yard
In your garden, try using mosquito lanterns that give off permethrin. They work better than citronella candles, which can be blown away by the wind.
Use fans to make air move around, which makes it hard for mosquitoes to fly. Grow plants that mosquitoes don’t like, such as citronella, feverfew, and lavender.
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7. Stay Indoors at Dawn and Dusk
Stay indoors during early morning and evening to avoid times when mosquitoes are most active, especially the kinds that can spread serious diseases.
8. Maintain a Neat Surrounding Environment
Cut back bushes and trees to improve air flow. This can help keep mosquitoes away.
9. Deploy Bug Zappers
Bug zappers attract and kill mosquitoes with UV light and carbon dioxide. One zapper can work for a large area.
10. Burn Neem Leaves and Repellent Oils
Burn neem leaves near doors and windows to keep mosquitoes away, as they don’t like the smoke. Or you can use repellent coils that slowly release smoke to repel mosquitoes.
11. Refrain from Scented Products
Avoid using strong-smelling things like scented soaps and perfumes, as they can draw mosquitoes.
Instead, choose products with no scent or just a light smell.
12. Opt for Yellow Lights Outdoors
Bright yellow lights are less likely to attract mosquitoes than regular lights.
13. Minimize Outdoor Activity
Staying still lowers your body heat and the amount of CO2 you make, making it harder for mosquitoes to notice you.
14. Abstain from Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol consumption can make you more attractive to mosquitoes by increasing your skin temperature and CO2 emission.
2. Why Do Mosquito Bites Itch More at Night?
Mosquito bites tend to itch more at night for several reasons:
Reduced Disturbances
At night, when things are quieter and you’re less busy, you might notice mosquito bites more. This can make them seem itchier.
Cortisol Release
Cortisol, a hormone that helps control inflammation, usually decreases at night.
This means the swelling and itching from mosquito bites are less controlled during these hours.
Elevated Blood Circulation
While you sleep, your body sends more blood to your skin to help cool you down by releasing extra heat.
This increased blood flow can make mosquito bites itch more, as it brings more heat and possibly more inflammatory cells to the skin’s surface.
Hormonal Level Changes
During the night, the balance of hormones in your body changes, and you might have less of the anti-inflammatory hormones called corticosteroids.
These hormones help fix tissue damage during the day, so when they decrease at night, mosquito bites might feel itchier.
Conclusion
With our helpful tips on how to prevent mosquito bites while sleeping, you can make your bed a mosquito-free zone.
Explore further. For additional advice and innovative solutions, consider visiting Pestweek.
Calina Mabel has over 15 years of experience in the field of journalism and communications. Currently, Calina Mabel is the Content Writer for categories such as Cockroach, Ants, Bed Bugs, Mosquito, Rodent, Termite, and Flies on Pestweek.com. She aims to build content for these categories with a focus on providing valuable and accessible information to readers, in order to create the world’s largest knowledge community about Pests.
All content written by Calina Mabel has been reviewed by Emily Carter.