For you personally, if you apply repellent correctly and reapply as needed, it will work well. But for an event, it’s not practical since every guest would need to apply it with equal diligence.
Mosquito repellent works. Repellents with DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus have been shown again and again to keep mosquitoes away from people. If you’re gardening alone on a Saturday, it’s a good solution. But if you’re throwing a party, it’s not.
Repellents are like sunscreen: everyone has to use them and everyone has to use them properly. That’s a lot to ask. Guests will not all bring their own repellent, and those that do may not apply it correctly. Even those that apply it correctly will likely not stop mid-event to reapply it correctly. Parents find it hard to spray small children over and over. No one wants to use aerosol repellent near a buffet table.
There is a better way, though. You can treat the venue instead. Professional mosquito control, particularly barrier treatment, works on the places where mosquitoes rest and breed. That often means treating the shaded foliage around the gathering area. When the treatment first goes on, it knocks down mosquitoes that happen to be there. Then the treatment binds to treated surfaces and mosquitoes that land on them are knocked down. This is enough to reduce the mosquito population by up to 90% for up to three weeks at a time.
If you’re looking for one more thing to do in addition to treating the venue, you can also remove standing water about a week before the event starts. Mosquitoes need it to breed. Any standing water sources you can remove before treatment and especially before the event will help you reduce the starting population of mosquitoes.
If you want mosquito control that goes beyond what a can of spray can provide, Mosquito Squad of West Michigan Lakeshore can help. Mosquito Squad can time treatment around your event, helping protect the occasion with up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity.
