Avoid Chemicals, Use a Fan to Keep Mosquitoes Away
by Veronica Roll, age 14
During
the summer, mosquitoes are uninvited and unwanted guests. Keeping
them away can be difficult. But Frank Swift, president of Swift Food
and Equipment Incorporated in Philadelphia, has found a simple and
effective way to fight mosquitoes without using smelly chemical
repellants.
His solution? A small electric fan. The
American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) endorses the idea.
The
slight breeze of a fan can blow a mosquito away because they are
relatively weak flyers. In fact, mosquitoes can only fly from one to
1.5 miles per hour, depending on the species. The average mosquito
cannot compete against the wind of a fan. Fan’s can blow air up to
15 miles per hour.
Entomologists
(scientists who study insects) from Michigan State University have
done studies backing up the fan remedy; the fan greatly reduced the
number of mosquitoes in the area. This is also why you feel less
mosquitoes on a windy day.
Mosquito
repellants, such as DEET, have strong odors, leave skin greasy,
pollute the air, and can be toxic. Using an oscillating fan or even a
box fan as an alternative can repel mosquitoes without the negative
side effects of chemicals.
[Source:
The New York Times
]
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