I have so many vivid memories of swatting at, getting bit by, and just absolutely hating mosquitoes while growing up in Minnesota. Sometimes they got to be so big that we started to call them the state bird. The only way they would stop biting would be if you would completely cover yourself with this stinky, sticky spray containing DEET. And, you had to be completely covered with it because those damn little mosquitoes would find the spot you missed and the bite would itch like crazy. These authors have discovered a natural compound isolated from the Tauroniro tree in South America can be used to effectively ward of those pesky mosquitoes. It even worked better than DEET in the lab and because of their newly patented method of making the compound, it would be pretty cheap to produce. So, a better alternative to DEET is on the way for fighting off mosquitoes. Or you could just move to San Francisco.
I'd love to make the move away from the mosquitoes!
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in Virginia we used to tell our kids about Minnesota and how the mosquito is our state bird. My daughter actually got in a fight with my little brother over it. She was furious when she found out we had been lying to her!