As Chinese athletes score medals in Rio Olympic Games, a “Made in China” product has wowed the Olympic village and gone viral on the Internet. It is the China’s mosquito net that is deemed to be a magic anti-mosquito and Zika weapon by many foreign media.

Nowadays with the rapid development of science and technology, many new methods of repelling mosquitoes have been created besides the traditional methods of mosquito coils, mosquito nets, electronic mosquito swatters. Mosquito-repelling rings, stickers, and Apps are joining the team. So which one is safest and most effective?

Various anti-mosquito products sold in a supermarket. [Photo/Qianlong]

In consideration of personal health, many experts recommend that the best way to fight against mosquitoes is adopting a physical method instead of using mosquito-repelling products like mosquito coils and mosquito repellents, which contain chemical substances.

Here we will introduce several safe, efficient and environmentally-friendly anti-mosquito weapons, such as mosquito nets, window screens, electronic mosquito swatters, mosquito-killing lamps, mosquito-repelling Apps, and Light-colored and long clothes.

1. Mosquito nets and window screens

Installing a mosquito net and window screens is the safest, most efficient and environmentally-friendly way to keep mosquitoes from outside in summer. It is also important to note that the mosquito net and window screens should be in good quality and closed all the time so as to prevent mosquitoes from entering.

The nets can be divided into square mosquito nets and dome mosquito nets. Square nets are subdivided into simple folding mosquito nets and court mosquito nets while dome mosquito nets usually refer to “yurt” mosquito nets.

A “yurt” mosquito net [Photo/Qianlong]

2. Electronic mosquito swatters

Electronic mosquito swatters are welcomed by the public for the advantages of practicality, convenience, good effect, no chemical pollution and safety. It has gradually become an indispensable insect-killing tool and a popular household appliance in summer.

An electronic mosquito swatter [Photo/Qianlong]

3. Mosquito-killing lamps

Without any chemical substances, mosquito-killing lamps are efficient and environmentally-friendly devices which are newly-developed by studying the mosquitoes’ habits and characteristics of phototaxis, moving with airflow, temperature sensitiveness, clustering, and especially seeking carbon dioxide atmosphere.

A mosquito-killing lamp [Photo/Qianlong]

4. Mosquito-repelling Apps

This is a newly-popularized way to fight against mosquitoes by just downloading an App on a phone. It is said that those mosquito-repelling Apps mainly radiate the ultrasounds and special lighting to achieve the repelling effect. Among them, a sonic mosquito-repelling app usually give out the sounds of male mosquitoes, bats, and sparrows, as well as ultrasonic sounds, in freely-adjustable volumes. However, the repelling effect remains to be verified.

A screenshot of a mosquito-repelling App [Photo/Qianlong]

5. Light-colored and long clothes

When we go outside, wearing light-colored, thin, breathable and long clothes is the safest and most effective protection from mosquitoes. Mosquitoes like to bite people in dark clothes for the reflecting light-colored clothes have the effect of repelling mosquitoes. Therefore, the probability of being bitten by mosquitoes outdoors will be greatly reduced by wearing light-colored and long clothes.

Source: english.qianlong.com