Six Ways to Beat The Bugs

1. Eliminate breeding sites. Overturn any containers of water around the yard (buckets, pools, flowerpots and watering cans) where mosquitoes lay their eggs. Clean gutters of standing water, and tighten tarps where rainwater might pool. No container is too small: Asian tiger mosquitoes can breed in soda bottle caps!

2. Get the pests while they're young. Treat any receptacle you cannot empty with larvicide (such as Mosquito Dunks) found at the local hardware store.

3. Dress wisely. Wear long-sleeved, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.

4. Apply mosquito repellent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends products containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535 and oil of lemon eucalyptus.

5. Spray your shrubbery. If all else fails, you can try spraying your ivy and under your bushes with permethrins, insecticides with low human toxicity.

6. Enlist your neighbors. It's no use cleaning up your yard if your neighbor's remains untouched.

For more, go to http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fightthebite.

-- Maria Scarvalone