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How to Effectively Protect Your Kids from Insect Bites
Spending time outdoors plays a huge part in the formative years of children. Unfortunately, as they’re enjoying their time playing outside, they’re under the constant threat of getting bitten by bugs.
Since insect bites are often the cause of various illnesses and skin conditions among children, it is vital for every parent to keep their kids safe from bugs. Fortunately, there are a couple of simple ways that will effectively keep insects off your children.
Cover Up Your Kids
Most insects, especially mosquitoes, are very active during dawn and dusk. Although it would be best to keep your kids indoors during these times, they can still safely play outside as long as they are dressed properly.
The best types of clothes to wear against insects are loose-fitting long-sleeve tops and pants. Aside from covering up most of the body, these types of clothes can prevent insects from reaching the skin even if they bite through the fabric.
It is also important to avoid dressing your kids in bright and colorful clothes since these are known to attract insects. In addition, make sure to only use fragrance-free body products on your kids to avoid attracting insects.
Defend Your Home
Although staying inside the house is one of the best ways to protect your kids from bugs, insects can still enter and harm your children if your home isn’t properly prepped. For example, in Salt Lake City, ants and beetles are one of the most common indoor pests in the area, according to a news report from KSL. If you see a growing bug infestation inside your home, it would be best to carry out insect control procedures to prevent pests from growing in number.
This can be easily done by cleaning your home. Usually, bug infestations occur due to the accumulation of debris, trash, stagnant water, and leftover food inside and outside your house. Clearing these out will eventually get rid of the insects.
Also, while you’re cleaning your home, try to find the nest of the insects in order to track down the source of the infestation. Once you find the next, you can clear it out by exterminating it or relocating it to a location that’s far from your home.
Use the Right Repellant
Another essential way to keep insects away from your kids and family is by using the right type of repellant. When choosing this kind of product, make sure that it contains diethyltoluamide or DEET. This is the active ingredient responsible for repelling many types of insects.
Depending on the level of protection that you would like for your kids, you can choose insect repellants based on their DEET concentrations. The most common ones have 10 percent concentration, which can provide protection against mosquitoes and other insects for up to five hours. Products with 20 percent concentration, on the other hand, can keep most insects at bay for seven hours.
Insect bites shouldn’t keep your kids from having fun while playing inside or outside your home. Hopefully, through these tips, your children will have more enjoyable and memorable playtimes while being completely safe from bugs.