Mosquito season in Georgia lasts from March to October, but because of our warm climate and particularly wet spring, the peak of mosquito activity happens during the summer. And the absolutely worst way to spend your summer is itching a bunch of mosquito bites non-stop. 

The best way to make sure you get through peak mosquito season relatively bite-free, is by knowing everything there is to know about why mosquitoes bite, how to prevent bites, and how to make itching stop should you get bit. 

Why do Mosquitoes Bite?

Mosquitoes bite for the same reason you bite into a hamburger, hotdog, or ice cream – to eat! Mosquitoes need protein to nourish and develop their eggs, and instead of a nice juicy burger, they get it from your blood.

Fun Fact! Only female mosquitoes bite humans.

How to Prevent Bites

The only proven way to prevent mosquitoes from biting, is by getting a mosquito treatment for your yard. However, there are a few other things you can do to try and ward off these blood-sucking villains:

• Wear white/beige colored clothing
• Avoid strong fragrances
• Shower often – mosquitoes love sweat!
• Use odorless shampoos

For more information on what attracts mosquitoes, click here. 

How to Make Itching Stop

First things first, we’re no doctors. So if you have a bad bite that just won’t stop itching, it’s time for you to call up the doc. But we have been through our fair share of mosquito bites, so we have a couple methods you could try to help put that scratching at ease:

• Apply some calamine lotion
• Put an ice pack on it
• Dab on some baking soda paste (we’ve heard toothpaste works, too)
• Lather on aloe vera