How to Protect Yourself from Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes: Home Checklist & Repellents

Step 1 · Tip & toss

Your weekly
yard sweep.

This mosquito breeds in containers, not swamps, and rarely flies more than a few hundred metres. Most of the mosquitoes biting you hatched close to where you're standing. Eggs become biting adults in about a week, so a weekly sweep stops them before they hatch.

Tick items off as you go. Your progress is saved on this device.

“A bottle cap of water is enough for me. Please don't tell anyone.”

Ada · Aedes aegypti

Flowerpot saucers & plant traysEmpty and scrub them, or fill them with sand.
Buckets, watering cans, toysTurn them upside down or store them under cover.
Old tiresGet rid of them, drill drainage holes, or keep them dry under cover.
Gutters & drainsClear leaves so water doesn't pool.
Birdbaths & pet bowlsChange the water and scrub the sides at least weekly.
Tarps, covers, boat bilgesPull them tight or drain the folds where water collects.
Rain barrels & water tanksSeal them with a tight lid or fine screen, or add a Bti larvicide dunk.
Indoor vases & plant waterChange the water and scrub weekly. This mosquito breeds indoors too.

Why scrub? Eggs stick to container walls just above the waterline and can survive dry for months. Dumping the water alone leaves them waiting for the next rain.

Step 2 · Protect your skin

Repellents that are
proven to work.

Choose an EPA-registered repellent with one of these active ingredients. All of them are proven safe and effective when used as directed, including during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Remember that this mosquito bites in daylight.

Active ingredient	Good to know	Children
DEET	The longest-studied option. 20–30% gives several hours of protection, and higher strengths last longer but don't work better.	OK over 2 months
Picaridin (icaridin)	Works about as well as DEET, has almost no smell, and doesn't damage plastics or fabrics.	OK over 2 months
IR3535	Gentle on skin. Often found in sunscreen and repellent combination products.	OK over 2 months
Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) / PMD	The plant-based option with real evidence behind it. This is not the same as pure "lemon eucalyptus essential oil".	Not under 3 years
2-undecanone	Derived from wild tomato plants. Fewer products contain it.	Check label

✓Ankles & feet

This mosquito targets the lower legs, so cover them with repellent too.

✓Sunscreen first

Apply sunscreen, let it dry, then apply repellent on top.

✓Treat clothing

Permethrin-treated clothing and gear repel and kill mosquitoes. Use it on fabric only, never on skin.

✓Babies under 2 months

Use no repellent. Cover strollers and cribs with mosquito netting instead.

Skip these: ultrasonic devices and apps, wristbands, vitamin B1, eating garlic, and citronella candles across the patio. None of them give reliable protection. See the evidence →

Step 3 · Keep it outside

At home

Fit and repair window and door screens.
Use air-conditioning when you can. Mosquitoes avoid cool, dry air.
Put nets over babies and anyone napping during the day.
Check dark corners, closets and under beds, where this mosquito rests indoors.
If someone at home has dengue, Zika or chikungunya, keep them from being bitten during the first week of illness so the virus doesn't spread to others.

Step 4 · Before & after travel

On the road

Check CDC travel health notices for dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever.
Get a yellow fever vaccine if your destination recommends or requires one, at least 10 days before departure.
Pregnant? Avoid areas with active Zika outbreaks.
Keep using repellent for 3 weeks after you get home, even if you feel fine. This stops a local mosquito from picking up a virus from you and starting an outbreak in your neighbourhood.
Tell your doctor where you travelled if you develop a fever.

The community fight

Turning the mosquito
against itself.

Insecticides still matter, but this mosquito evolves resistance quickly and hides its larvae in containers that are hard to find. The most promising new tools use the species' own biology to shrink or disarm its populations.

01

Wolbachia: the friendly bacterium

Mosquitoes carrying the natural bacterium Wolbachia are released to breed into the wild population. The bacterium blocks dengue and Zika from multiplying inside them, so the mosquitoes stay but stop spreading disease. Large releases in Indonesia, Colombia and Brazil have sharply cut dengue. Releasing only Wolbachia males can also make wild females' eggs fail.

02

Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)

Males are raised in huge numbers, sterilized with low-dose radiation, and released. Wild females that mate with them lay eggs that never hatch. A trial on Captiva Island, Florida, released over 24 million sterile males and cut the wild population by up to about 79%.

03

Genetic control & gene drives

Engineered "self-limiting" males pass on a gene that kills their female offspring, reducing the biting half of the next generation. Further off, could spread disease-blocking genes through wild populations. Because they are so powerful, how to govern them is still being debated.

04

Smarter surveillance

Traps at ports and airports, genetic testing of mosquito samples, and rapid tests that tell dengue, Zika and chikungunya apart let health agencies catch new mosquito populations and outbreaks early, so they can act before the mosquito becomes established.

The workbench

The transmission-window estimator

A simplified model showing how climate, city conditions and control efforts change the chance of an outbreak spread by Aedes aegypti. Move the controls and watch the risk index change. This is a teaching tool, not a forecast.

Average temperature 28°C

Urban density Medium

Standing water / containers 3

Vector-control effort Some

54 / 100 index

Moderate transmission window

Conditions are workable for the vector. Removing standing water is the single highest-leverage change most households can make.

Model note: this estimator combines the inputs into a single illustrative index and greatly simplifies real epidemiology. Actual outbreak risk also depends on whether the virus is present, population immunity, mosquito genetics, and much more. Use it to build intuition, not to judge real-world danger.