How To Protect Yourself At The Barbecue In The Summer
The summer is the season for barbecues, garden parties, lounging in the garden or bathing in the pool. It is also the time for insects, usually of the flying variety. Flies and mosquitoes can be everything from mildly annoying to downright dangerous. So what can you do to protect yourself in the backyard during the summer?
The first thing to do is start clearing up your backyard before the summer begins. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water and it only has to be a half-inch deep. This means that you should keep the gutters free from fallen leaves and other blockages.
Blocked gutters and drains are prime breeding grounds, but so are all items that can hold rainwater. Flower pots, buckets, old tyres and folds in sheets are others.
Drill holes in pots, bins and old tyres; pull tarpaulins tight, upturn boats and canoes and if you have water features, make sure that there are either guppies or goldfish in there too, because they are well-known for feeding on mosquito larvae.
Carrying out a pre-emptive strike on mosquito breeding grounds will drastically lessen the number of mosquitoes in your backyard and thus reduce your liklihood of being given West Nile virus (in the USA). It will also safeguard you against E.coli.
However, your neighbours might not be as particular as yourself, so mosquitoes will still come into your garden. To protect yourself from these spray insect repellent containing DEET (25% +) on your clothing and bare skin to avoid mosquito bites.
In the twilight, hang a bug zapper with a blue light and an electrified coil in the environs of where you are sitting. The best ones also use pheromones to lure mosquitoes, especially octenol.
Some species of mosquitoes hang around animals, so put some natural mosquito repellent on your dogs or do not permit them to lie at your feet.
Do not use DEET on them because they will lick it off and become sick. Use citronella oil, lemon oil or garlic. There are lots of others as well, but they are not as effective or as long-lasting as DEET.
If you are barbecuing, and who would not be, be wary of meat, especially chicken and pork. If the meat is frozen, thaw it gradually and keep it in the fridge until minutes before you are going to cook it.
The risk zone is between 40-140F, when bacteria will grow very quickly and flies will lay eggs in it. If you have to store the meat out of the fridge, store it ‘under water’, that is, in a marinade, so that flies can not get at it and it is out of strong sunlight.
Keep food and drinks apart, so that the fridge is not opened so often as to allow the temperature to rise above 40F. Use two sets of kitchen tools, one to handle uncooked meat and fish and one to take cooked meat and fish off the fire otherwise you will contaminate the cooked food.
Use a meat thermometer to verify that the food is cooked: 160F for meat and 165F for chicken. Discard cooked food not consumed after two hours or after one hour if the background temperature is above 90F. If you would like to use marinade up on cooked food, boil it first.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on several subjects, but is currently involved with the anopheles mosquito. If you would like to know more just go to our website at Mosquito Bite Swellings.