Staying bug bite free at your apartment this summer

Great weather means you’ll have lots of opportunities to spend time outside this summer, but it also means you may have some unwanted guests. And we’re not talking about party crashers at your BBQ, but visitors of the winged kind.

Mosquitoes, flies, bees, wasps and other creepy crawlers love to make themselves at home both in and out of your home in the summer months, and your job is to deter them from successfully feeding on your skin and food, drowning in your freshly made margarita or invading your apartment.

When you’re trying to let the fresh air in and simultaneously keep the bugs out, this can be a losing battle. Start the summer with an inspection of any screening material that’s installed on your apartment. Make sure there are no holes or gaps in the screening where bugs could slip through. If your screening is inadequate, contact your property manager.

If you plan to have windows open without screens or know that you’ll be opening a door frequently that could allow bugs to come right on in, invest in some protective measures.

Cover all food that’s left out on a table or countertop – and minimize what you leave out to prevent spoilage – to keep it from being bait for hungry bugs. For outside dining tables, pick up a few citronella candles that will keep bugs away. If you’re going to be eating outside, spray yourself preemptively with bug spray to ward them away before they decide to investigate your picnic.

If you have mosquitoes in your area, move your gathering away from any stable water sources. Mosquitoes can be carriers of West Nile virus so be diligent about keeping them off your skin.

At night, moths and other insects attracted by light will flock to any lights that you’ve left on, inside or out. Consider turning off your lights near doorways to keep them away from your home. And last but not least, pick up a good old fashioned fly swatter from your local hardware store, just in case you need to dispatch any unlucky visitors who make it inside.