Protect Yourself From Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are known to carry a number of diseases throughout the world. There are five mosquito-borne diseases in the U.S. alone. If you live in an area where mosquitoes are prevalent, do yourself a favor and look into mosquito net bed canopies to protect yourself or your loved ones while you sleep.

How Mosquito Bed Canopies Protect You

Given their size, mosquitoes can fit through small tears in your window screens, your attic ventilation, and even the exhaust fans in your bathroom or kitchen. Once they are in your home, the female mosquitoes will lay eggs in any standing water or damp soil, such as a sump pump bucket or the drip trays under your houseplants. You may not even notice they are there until you are trying to sleep at night and suddenly hear their whining buzz as they try to land on your face or other exposed areas. Use mosquito bed netting canopies to protect you from the following mosquito-borne diseases.

Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis

Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) is a viral infection transmitted through a mosquito bite. Some people never develop any symptoms or complications. For those who do, often residents of the Gulf States, the CDC reports a mortality or brain damage rate of approximately 30 percent. Early symptoms of EEE include a sudden headache, chills, and high fever. Western Equine Encephalitis is similar, but appears in states along the West Coast.

La Crosse Encephalitis

La Crosse Encephalitis is most common in states in the upper Midwest in the southeast, and along the mid-Atlantic coast. Again, not every person to contract La Crosse Encephalitis becomes ill, but for those who do a headache, fever, vomiting, and exhaustion are all early symptoms. The disease seems to affect children 15 or younger more than it does adults.

Saint Louis Encephalitis

St. Louis Encephalitis is prevalent in Central and Eastern U.S. Those affected by the disease tend to be elderly, and early symptoms include a fever, nausea and vomiting, and headache.

West Nile Virus

West Nile Virus is one of the most commonly known mosquito-borne diseases in the United States. Only 20 percent of those infected will ever show symptoms, but those who do develop flu-like symptoms. One percent will go on to develop a more severe neurological symptoms like seizures.

While the more serious forms of these mosquito-borne diseases are rare, it is still important to protect yourself from mosquito bites. Do so by staying indoors when mosquitoes are most active, around day break and at dusk, and use mosquito canopies to protect your bed from mosquitoes that do make their way into your house.