Mosquito Attraction and Prevention in Indonesia

[Davita]

I took your advice but think I may have splashed a bit too much Old Spice in the fry-up ...

Hahaha! Good response.

Lucky you didn't use stuff like my Dior "Fahrenheit"......would be the most expensive stir-fry you ever made, but...no mozzies!

 

[jstar]

Mosquitos do seem to like the odor of sweat so it does make sense they like your feet when you take your shoes off.

Besides that, don't forget that the locals probanly have developed an immunity. (As they will also not get diarrhea from eating certain food.) I saw a flock/swarm of mosquitos around the feet of a worker I was talking to. But: no swollen feet, no red spots, no irritation, nothing.

The weird thing is that all repellants sold in Indonesia still use DEET, while in other countries many products already switched to (P)ICARIDIN. Also in the brand the OP mentioned. I remember they even stated that on their website.

 

[waarmstrong]

For windows/ventilation that you don't plan on opening, you can also get some "kawat nyamuk". The local cheap solution is just to use thumbtacks (paku payung) to attach them to the frame.

A local handyman may also make you wooden frames with kawat nyamuk to insert into windows, for a better looking solution, yet still cheap, solution.

Well, if you don't plan to open the window, why bother with a screen?

 

[dafluff]

Well, if you don't plan to open the window, why bother with a screen?

Nice catch...I meant you don't plan on closing. Such as ventilation holes that are everywhere, or the top part of window frames/door frames (not sure what they're called). Also works for those kaca nako things, just need to give a bit of extra room for them to open.

 

[macvert]

the previous house I rented had those stupid vent holes in the walls & the things above the doors, all they do is provide a place for insects to get in, wasps to make nests & spiders to make webs, the amount of hot air that escapes from them is negligable & they.re hatd to keep clean, I blocked them all fron the outside with cardboard because the place was high tech ie it had more than 1 window which provided flow thru ventilation.

 

[waarmstrong]

The window spaces above the doors are called transoms. When we remodeled we dealt with the transoms in a number of ways: 1) with interior doors, we incorporated a closed transom with the same wood and trim as the new door; with exterior doors and windows we either permanently closed the transom with fixed glass, or simply expanded the new window to incorporate the transom area into the window. Looks fine and was less expensive that bricking up the top part of the rough opening, although we did a bit of that as well.



This is a shot of the pre-remodeling windows with the open transom.



The same window is on the lower right where the transom space is incorporated into the new taller window. The terrace opening on the upper left has glassed in transoms above the doors and taller window on each side. (The terrace screen doors open in, the kitchen doors below have screen doors that open out.)

 

[Smallworld]

I will second what warmstrong have said.

I also got problems with mosquitoes when I moved to Cikarang. I resolved it by placing garment which looks like a net on every window frame. The windows are always open to create some air flow because without it it will feel like we live in a sauna. This garment can be bought in almost every pasar and it is quite cheap.

The house door can be open till 16:00-17:00 without any mosquitoes problems. For our bedroom I use electrical mosquito killer and a strict policy doors always has to be shut. We also may not fell asleep until the culprit is caught and his body is found. Few heated discussions with my wife about always to close the door (after 17:00) resolved our problem with mosquitoes. In 99% they will bite my wife.

Those few who will managed to sneak in are killed in the bathroom as they always look for damp and dark areas. Daily routine and inspections with the electric mosquito killer like on the morning they like to hide in our shoes, washing machine if it was open or my backpack for gym. All buckets, old pots are standing upside down to avoid mosquitoes multiplying themselves.

 

[Smallworld]

For windows/ventilation that you don't plan on opening, you can also get some "kawat nyamuk". The local cheap solution is just to use thumbtacks (paku payung) to attach them to the frame.

A local handyman may also make you wooden frames with kawat nyamuk to insert into windows, for a better looking solution, yet still cheap, solution.

Those are made from plastic which is a great choice because after a while they will get dirty and will need a bit of washing.

 

[Jull]

I heard that Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors, particularly red and violet, so wearing lighter and brighter colors — also wear long sleeves and pants will help avoid mosquitos.