Is Mosquito Repellent Really Worth Obsessing?

Mosquito season here! As much as I love weather science & the fact that I wanted to be a meteorologist at one point, there's really no dry and rainy seasons in the Equator, especially with climate change, everything blurs and blends into one. Seasons, however, still do exist. I call mine mosquito season and fly season.

Mosquito season is now. Even outside of mosquito season, I'm always the first one to scratch like a dog infested with lice. What can I say, mosquitoes just love me and there's no telling them to go away. What's worse is, I'm never a fan of chemical repellents, it always makes me icky to smear those into my skin, so I've been relying on citronella and lemongrass. Having lived in Bali, I learned that lemongrass is only potent in large amount. Think a row of lemongrass plants underneath your windowsills.

Recently, I did research on what attracts mosquitoes. Turns out I'm a given victim. Attractive characters to mosquitoes are:

- Moisture: It's humid in the tropics, meaning we perspire more and thus create moisture;
- Lactic acid released from the body after workout or eating certain types of food, like high-potassium or salty food. I have higher potassium in my blood, which again, makes mosquito love me;
- Carbon Dioxide, more exhaled from the body when we feel hot, or after exercising;
- Dark-colored clothing or dark room;
- Floral or fruity fragrance;
- Skin temperature: this is more personal preference although it's in the cooler side.

Sometimes, the scent of citronella becomes too heady so I asked around, on my Twitter and Facebook, for other natural scents to get rid of mosquitoes. This is what I found out:

- Camphor;
- Basil;
- Cedar Oil;
- Cinnamon Oil;
- Clove Oil;
- Garlic;
- Tea tree.

Having said all those above, I can't believe what I've become. Have I been obsessing about mosquitoes? Are these little annoyance really worth obsessing?

If anyone has proven natural recipe to rid of those loyal 'lovers' of mine, give me a shout anyway.