It's only early June and I've already been beaten (and eaten) by a couple of ambitious mosquitoes. I chased them down unsuccessfully and woke up the next morning with their signature red, itchy welts on my legs and feet. While I've had moderate success with natural insect repellents - made from nothing more than citronella oil, cedarwood oil, lemongrass oil, peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and water, Quantum [1] receives Skin Deep's [2] approval - I'm most interested in a non-toxic solution to the mosquito-heavy barbeques I suffer through each year. Specifically, is there a way to decrease the mosquito-to-human ratio present in my parents' New England backyard every summer?

I'm going to suggest that my parents look into one of the following mosquito-zapping methods before they send out an invite for another BBQ:

Hammacher Schlemmer [3] makes an electric mosquito trap called the MegaCatch. The device emits a scent that mimics human breath. The bugs are drawn in and then trapped in a mesh bag. Hammacher Schlemmer claims that the MegaCatch can trap up to 1,200 mosquitoes a night.

A carbon dioxide yeast brewing machine [4] follows the same concept, drawing the insects in with a fabricated scent of human breath.

Install a bat box. [5] If you can get over the vampire association, bats may save you from a summer of scratching. Bats eat about 2,000 insects every night (though it is not clear just how many of those are mosquitoes).

[via Mercola [6]]