West Nile Bracelet

I hate bug spray. Hate it. Smells bad. Tastes worse. Questionable if it works. I'm tasty and mosquitoes love me, so I need some kind of protection from them.

Why? West Nile is back. There's been one case in my state already, and 'tis the season: August through the first hard frost is the time we're most likely to contract it.

Maybe the fact I'm tasty to mosquitoes and get huge welts every time they get me means I wouldn't contract the deadliest forms of the disease. That's not a chance I'm willing to take. I wear long pants and long sleeves all year round, and when I'm outside working, I need the bug spray.

Or do I? I found a gadget online in May touting to be a chemical-free way to combat pesky bugs. It was only twenty dollars, so of course I bought one. It looks like this:

Here's the thing. It appears to work, but it's junk. I was able to charge it when it first arrived. I can't recharge it since then - something in the connector broke. Once the power runs out, it's gone. I used it for the first two weeks in June, and then I tried to charge it. I've used it sparingly since. I'm not sure it will get me through the next few months.

What I've learned: The sound frequency seems to work. Because it's just a frequency, it doesn't need to be a janky bracelet that might fall off at any time or pop right out of the band. I just found an app for my phone that might do the same thing. Better yet, it's free. By this time next year, I hope to have my mosquito-repelling garden in full swing. Until then, I'm going to stick to the new frequency.

If you have an app to keep the mosquitoes away, tell us about it!