Mosquitoes suck. Literally, figuratively, and every other way. These bloodsuckers have been a worldwide menace since the beginning of recorded history. A popularly reposted infographic lists them as—by far—the world’s deadliest animal, thanks to the parade of nasty diseases they can transmit. West Nile, Zika, chikungunya, malaria, dengue—these are no longer illnesses confined to the global south. In recent years, all have been discovered in bugs in the United States.

Ridding your property of mosquitoes is a decidedly Quixotic effort. You can stem the tide for a while, but you can’t ever win the war. Once whatever abatement method you use has worn off, they swoop back in, thirstier than ever. Nevertheless, you have to do something. Left unattended, mosquitoes can quickly turn from a nuisance to an epidemic that makes your outdoor space completely unusable.

Outside of wide-scale community mosquito spraying programs, most personal and home-based mosquito abatement tools focus on repelling them rather than trying to outright kill them. Insecticides like DEET work by being rubbed onto the skin, while metofluthrin and allethrin work in vapor form, creating a cloud of repellent that works without you having to make physical contact with the chemicals. Trapping mosquitoes is another potential option, luring them into a chamber from which they can’t escape.

For years I’ve tried innumerable technologies and tactics to rid my property—and my very susceptible skin—from mosquitoes. Here’s what I’ve uncovered to date that works—and what doesn’t.

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