Now that we know whether or not mosquitoes are likely to be coming for us, the next step is creating a line of defense. Sure, there are all those smelly citronella candles and bug sprays and the like — but there’s something even easier you can do, something so brilliant in its sheer simplicity I just want to go around telling everyone I know about it: Turn on a fan.

The New York Times presents an idea Our Boss Meg has also used to great effect upon moving from the breezier clime of Chicago to the still air of Brooklyn: Turn on a small electric fan when you’re outdoors, the oscillating kind that’ll send a breeze wafting around the area.

It works, says the president of Swift Food Equipment Inc., who is credited with the method in this instance, for a very simple reason.

“The solution came from trying to think like a bug,” he explained to the NYT’s William J. Broad, “and realizing I don’t like flying into a 15 m.p.h. wind.”

It’s also a method endorsed by the American Mosquito Control Association, which notes that mosquitoes aren’t like stealth missiles that can rocket toward humans at super fast speeds, so even a little breeze is a deterrent. The wind also does a lot to

“Mosquitoes are relatively weak fliers,” it says on its Web site, “so placing a large fan on your deck can provide a low-tech solution.”

Sending air every which way also works to disperse all the delectable human smells mosquitoes are attracted to, whether it’s from your blood type or that beer you downed because it’s hotter than Hades right now.

A Low-Tech Mosquito Deterrent [New York Times]

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