Many in Northern Arizona are probably happy that the monsoon season is subsiding. Particularly since at least three deaths were attributed to lightning strikes. This includes two foreign visitors to the region. Twenty year-old Aram Kawewong and his wife Ratchaya Tantranon of Chiang-Mai Thailand were killed at LeFevre Scenic Overlook on July 23rd.

The subsiding monsoons, however, gives way to mosquito season. With the warming temperatures and humidity it seems that mosquitoes are more than plentiful this year.

One method of combating the insect scourge is to make sure you empty containers outside that have filled with water during the monsoons. If you have containers that you intend to collect water, you can cover those. Offenders are old tires, buckets and other containers.

Another method is cutting down or removing weeds and plants. Though some plants are natural insect repellents. You can find information on this online. If you use weed killer, either manufactured or natural variants, remember that will generally kill all plants in the area of use.

There are several sites online that have recipes for natural mosquito and insect repellents if you are concerned about DEET-based repellents.