An Interesting Solution to the Mosquito Problem

About a month ago, I requested that knowledgeable citizens respond to this column with their own favorite mosquito repellent remedies.

John Rosa, a 23-year resident of Alaska, reports a method that is probably not familiar to many of us. It requires at least one other participant. To quote: "First, when going fishing, camping, mining or even gardening, before you start, give your partner, wife, sweetheart or mother a banana. This produces a scent through the pores of their skin which attracts mosquitoes to them, leaving you relatively free."

Another of Mr. Rosa's recommendations, which may (or may not be) quite as tongue-in-cheek, is that a used Bull Durham bag filled with mothballs and hung outside the tent not only keeps mosquitoes away from the campsite, but also wards off black bears."