My home in Washington, D.C., seems perfectly designed to be a mosquito breeding ground.

Between the high humidity and my water-trapping, shady garden, in warmer months we spend about five buggy minutes outside before we inevitably give up and pack it in, covered in bites.

I didn’t want to spray insecticide because it can also harm mosquitoes’ natural predators like dragonflies, spiders and birds, but none of the natural repellents I tried worked. I began to think mosquitoes were simply an unpleasant but inevitable part of life, like waiting in line at the DMV or paying taxes.

Then a few months ago, I found out about a group in my neighborhood called the Itty Bitty Mosquito Population Committee, which is trying to use the same techniques to fight the swarming hordes that scientists have used to all but eradicate mosquitoes on an island in the Philippines.

I had to find out who was behind this effort, what they were doing and how I could take steps to prevent my family from being eaten alive.

https://archive.is/jgYbO

The Itty Bitty Mosquito Population Committee:

https://www.ittybittymosquitocommittee.org/