Ugh, every time I think about it I get sick. One minute six of us are having a fun-loving dinner out, eating lobsters under the stars in Coconut Grove, FL. The next minute we are infested with blood-sucking mosquitoes eating us. In unison, we all stand up, swatting away, convincing ourselves that swatting’s going to work.

Minutes later the maître d’ comes running over with a can of bug spray, giving us each a spritz. I duck. I cannot stand any kind of greasy substance on me, especially when I am all dressed up. I imagine the mist getting on the lobsters. Puke!

My ears perked up when I heard about the Kite™ Mosquito Patch. It’s a lightweight 1-inch square that you stick on your clothing to ward off mosquitoes. It works for up to 48 hours and can help wearers in effected regions avoid mosquito-borne malaria.

The technology was developed by Olfactor Laboratories and the University of California at Riverside, with backing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

The Kite™ patch uses non-toxic compounds to block the mosquitoes’ ability to detect the Co2 that leads them to people. It’s all very civilized. Check out the fundraising campaign on Indiegogo.