Every summer, it's a toss-up whether bugs or humans will win the battle for the backyard. And the stakes are high. Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus have traveled across the country. Every state in the lower 48 except Maine and Washington has reported human cases, with an estimated 1.3 million cases overall. But new remedies can take the sting out of the orneriest bug problem.

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a chemical called picaridin for use in insect repellents. Picaridin works as well as DEET, which is also recommended by the CDC, but is odorless and nongreasy, and it doesn't melt plastic watch faces, golf club handles, and camera buttons the way DEET-based products are wont to do. This year, Spectrum Brands introduced Cutter Advanced Sport($4-$5 for a 6-ounce can, sold at grocery, drug, sporting good, and discount stores). The new formulation contains 15 percent picaridin, enough to protect you four hours or more. (If you're going to be out all day, however, you may still need a DEET-based product with a concentration higher than 20 percent, says Emily Zielinski-Gutierrez, a behavioral scientist with the CDC.)

For people who prefer natural products, now there's Repel Lemon Eucalyptus plant-based repellent ($5 for a 4-ounce pump bottle, sold at Target, REI, and other retailers). Its active ingredient, oil of lemon eucalyptus, has also been recommended by the CDC. Both Cutter Advanced Sport and Repel also claim to repel ticks, though the CDC's recommendation applies only to mosquitoes.

Then there are the pricey mosquito traps like the Mosquito Magnet and Dragonfly Mosquito System--which range from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000. These contraptions lure mosquitoes by emitting humanlike carbon dioxide and heat. They're promising, but their backyard usefulness is still limited, says Joseph Conlon, technical adviser for the American Mosquito Control Association. "If you live next to a salt marsh or a section of woods or wetland, you might put one at the border to capture mosquitoes coming in," he says. "But once mosquitoes are in your yard, you're just as attractive to them as the trap."

But there's a low-tech solution. Mosquitoes are pretty poor fliers and can be stymied by a stiff breeze. A few strategically placed fans will blow away bug-attracting body odors as well as the skeeters that follow them. What a windfall!