going the natural route

So the big news in Rome is......the mosquitos are waaay worse than initially reported. My left arm appears to have the chicken pox, which is totally impossible considering I've already had them. Believe me, I remember it well - I had to miss trick-or-treating when I was in kindergarten because of those stupid red bumps! I also remember being selfishly happy when a freak ice storm made it near impossible for ANYONE to trick-or-treat that year.

Anyways, back to the point. Mosquitos. Tiger mosquitos specifically. They are in the U.S. too, but not in Iowa - at least not yet! They are in Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansa, Missouri, and Illinois and most of the southeast...so I'm sure we're not far behind. So far between my roommate and I, we have purchased an anti-histamine for the itch, something with cortisol in it to reduce the size of bites, bug spray, and today I picked up a basil plant. Apprently the little buggers really hate the smell of basil, so we were told to put a basil plant in our windowsill to discourage them from entering.

I'm very excited about our 'natural remedy', but after getting the little guy home and set out, I'm thinking he's a tad small for our window. What do you think?