Does anyone have any tips for not getting bitten alive or do I just need to be resigned to it.

[ilovelibraries]

Just that. We’re off to Florida next week. I get bitten all the time. I’ve been bitten multiple times this week in the U.K. My husband, who sleeps in the same room - no bites. My son who does the same thing during the day - no bites. I guess I’m just tasty.

I’ve read about garlic tablets and mozzie stickers but have read that they don’t work. I’ll obviously be using spray but has anyone found anything to stop me getting bitten to death?

Hopefully,

ilovelibraries

I’d love to know the answer to this, I get bitten when I hang the washing out.

Repelant and a daily antihistamine to stop it reacting so much

We use a combination of mosiguard and mosquito bands in Malaysia. Works, but you have to be religious about it, renew the bands every few days and keep reapplying the spray to all exposed skin every few hours.
If I miss a bit, or don't respray etc, I get eaten alive.

I read that Vitamin B1 (thiamine) was good to repel mozzie bites

Each year, i start taking it a month before we go and whilst away. Ive gone from being bitten up to 130 times in 1 holiday to just twice this year. It's made a huge difference to me. Apparently the mozzies don't like the smell of the B1 being released by your body. There may still be time to get it in your system before you go

Mozzie spray with a very high percentage of deet is the only thing that I've found that works. You'll melt anything plastic that you touch though.

Wear loose fitting clothing that covers your skin. Here in the west we are obsessed with exposing as much of our skin to the elements as possible but in societies where there is generally more sun and more beasties, people cover up, and it’s not just because of religion.

long loose trousers or skirt and a long sleeved thin blouse. That just leaves your face. I use Avon Skin So Soft. I’m in Scotland, it’s works against midgies. Maybe not so good against mossies but I’ve never tried it in a hot country

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009M3NQGQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are the ones I use. They stink to high heaven and they make your per smell funny but I guess that means it's working

American repellent is so much better than anything we have here (and doesn't feel or smell awful either) so stock up when you're out there. I think we got "Off" -it does melt plastic thoughl (and is probably packed with ingredients that the EU has banned for good reasons...)

I used to have a link to an interesting article where they'd tested everything, from Deet to 'traditional' remedies and more recent recommendations like Avon Skin So Soft and eating shed-loads of Marmite.

Needless to say I can't find it now.

Only one that really worked was the Deet.

I have a photo of a huge bite on my hand, right next to one of those wrist bands :-)

Lemon balm oil and lemon balm leaves crushed up, put into a little bottle with a roll ball on top with some other neutral carrier oil like coconut and an essential oil that you like the smell of. It honestly works. Put in your suitcase instead of hand luggage though!

When we went to Florida I didn't want to use deet so did a bit of research. We ended up with Pyramid Trek Sensitive which has saltidine as the active ingredient. It worked brilliantly for us, only getting bites if we forgot to use it.
Disney, Universal, Sea world etc use plenty of insecticide and you won't notice many mozzies while you're there though.
Antihistamine and steroid cream for any bites you do get. Have a fantastic holiday, Florida is my happy place.

I agree with the anti-histamine every day. The bite itself tends not to be the problem(ignoring mosquito born diseases like dengue) but my reaction to it. I find the anti-histamine means I just don't really react, so even though I may have the odd bite I've no longer got massive red itchy lumps all over my legs and arms. Obviously the other precautions as well - I cover up more in the evening, use citronella candles if staying somewhere you can, use insect repellant etc, but the anti-histamine has been my saviour.

You can get these mosquito bands from boots. 4 in a pack. I swear by them as I found they are the only thing that works. They last 14 days and have a smell on them that thr mosquitoes don't like. Bot harmful at all to us. And you wear them the whole time

Tropical strength DEET. It's the only way. And it works very well.

Avon "skin soft" spray moisturiser - DM read about it on Facebook and it seems to be working well.

I got very badly bitten in Mexico and the doctor said the following, ensure you are not lacking in Vitamin B, eat Marmite daily all year round and use Boots Soltan sun cream and after sun liberally, the one with the insect repellent in. I can honestly say this has changed my life as far as holidays are concerned. I won't say I never get bitten but now I only get the odd one or two.

I think you have to use a few, so definately deet. I also use the wipes you can get in b and m, I always have a pack in my bag as a top up as they cover a lot of skin. I also rate the clicker things you get off amazon, I have one on my keyring and as soon as I feel a bite coming up I click it about 10 times, also a daily antihistamine. Also if you can get it I use Turkish cologne, I decant into small spray bottles, it smells gorgeous and I'm always spraying it on anyone that's near me (if they ket me), lovely on hot sweaty skin.

Oh and also spray the room with mozzie killer before you go out, and a quick spray when you return, I spray and sit outside for 20 mins.

I agree with all the advice so far. I get bitten like mad when we go to visit family in the far east, he doesn't get bitten at all.
Last time I took the vitamin B tablets daily, used repellent spray (the locally manufactured stuff), antihistamine every evening before going out and the only other thing not mentioned here is drastically reducing the sugar in my diet, as apparently the mosquitos are attracted to the sugar they can taste in your blood.
Tiger balm is way better on the bites than antihistamine cream.

The sun team is called Boots Soltan Repel and Protect, I think

I find Smidge works well for me. Doesn’t contain DEET but really effective. I would also take a daily antihistamine as op suggested - starting at lesst two weeks before you go. People who feel they get bitten more than others likely have a body that reacts more than most do. I take two different antihistamines for other reasons and if I forget to apply Smidge twice a day I still get a massive reaction to any bites I get. My DH has bites that disappear within 24/48 hours whereas mine are still huge and itchy, even if I’m managed to resist scratching them, many days later. Have a fab holiday.

This is what the GP recommended.

I react very badly to insect bites and worried a lot about it prior to going to Florida but didn’t get bitten once!

I would go and speak to a pharmacist and get proper advice. In my experience, the Avon stuff that’s widely recommended here (often by Avon reps, if local Facebook pages are anything to go by!) is slimy, smells revolting and has absolutely no impact on insects-we were all still eaten alive when we tried it.

Incognito spray is the only thing works for me
Am very allergic.

Thanks all. I’ve started taking daily antihistamine tablets as my bites hurt so much and that has helped. I’ll keep doing it. Is it better in the morning or evening?

I’ve heard the repellent is better there and may start the vitamin B1tablets in the hope they do something. And take steroid cream.

I’ve been to Boots each lunchtime this week and not managed to speak to a pharmacist (queues too long!)

Thanks all!